Maserati QP Trofeo Ferrari-Hearted Luxo Limo

If a car's ‘character’ can sometimes come bundled as a set of attributes difficult to articulate, then putting a price on that character is damn near impossible.

- Ash Westerman

But that shouldn’t stop us from trying.

Maserati’s newly updated four-door flagship, the Quattroporte Trofeo, is priced at $376,900 (plus ORC). For that hefty wedge, you get a Ferrari-developed 3.8-litre making 433kW/730Nm driving the rear wheels, an interior that smells like the inside of a Louis Vuitton handbag, and of course that famed trident badge on the grille, steeped with 104 years of rich history and motorsport pedigree.

But the QP’s German rivals also all have twin-turbo V8s (and add AWD to help harness it), aren’t exactly starved for brand equity nor motorsport success, and look like bargains by comparison. Like Audi’s (slightly smaller) RS7, making more power and torque, and costing just $224,000. Or the BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe, still usefully cheaper at $355,000. Even the Mercedes-AMG GT63 S, which slams the QP for pure muscle and driver focus, still undercuts it by around $18K.

Okay, so let’s accept that ‘character’ of the Italian flavor in this segment is worth at least $20K, while also acknowledging that for buyers shopping here that’s an amount they’ve probably misplaced down the back of the lounge over the last few months