We already know what the new 2013 Maserati Quattroporte looks like, thanks to official images which the Italian manufacturer released ahead of the car’s scheduled public debut at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show in January. This means it wasn’t difficult for our reader and photographer, Matteo Conti, to identify a camoflagued prototype undergoing final hot-weather testing in Franschhoek, South Africa, before being chased away by the Maser test team.
As we know, the car is longer and more spacious than the model it replaces. The final measurements remain unknown for now, but just look at how much kerbside it’s parked up against and how small that BMW X1 looks in the background.
Despite the car being larger, Maserati’s Vehicle Development Director, Roberto Corradi, has said: “Maserati engineers have worked in chassis designing and engineering, weight reduction, ergonomic enhancement to develop a car capable of fitting different powertrain architectures and transmission configurations for the most diverse driving conditions, but always maintaining Maserati’s trademark best-in-class driving comfort.”
So, we know that together with the flagship, 395 kW and 650 Nm, twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V8 that Maserati has confirmed, the 2013 Quattroporte should be substantially quicker and nimbler than the model it replaces.
With this in mind, and temperatures looking a little on the mild side in the Western Cape for next week (low to mid 30 degrees Celsius), the Maser team may have plans to apply some ‘Government Approved High Speed Testing Vehicle’ stickers and head for the arrow-straight roads of the Northern Cape, where they can test the V8′s performance figures of 4.7 seconds for the 0 – 100 km/h sprint and 305 km/h top speed!
