Production: 2,141 cars
De Tomaso's first new Maserati was the Kyalami coupe of 1976, essentially a rebodied De Tomaso Longchamps. Quattroporte III, or the AM 330-series, was also based around a De Tomaso chassis, the Deauville's rear-wheel drive layout with independent suspension all round, and was fitted with the quad-cam 255bhp 4.2 V8, updated and refined. De Tomaso drafted in Giorgetto Giugiaro of ItalDesign on the styling side, and the resulting car was a more natural evolution of the first-generation model than the Bertone design. A first prototype was unveiled at the 1976 Turin Motor Show. Twin headlamps were back, and the low waistline, though American safety legislation demanded the addition of some rather unsightly rubber bumpers. The interior was thoroughly overhauled, with velour-panelled roof lining, briar-wood veneer and the softest Italian leather upholstery available; although it wasn't short of comfort equipment, the cabin was much more classic-looking than the avant-garde Citroen-designed cockpit. Formally launched at the Turin Motor Show of 1979 and built at the Innocenti factory in Milan, it was Italy's only real luxury saloon contender at the time and it went on to be Maserati's best-selling model, accounting for 60 percent of sales within two years. A 4.9-litre V8 was offered for 1980, delivering 282bhp and 308lb ft of torque. This had the Borg-Warner three-speed automatic gearbox as standard, but the manual gearbox was an option; a limited-slip differential became standard on all models in 1984.
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Further evolutions of the AM 330-series included a long-wheelbase Quattroporte Limousine, with its wheelbase extended by 65cm, a front passenger seat which could be rotated by up to 180 degrees, a video player, air conditioning with separate controls for the rear seat passengers and foldaway tables. Its roof height was raised by 20mm and its weight went up to 2130kg. Its poshest incarnation, however, was as the Royale (no relation to Bugattis or Vauxhalls of the same name). Launched in December 1986, this had smoothed-off body panels, improved aerodynamics, a modified grille, an electric tilt-sliding sunroof and restyled wheels. Its interior was even more sybaritic, in an olde-worlde kind of way: walnut panels, a gold-plated analogue clock, ash trays and cigar lighters, wood-veneered fold-out tables, its own integral drinking glasses and cupholders and, the new tool for every executive or plutocrat on the move, an in-car telephone. To haul all this along, power was upped to 300bhp, giving up to 155mph. The Royale was mainly purchased for Italian ministers and diplomats. President Sandro Pertini rode in one for seven years, and other owners included Luciano Pavarotti, the royal families of Morocco and Jordan, and the Sultan of Brunei.
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Quattroporte III: AM 330
5000 Quattroporte limo
5000 The 'Royale'
