Topic: First Drive: 2017 Maserati Quattroporte

[davefonz164]

....I'm also blunt and to the point.

Montebello is a nice event

Pininfarina is a design house...Bangle was his employee. The GTB V6 Cup is slightlier better looking than the Coupe. They ain't cheap anymore.

Bangle worked for Fiat Centro Stile, who designed the Coupe. Pininfarina did the interior and the assembly. This article explains:

http://formtrends.com/chris-bangle-on-the-design-of-the-fiat-coupe/

I agree the 916 Cup is a thing of beauty. Ironic that Pininfarina first penned it, and Walter de Silva at Centro Stile finished it, as well as the interior - Pininfarina's was rejected as too radical. 

Good to know.....you can see De Silva influence in practically  every Audi, they all look lIke variations of the 156-166 design theme.

Question.....I'm thinking of importing some interesting Alfas or other unique Italian cars. Where do you go for parts? UK? How long can it take?

I never had problems getting parts for the Milano or 164. Some dude has a Shamal in Vancouver....ridiculous!

The last time I was in Europe my daily was a 96' 155 2.0 Twin Spark in dark blue. I loved that car and drove it extensively then asked my cousin to sell it to me so I can bring it to Canada

[ChaosphereIX]

....I'm also blunt and to the point.

Montebello is a nice event

Pininfarina is a design house...Bangle was his employee. The GTB V6 Cup is slightlier better looking than the Coupe. They ain't cheap anymore.

Bangle worked for Fiat Centro Stile, who designed the Coupe. Pininfarina did the interior and the assembly. This article explains:

http://formtrends.com/chris-bangle-on-the-design-of-the-fiat-coupe/

I agree the 916 Cup is a thing of beauty. Ironic that Pininfarina first penned it, and Walter de Silva at Centro Stile finished it, as well as the interior - Pininfarina's was rejected as too radical. 

Good to know.....you can see De Silva influence in practically  every Audi, they all look lIke variations of the 156-166 design theme.

Question.....I'm thinking of importing some interesting Alfas or other unique Italian cars. Where do you go for parts? UK? How long can it take?

I never had problems getting parts for the Milano or 164. Some dude has a Shamal in Vancouver....ridiculous!

Jason at alfissimo in the US is a great source for parts. Can take a couple of weeks, as even he has to get them from Europe sometimes. But he gets exactly what you want, just fire him an email and say I sent you, he knows me as the 155 V6 in Canada guy Probably one of...one who ever bought his headers for the 2.5 V6 so that should narrow it down lol.

I also go through alfisti.net in Germany. Sometimes alfaworkshop in UK is good too. All take about two weeks max for the parts, and any importer or shop in Canada or the US goes through suppliers in Europe anyway for models that were never imported to NA.

Hope that helps. 

I also am looking at future investments, as the 1990s-2000s Italian cars are so cheap right now, but wont be for long. Many future classics in there, get them while you can.

[Jaeger]

If you like the Integra, you will love the Fiat Coupe.

The styling is awful...sheesh...what a train wreck.  It almost looks like a Saturn SC2 was given the Aztek treatment.

see, different strokes I guess. I like it. It is unique. Was ahead of it's time and was daring in many respects. Chris Bangle with Stile Fiat did the exterior, interior and assembly by Pininfarina.

Future classic for sure. But you dont like it, that is fine. Close your eyes until you get inside, give it a drive, and see if it's driving dynamics dont sway you. If I didn't want my Alfa since I was 10, I would have bought the Fiat in a heartbeat [or a GTV V6 Cup - now you cant ever say that isnt pretty!].

You're arguing with someone who finds Toyota sexy.....I mean you cannot possibly even contemplate a reasonable argument with someone who finds some of Pininfarina best work ugly.

That being said....you clearly like to on other people's parade.....come to Montreals Italian car event this summer...I'll have some of the boys give you a ride in some of their oh so ugly cars

 

[davefonz164]

....I'm also blunt and to the point.

Montebello is a nice event

Pininfarina is a design house...Bangle was his employee. The GTB V6 Cup is slightlier better looking than the Coupe. They ain't cheap anymore.

Bangle worked for Fiat Centro Stile, who designed the Coupe. Pininfarina did the interior and the assembly. This article explains:

http://formtrends.com/chris-bangle-on-the-design-of-the-fiat-coupe/

I agree the 916 Cup is a thing of beauty. Ironic that Pininfarina first penned it, and Walter de Silva at Centro Stile finished it, as well as the interior - Pininfarina's was rejected as too radical. 

Good to know.....you can see De Silva influence in practically  every Audi, they all look lIke variations of the 156-166 design theme.

