Quattroporte I (First Series)

In the early part of the decade, Giulio Alfieri started to work on a completely new project that would, in retrospect, be seen as a revolutionary concept in the world of high-performance automobiles. Inspired by the success of its Gran Turismo cars, Maserati set its sights on a sedan the equal of its coupes and spyders. The new Quattroporte—Italian for “four doors”—would have to offer the same pedigree and level of elegance, refinement and power for which the marque had become famous. With a top speed of 143 mph, it was the fastest four-door production car at the time. The design was from stylist Pietro Frua, who took inspiration from his original 5000GT, and the bodies were built by Vignale. The car used a modern sheet-steel monocoque structure with box-section rails instead of a traditional tubular frame, and its 4.2-liter V8 engine derived from the unit used in the 5000GT. Seven examples were built with a 4.7-liter engine. Famous Quattroporte I customers included Anthony Quinn, Marcello Mastroianni, Alberto Sordi and Prince Rainier III of Monaco.