Maserati is celebrating a 77 per cent rise in its Australian sales in the first quarter of 2008 with the arrival of the ultimate Maserati Quattroporte, the Sport GT-S, which is now beginning customer deliveries.

Maserati is celebrating a 77 per cent rise in its Australian sales in the first quarter of 2008 with the arrival of the ultimate Maserati Quattroporte, the Sport GT-S, as deliveries start in Australia after its local debut at the 2008 Melbourne International Motor Show, and setting a new benchmark for luxury performance saloon handling and road holding.

“The Maserati Quattroporte is a car that could only be produced in Italy,” says Edward Butler, General Manager of Maserati Australia and New Zealand. “It is an effortless blend of exclusive performance, style, handling and luxury delivered with a refinement and delicacy of touch that sets it apart from its heavy-handed rivals. The Sport GT-S sets a new benchmark for handling and road holding with suspension and brakes derived from Maserati’s world-beating race programme, yet at the same time it remains comfortable and luxurious – a unique feat.”

Based on the best-selling Maserati of all time, the Sport GT-S has a new suspension system that has been developed specifically to provide the luxury sports saloon with sports car-like handling and road holding, but, remarkably, without making the ride quality uncomfortable, an important factor on Australian roads.

The new suspension system offers a higher level of body control, sharper turn-in for the steering and makes ever better use of the massive grip offered by 20 inch wheels and tyres. Yet, at the same time damping and spring control, working in harmony with the seat spring rates, maintains ride comfort so that while the driver is revelling in sports car-like levels of response from the chassis, the passengers are able to savour the Quattroporte’s luxury.

The Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT-S also stops as well as it goes, thanks to its unique composite dual-cast disc brakes, the first time such a set up has been employed on a road car. Styling changes are subtle, with the discreet 20 inch dark chrome alloy wheels and use of Alcantara cloth inside the Sport GT-S setting it apart. The Alcantara extends to the steering wheel providing the driver with a tactile experience the same as the drivers of the Maserati MC-12 super cars that have dominated the FIA GT World Championship. The Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT-S has a recommended retail price of A$308,000, placing it at the head of the Maserati range.