Question.....I'm thinking of importing some interesting Alfas or other unique Italian cars. Where do you go for parts? UK? How long can it take?

I never had problems getting parts for the Milano or 164. Some dude has a Shamal in Vancouver....ridiculous!

Jason at alfissimo in the US is a great source for parts. Can take a couple of weeks, as even he has to get them from Europe sometimes. But he gets exactly what you want, just fire him an email and say I sent you, he knows me as the 155 V6 in Canada guy Probably one of...one who ever bought his headers for the 2.5 V6 so that should narrow it down lol.

I also go through alfisti.net in Germany. Sometimes alfaworkshop in UK is good too. All take about two weeks max for the parts, and any importer or shop in Canada or the US goes through suppliers in Europe anyway for models that were never imported to NA.

Hope that helps. 

I also am looking at future investments, as the 1990s-2000s Italian cars are so cheap right now, but wont be for long. Many future classics in there, get them while you can.

Thank you very much.....can you belive how cheap GTV  and spiders are going for in Europe and the prices they charge here?

156 147 GTAs seem to be getting more expensive and some of th3 rarer 164 Q4s, forget about Lancia deltas or anything Italian rally

[bluelines]

Is that really true? It sounds like marketing bs to me. If all they are doing is pouring steel, why would they need to be supervised by a saint-like Ferrari engineer?

Did I miss it, or has someone pointed out that Chrysler makes the blocks for the V6? The engines are assembled by Ferrari, but still that has to put them in a totally different category from the engines in actual Ferraris.

Good luck trying to tell the slappies that!

As soon as ONE Ferrari employee touches ONE component of the engine, it immediately becomes a "Ferrari Engine".   

oh I fully acknowledge the roots of that engine, doesn't mean that it is any less awesome or Ferrari-built. There are many more parts to an engine than the block, and if it is a solid starting point, why not use it? Many great engines in history use parts from more humble origins. Heck, a nearly 1000hp Gumpert used an Audi 4.2 V8 block. First Koenigsegg had a Ford block. List goes on of great engines with humble underpinnings. Exception to this rule IIRC is Alfa using a GM High Feature V6 instead of its amazing Busso in the late 2000s for....reasons. It was only the block with Alfa heads, valves, and other parts and tuning besides, but it ruined the cars it was put in.

So you're good if I call the powerplant in the Maser a Chrysler engine then?     Or even better...Chrysler powered?   

 

Nah its fine with me, I dont have one. But you would be sort of wrong technically - it is just the block. The rest is Ferrari/Maser bits. Would you call a brand new Aston Martin Vanquish "Ford Powered"? Because that is exactly what it is, even more so than the Maserati.

What I do care about is my Alfa has a proper Alfa engine in it, block and all.

But I think by now you are just taking the out of us Italian car fans. So I will stop taking the bait.

Yea..it's "only" the block...the whole foundation of the engine.   

I guess it really depends on what importance or perhaps % you place on an engine block as total of an actual complete engine.

also, Chrysler only casts the block, and all the while under supervision of Ferrari engineers. Then they are shipped to Maranello for finishing and to be built. Chrysler doesn't build any part of it, and even if they did, Ferrari engineers are shoulder-watching to make sure all is right. Chrysler pours the metal, and once it cools it is sent to Italy to be built by Ferrari.

It is a modern automotive industry, things are built everywhere they can to be cheap and effective, and Ferrari would build it themselves, but they are getting so popular that their usual supplier in Europe cant cope with the increased demand. So yes it is a Chrysler block, technically, but not really as it is a Ferrari design and under supervision of Ferrari engineers.

 If you want to get technical about this...lets find out where the metal came from, or the tooling machines. I am sure there is some cross-pollination with a car company you hold dear like Porsche [the usual block supplier for Ferrari has GMBH in its name after all]....The tools and the metal are ONLY the whole molecular foundation and the things that shape the damn engine. 

[ChaosphereIX]

Is that really true? It sounds like marketing bs to me. If all they are doing is pouring steel, why would they need to be supervised by a saint-like Ferrari engineer?

Good question, only repeating what I read in a couple of articles - journalistic articles that indeed could have been recycling the marketing swill. Maybe the engineers are there for measuring tolerances...I am no engineer this is outside my specialty 

[sacrat]

If you like the Integra, you will love the Fiat Coupe.

The styling is awful...sheesh...what a train wreck.  It almost looks like a Saturn SC2 was given the Aztek treatment.

see, different strokes I guess. I like it. It is unique. Was ahead of it's time and was daring in many respects. Chris Bangle with Stile Fiat did the exterior, interior and assembly by Pininfarina.

