Maserati’s sportier sports sedan

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Maserati’s Quattroporte has always been seen as more of a sports car for four than a sedan with a Ferrari V-8 under the hood. Now there’s a version with a bit more of that attitude -- the Quattroporte Sport GT S.

This is apparent by looks alone. The car has a black chrome mesh grille, complemented by dark chrome seven-spoke, 20-inch alloy wheels. The side window trim and double exhaust pipes are in black, with body-colored door handles providing an extra air of stealth. The cabin is still a wonderful place to be, but now there’s some carbon fiber trim -- threaded through with aluminum -- and more supportive front seats.

Compared with a standard model, the suspension has new, stiffer springs and dampers. Ride height has been dropped by 10 millimeters up front and 25 at the back. This means less lean in the corners and a greater feeling of agility. Power remains unchanged, but because 400 horsepower is quite a healthy figure to begin with, that’s not a problem.

Bringing it all to a stop is a braking system used on a road car for the first time: dual-cast rotors. Picture the outside of the disc as cast iron, with the center being aluminum. Because of aluminum’s lower mass, the cast-iron section can be greater, resulting in larger rotors and better braking performance, all without the weight penalty.

The Quattroporte Sport GT S is available now and costs $128,000. As the great poet Homer once said: “Woo-hoo.�

-- Colin Ryan