Auto News 5

Sport sedans operate in a gray area where practicality gives way to emotion. A thoroughly rational shopping list of the world's best examples would include the Audi S6, the BMW M5, the Cadillac CTS-V, the Lexus IS-F, and the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG. But pragmatism, logic, and good sense are rarely the deciding factors when considering an irrational purchase like a $100K-plus, 150-mph-plus automobile. Instead, right-brain values come to the forefront - style, rarity, sophistication, glamour, equipment, image, and, yes, sex appeal. The aforementioned sedans are undeniably speedy and dynamically impressive - but at the end of the day, the M5 isn't much more than a 528i on steroids, the S6 is an A6 that has undergone a complicated heart transplant via Sant'Agata Bolognese, the CTS-V and the IS-F both have relatively humble genetic backgrounds, and the E63 AMG started life on the same assembly line as 75 percent of the German taxi population.

There are very good reasons for a June vacation in Italy's Umbria region: Ancient villas and Roman ruins, fine wine, fantastic food, pungent espresso, beautiful people, spectacular churches and museums, and a heavenly golden light at sunset, to name just a few. Little of this resonated with the four offspring being dragged to Italy by our friends, Tom and Lisa Boniface, from Poland, Ohio. (Yes, you recognize that surname. Brother Bob designed the Chevy Volt.) But to Italian car-besotted Tommy, 18, and Joe, 15, it all came together when the magnanimous Maserati press office delivered a luscious, black 2007 Quattroporte Sport GT S - with a startling red interior - in my name to our hotel in Rome for our holiday.

Maserati's latest progeny is a Gran Turismo coupe combining the hotter 433-hp 4.7-liter V-8 engine introduced last year for the Gran Turismo S with a contemporary 6-speed ZF automatic. This new third prong in the Trident's spear is a full-bodied 2+2 groomed with a balanced blend of poise and performance.

Let's get the negatives out of the way first. The steering on the Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S is slightly numb on center, the brakes have an eerie dead spot before they bite, the ride quality is brittle on broken pavement, and the shift paddles feel cheap. And to that, we have to say, "Who cares?" There are too many other things to love about the Quattroporte.