Future classic for sure. But you dont like it, that is fine. Close your eyes until you get inside, give it a drive, and see if it's driving dynamics dont sway you. If I didn't want my Alfa since I was 10, I would have bought the Fiat in a heartbeat [or a GTV V6 Cup - now you cant ever say that isnt pretty!].

You mean he of BMW "Bangle Butt" fame? That's a rousing endorsement on the styling front 

[ChaosphereIX]

If you like the Integra, you will love the Fiat Coupe.

The styling is awful...sheesh...what a train wreck.  It almost looks like a Saturn SC2 was given the Aztek treatment.

see, different strokes I guess. I like it. It is unique. Was ahead of it's time and was daring in many respects. Chris Bangle with Stile Fiat did the exterior, interior and assembly by Pininfarina.

Future classic for sure. But you dont like it, that is fine. Close your eyes until you get inside, give it a drive, and see if it's driving dynamics dont sway you. If I didn't want my Alfa since I was 10, I would have bought the Fiat in a heartbeat [or a GTV V6 Cup - now you cant ever say that isnt pretty!].

You mean he of BMW "Bangle Butt" fame? That's a rousing endorsement on the styling front 

he is notorious for that, yes, but there is no doubt he is trail-blazer and forward-thinker who is not afraid to do something daring design-oriented

The Fiat Coupe is one of his best works, IMO. And because it is such a polarizing style exercise, and made by a famously polarizing designer, its collectability goes way up. I like it, others dont. That is fine.

[sacrat]

If you like the Integra, you will love the Fiat Coupe.

The styling is awful...sheesh...what a train wreck.  It almost looks like a Saturn SC2 was given the Aztek treatment.

see, different strokes I guess. I like it. It is unique. Was ahead of it's time and was daring in many respects. Chris Bangle with Stile Fiat did the exterior, interior and assembly by Pininfarina.

Future classic for sure. But you dont like it, that is fine. Close your eyes until you get inside, give it a drive, and see if it's driving dynamics dont sway you. If I didn't want my Alfa since I was 10, I would have bought the Fiat in a heartbeat [or a GTV V6 Cup - now you cant ever say that isnt pretty!].

You mean he of BMW "Bangle Butt" fame? That's a rousing endorsement on the styling front 

he is notorious for that, yes, but there is no doubt he is trail-blazer and forward-thinker who is not afraid to do something daring design-oriented

The Fiat Coupe is one of his best works, IMO. And because it is such a polarizing style exercise, and made by a famously polarizing designer, its collectability goes way up. I like it, others dont. That is fine.

The "accent" line over the rear wheel well on the Fiat Coupe looks like someone was let loose with an exacto knife during the clay phase, and it accidently got into production  . The Integra was a beauty queen next to this...

[bluelines]

Fiat 20v Turbo Coupe was one of my absolute favourite cars. So much speed (by mid-90s standards) for relatively little money.

If you like the Integra, you will love the Fiat Coupe.

The styling is awful...sheesh...what a train wreck.  It almost looks like a Saturn SC2 was given the Aztek treatment.

see, different strokes I guess. I like it. It is unique. Was ahead of it's time and was daring in many respects. Chris Bangle with Stile Fiat did the exterior, interior and assembly by Pininfarina.

Future classic for sure. But you dont like it, that is fine. Close your eyes until you get inside, give it a drive, and see if it's driving dynamics dont sway you. If I didn't want my Alfa since I was 10, I would have bought the Fiat in a heartbeat [or a GTV V6 Cup - now you cant ever say that isnt pretty!].

You mean he of BMW "Bangle Butt" fame? That's a rousing endorsement on the styling front 

he is notorious for that, yes, but there is no doubt he is trail-blazer and forward-thinker who is not afraid to do something daring design-oriented

The Fiat Coupe is one of his best works, IMO. And because it is such a polarizing style exercise, and made by a famously polarizing designer, its collectability goes way up. I like it, others dont. That is fine.

[davefonz164]

Early second generation Integras, I think like 90-94 were handsome and crisp, elegant and really cool with their lown belt line and wrap around dash. Typical Honda stuff from that Era that put them on the map.

The Fiat Coupe 20v was in a another league as it had dashes of design elements from other more glamour cars and that sexy wedge shape....then that ridiculous engine with all that power in the mid 90s was quite rare.

At some point they will appreciate...

[Brig]

Meanwhile, back in 2017 Maserati Quattroporte land...

If you all want to fling poo or dish about any other cars, please start a new thread.  Better yet, if you own one of these polarizing beauties, show us what you've got in the Show 'n' Shine section!  Thank you.   

[ChaosphereIX]

http://www.autos.ca/car-test-drives/final-drive-1997-alfa-romeo-155/