A civilized business mans' Maserati was launched by newly empowered Maserati chief, Alejandro de Tomaso, and his design staff. To keep pace with the more sophisticated man of the day and to compete with other marques like Mercedes and BMW, it was essential to de Tomaso that there was an Italian option of like production and style.
Presented first in 1976 the Quattroporte III (AM 130) was made available with 4.2 liter V8 @ 90° (255 bhp @ 6000 rpm) and 4.9 liter V8 options (280 bhp @ 5800 rpm ) that allow a top speed @ 250 Km/h (Compression ratio 8.5:1, 93.9x89/4930.6 cc Equipped with 4 Weber 42 DCNF). The distinguishing characteristic of the vehicle was its lavish interior. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro here is the real production figure (thanks to W. Schmidt)
There were 1876 QIII's produced between 1979 and 1988
There were 1821 which were Standard 4portes, if you can call a completely hand built car 'Standard', which were manufactured between 1979 and 1984.
The remaining 55 cars were all Royales and were manufactured between late 1984 and 1988, these were the $80,000 cars that were built to order only.
The Quattroporte III marked the last of the hand-built Italian cars for specialized markets.
All exterior joints and seams were filled to give a seamless appearance. This makes for a sleek and clean finish, but could be a nightmare when replacing panels or aligning/rehanging doors
The Quattroporte III offered restrained, understated styling by Ital design and a luxurious interior to cocoon its wealthy occupants. The Quattroporte III remained in production until 1983
