The Maserati Quattroporte, the House of the Trident’s flagship model, has won Japan’s prestigious 'Import Car of the Year 2004' award.

The prize, awarded annually to the best imported automobiles, was announced at the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame Association (JAHFA). The award ceremony will take place on 15th November at the National Science Museum of Tokyo.

The Quattroporte took the 2004 prize owing to its perfect embodiment of the marque’s image, its timeless style attained through the superb blend of tradition and innovation, its sophisticated craftsmanship, its excellent economical value in this market sector and the fact that it is an authentic luxury car.

This latest award is one of the many international accolades that the Quattroporte has received.

Among the more prestigious is the ‘Red Dot Design Award’, one of the oldest and most important in the world of automobile design. The Maserati collected the ‘Best Luxury Car in Show’ from the British International Motor Show of 28 May 2004 and also the trophy for the best in the imported ‘Luxury sedans’ category, awarded by the well-respected German car magazine, Auto Motor und Sport.
 

The Quattroporte was first unveiled in Japan at the prestigious Tokyo international Motorshow on 22nd October 2003.

It was then presented two days later to an elite Japanese audience at the Italian embassy in the presence of Luca di Montezemolo, President of the Ferrari Maserati Group, HE the Ambassador of Italy, Mario Bova, local dignitaries and the international press.

Over two hundred and fifty Quattroportes have been sold on the Japanese market since April, with delivery times of a few months.

Curiously, notwithstanding the fact that in Japan one drives on the right, most customers who order for sports cars, like the Quattroporte, request left hand drive models as they are considered to be of a more exclusive nature and regarded as status symbols.