Road Test: Maserati Quattroporte V8 Sport GT S 4dr Auto

You a bit lost on Maserati's model range these days? Well, here's a tip - remember that anything with an 'S' in its name means that it packs the new 4.7-litre wet-sump V8. Without an S, it's the older 4.2 V8. Easy so far? Good.

So the top two-door Maser is the GranTurismo S, which comes with Sky Hook adaptive electronic suspension and that fantastic engine, along with the brilliant flappy-paddle robotised manual gearbox derived from the Ferrari 430 Scuderia. Much better than the earlier flappy-paddle arrangement that blighted the first of the new-shape Quattroportes. The gearbox in the GranTurismo S coupe is mounted as a transaxle at the back of that car for better weight distribution. Still taking notes? OK then.

Now, to the point - the top four-door Maser (and in my opinion the best Maser of all, and probably the greatest sporting saloon in the world) is the one you see here - the new Quattroporte Sport GT S.

We've just driven it and the planets have aligned - a few apparently minor changes have turned the Quattroporte into something almost other-worldy in its excellence. No flappy paddles, but a decent normal six-speed automatic box by ZF mounted up front - same unit as in Jags, Mercs and BMWs. And no Sky Hook suspension, just a really brilliantly honed harder and lower setup. And it has a Sport button, which makes some flaps open in the exhaust to let it come straight out of the pipes and avoid the twisty bits of the muffler. It sounds better than pretty much every other car on the road, Lambos and Ferraris and Porsches included. Honestly.

Not an easy car to spot, this one. But it's worth spotting, because you should bow low and be humble in its presence. The grille has concave dark vertical fins, the headlights have dark inserts, the 20in wheels are of a new multi-spoke design, the exhaust pipes are of a new dual-oval shape and that's about it over your normal Quattroporte S. The Sport GT S is a sleeper, and better for it.

See more pictures of the Quattroporte Sport GT S

Looks good, doesn't it? And it drives even better. The gurus at Maser have really sorted this car, making the most of its weight distribution - 49% front, 51% rear, or 'perfect', in a word. How can a big front-engined car do that, I hear you ask? The clue is looking at a profile shot and seeing that extended nose, especially the long bit between the front of the front doors and the wheel arch. That extra length means the engine sits entirely behind the axle line, so it's effectively a mid-engined car.

It goes hard, it corners hard, it sounds hard and it has all the Italian style you could wish for. This car awaits the new Porsche Panamera four-door unafraid. I suspect the Porsche will have its work cut out to beat it.