Now that we have an everyday supercar nestled in our fantasy garage, I suggest we add a Maserati Quattroporte Executive GT (MSRP: $115,900) to our collection, for those times when we're forced to schlep people who don't want to have their internal organs thrown violently around the calcified walls of their skeletal prison. Yes, we could have added another bulletproof bi-polar express — and I'm not saying an AMG product won't find its way into our virtual automotive sanctuary — but at the risk of quadrupling a negative, we shouldn't fail to consider something a bit more lyrical.
While that word opens the door to all manner of vintage cruisers, I recommend we stick with a modern motorcar for the time being — at least until we have enough of them around that we don't have to worry about our limited collection experiencing simultaneous parts' shortages. OK, Maserati isn't exactly the first car you'd think of when seeking mechanical reliability (it could, in fact, be the last). But foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small-minded collectors. Anyway, even with the brand's fearsome rep for building cars that fail and fall apart, I'm betting that a latter day Maser can survive the seven days between now and our third choice, even with some of you hoons behind the wheel.
The main reason for adding the Maserati QP to our collection: beauty. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I reckon the QP is the most beautiful modern motor car made. Its perfectly judged proportions, forceful stance and subtle yet alluring details create an irresistible blend of male aggression and female voluptuousness — a combination that hasn't been this fully realized in an Italian car since the Dino. At the same time, the QP's an extremely subtle design; it projects class without flash, presence without pomp. It is, in short, a modern classic.
There's only thing more entrancing than the QP's sheetmetal: its cabin. The sedan offers its occupants a seamless mix of old world sumptuousness (deeply fragrant leather, soft touch plastics, sensual wood) and modern technology (sat nav, climate control, BOSE blaster). Even better, you can tweak the gizmos without an iDrive, MMI or COMAND wart to ruin the Armani aesthetics or disturb the driver's carma. If you want to know what pistonheads mean when they prattle on about a car having a "sense of occasion," grok a QP.
As for driving dynamics, now that we can order a QP with an automatic transmission — instead of that paddle-shifting abomination previously installed — we're good to waft. The 4.2-liter 400hp Ferrari-sourced V8 makes all the right noises, from none at all to the hardened wail of an expensive car exercising its royal prerogative. Those of you who fancy a bit of rough are free to thrash the old girl, while the rest of us will simply glide to our destination to collect the cred we deserve for staring down the demons of depreciation to subsidize one of the world's most sensually satisfying automobiles.
But hey, it's your call.
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[Robert Farago's Jalopnik Fantasy Garage runs every Tuesday. Submit proposals for future acquisitions to robert.farago@thetruthaboutcars.com.]
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