JEDDAH, 14 October 2005 — Luxurious sport cars have created a strong segment in Saudi Arabia’s ever expanding automobile market. “These cars are being preferred by youth who constitute a formidable component of Saudi society,” a major car dealer told Arab News yesterday.
“These cars are mostly preferred by young and high-end users,” Mohammed Sharbatly, owner of Fast Auto Technic, the exclusive Kingdom-wide distributor of Maserati and Ferrari said on the sidelines of a recent unveiling ceremony at the Jeddah Hilton. Introduced at the event were the latest cars of the new legendary Quattroporte luxury model.
“Maserati Quattroporte is practical and designed with an emphasis on luxury sport and stylish image of Maserati,” Sharbatly said, adding that since its debut in the local market it has attracted the admiration of car lovers.
“Our after-sales services, well-equipped workshop, highly specialized technicians and spare part centers have played an active role in introducing such remarkable vehicles here,” he added.
He referred to the assistance given by Maserati and said it had helped his company a lot to maintain the high quality of service to the owners. “We’ve designed a special program to promote the new car.”
The Quattroporte is an all-new luxury sedan that combines the best attributes of a sports car and a luxury car with a driving experience that is expected from the Maserati. “It seeks to achieve an ideal marriage of two distinct personalities: A large luxury saloon with the performance of a GT,” said Wael Mosly, general manager, Fast Auto Technic — Maserati and Ferrari, said. The Quattroporte is described as the ultimate expression of the Italian “custom tailoring” tradition.
“It marks another milestone in the renaissance of Maserati brand identity, embodying the values traditionally associated with the brand and, in the case of this particular new model, preserving styling continually with the classic Maserati saloons of the same name, from the first 1964 Quattroporte designed by Frua to the 1979 Quattroporte designed by Giugiaro,” Mosly said.
The saloon, designed by Pininfarine, reprises some of the trademark elements of classic Maserati cars, in a successful marriage of cutting-edge automotive technology and a quintessentially Italian flavor of design, custom-finishes, craftsmanship attention to details and, of course, the name itself, he added.
The new Maserati Quattroporte, an “undisputed center of attention,” is a cocoon on wheels that features the usual blend of soft leather and rich wood inside with eye-catching styling.
The technical package is stunning, too, Maserati built its Modena factory in 1934, overhauled it in 1999 and began firing the latest generation of Quattroportes out the plant’s doors.
“Its latest incarnation is a beautiful, fast, elegant machine, and Maserati hopes to ride it into a major increase in volume,” a Maserati executive said.
