Maserati Quattroporte 1979

The third generation of the Maserati Quattroporte debuted in 1979 while Maserati was under De Tomaso ownership. It was a return to the classic RWD setup and the V-8 engine which were trademarks of the original Quattroporte full-size sedan of the ’60s. The Quattroporte III was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign.

It’s widely considered that the niche class of the fast full-size sedans was created once Maserati unveiled its first Quattroporte - which means ’four doors’ - at the 1963 Turin Auto Show. With that being said, other manufacturers like Facel in France and Lagonda in the U.K. also built fast sedans in the late ’50s and early ’60s.

But Maserati was the only sports car manufacturer that stuck to the idea of building fast and luxurious sedans for more than just a few short years. As such, in 1979, the third generation of the Quattroporte finally went into production, three years after it was first shown at the 1976 Turin Auto Show. It featured Italdesign styling and was revigorated as it got a V-8 again, compared to the second generation model which was only available with power coming from a lousy V-6.