Twin turbo V6, twin turbo V8 to power 2014 Maserati Quattroporte

The 2014 Maserati Quattroporte is expected to make its grand debut at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit’s Cobo Hall in mid-January and while images have been offered (like the one on the right) of the new supersport sedan, the Italian luxury automaker has kept quiet about the engine specifications. Luckily, UK automotive news source Autocar got an early test drive of the new Quattroporte and in their first review – they give us a good look at exactly what to expect in January.

The 2014 Maserati Quattroporte will come with a V6 entry level engine and an optional higher performance V8 but whereas the rumor mill suggested that the V6 base engine would be supercharged while the big V8 packed turbocharged performance – both engines will be fed by a twin turbocharger setup and direct injection. The base engine of the 2014 Quattroporte is a new 3.0L V6 featuring twin turbo technology from Ferrari. Autocar explains that this engine will offer 407bhp when it arrives while the twin turbocharged, Ferrari built 3.8L V8 will offer 523 horsepower and 478lb-ft of torque although the TT V8 also offers a short overboost model where the 3.8L engine will make whopping 530lb-ft of torque. The V8 model with rear wheel drive should be able to dash from 0 to 62 miles per hour in about 4.7 seconds en route to a top speed of 191 miles per hour – both very impressive figures for a big luxury sport sedan.

Both of the 2014 Maserati Quattroporte engines will be mated to a standard 8-speed automatic gearbox from ZF – perhaps a similar transmission to the one used in a variety of Chrysler Group products in the US like the Chrysler 300, the Dodge Charger and the 2013 Ram 1500. Maserati will also offer an optional all wheel drive system that allows for up to 100% of the power sent to the rear wheels with as much as 50% of the grunt being shifted to the front wheels when extra traction is needed. Should Maserati be using an all wheel drive system that allows for some disconnect similar to the one found in the Dodge Charger, the new Quattroporte all wheel drive models could offer much better fuel economy measures than the balmy figures offered by the 2013 high performance sedans.

When combined with the new high tech twin turbo engines and the efficient 8-speed automatic transmission, the 2014 Maserati Quattroporte should not only be a great deal more fun to drive but it should also be substantially better on fuel economy. Granted, getting good fuel economy is probably far less important to someone buying a $100+ luxury sport sedan than, say, someone buying a Toyota Prius but in this day and age – getting good fuel economy has become as much of a selling point with supercars as it has with the hybrid segment.
Again, the 2014 Maserati Quattroporte will make its grand debut at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit beginning on January 14th, 2013. TorqueNews will be on site, bringing you all of the show’s most exciting new debuts!

Source: Autocar