Maserati 'Cinqueporte' estate

Meet the most practical Maserati ever – it’s an estate version of the Quattroporte. But you won’t find this in your local showroom, as the car is a one-off project that’s been commissioned by a Middle Eastern businessman whose identity is a secret.

Italian coachbuilder StudioM was handed the task of constructing the Maserati wagon, which is dubbed the ‘Cinqueporte’ on account of its rear hatch. The project is still at the quarter-scale model stage, but the design is nearly finalised – and it’s clear extensive work will be needed to turn the saloon into an estate.

Lengthening the roofline, repositioning the fuel tank and redesigning the rear seats so they can fold flat are just some of the alterations required. There is no word on the cost, but a previous customer paid StudioM £260,000 to get a bespoke interior for their Quattroporte – so it’s not likely to be cheap!

Maserati itself is said to be dev­eloping a small coupé to slot into the line-up below the GranTurismo. The Porsche 911 rival will help the firm hit its target of 12,000 sales by 2011.