‘It looked sort of rubbish, but sort of incredible and impossibly esoteric’ -
, they somehow exude glamour, barely concealed aggression, bulletproof toughness and a sort of ice cold killer aura.
The bulletproof part needn’t mean mechanically bulletproof. It’s more the sense that you could crash one through a bank vault, steal the contents and drive out again with little more than a few scuffs. It’s funny how a subtly flared wheelarch, deep-dish alloy and a bonnet that bulges where it once lay flat can heap so much attitude onto a familiar shape, isn’t it? Imagine for a second you could become a character in the Disney Pixarfranchise.
Why did I buy this car? I do not know. My next unnecessary purchase was going to be a supersaloon, but I’d accepted that it would have to be an. I know they’re a nightmare. I know I’d inevitably wish it to be stolen to avoid the next big bill. But the heart wants what the heart wants. And mine yearns for that 5-litre V10 and the magical chassis that slips and slides so perfectly, the unique and strange concoction of serene balance and rampant, voracious rev-hungriness.
You know what are not expensive in America? Bloody Quattroporte IIIs. It was purchased for an upcoming episode ofat my behest, but I knew I’d have to buy it once we’d finished filming. Assuming it didn’t have a huge mechanical failure in the meantime. I first got to see it – peeling clearcoat on the bonnet, riding low on sagging suspension – outside a casino in Vegas.
To drive? Well, here’s the thing. The QP III weighs over 2000kg and its chassis is definitely ‘sporting’ rather than sporty. But it does have double wishbones up front and a multi-link rear – plus twin dampers for the rear axle and inboard disc brakes. It’s just such a curious thing. The aluminium-block V8 is cool, too. Especially as it’s fitted with four two-barrel carbs, which snort and snaffle and, occasionally, sing.