The Maserati Quattroporte is the name given to a family of four door saloon cars which have the distinction of being manufactured by a performance-oriented Italian company and also offering executive luxury of a very high standard.

It was in 1963 that the first Quattroporte made its initial appearance after Maserati was inspired to build it at the behest of an Islamic prince.

With a 4.1 litre V8 engine, the Quattroporte had 256bhp at its disposal and as such could reach a top speed of 143 miles per hour.

A minor update to this model arrived in 1966, while for the last year of its production in 1968 it got a larger 4.7 litre engine which upped the power output to 295bhp and the top speed to 160mph, according to Maserati's claims.

After taking a break for five years, the second generation Quattroporte arrived in 1974, this time using the chassis of a Citroen SM as its basis.

This link with Citroen was made possible because the French company had actually purchased Maserati by this point.

This model was not as much of a success as its predecessor, in part because it features a smaller v6 engine with a top speed of 124mph on the table, which meant that those who had previously favoured Maserati's fast four door saloon were not as enamoured with its replacement.

The Quattroporte II was only in production for four years and ended up leaving Maserati in debt, which was definitely a sore point.

The Quattroporte III went some way to remedying this in 1979 as it returned the series to its V8-powered roots. It also holds the distinction of being the last car to be expressly built by hand in Italy,

The basic V8 engine was complemented by a larger 4.9 litre alternative which increased the available horsepower significantly. Meanwhile on the inside drivers were treated to particularly opulent upholstery and components.

The Quattroporte III ended its run in 1990, but by 1994 the fourth generation was available, retaining an aerodynamic and angular body shape while harnessing a V6 2.8 litre engine with twin turbochargers.

Maserati even released a less powerful 2.0 litre edition in order to make sure that buyers could pick one up without incurring excessive car tax.

The Quattroporte IV remained in production until 2001, with Ferrari's takeover of Maserati in 1997 resulting in a slightly updated iteration hitting the market a year later.

The most recent Quattroporte was launched in 2004 and it borrowed a number of components from other contemporary Maserati vehicles like the Spyder.

This four door saloon is obviously heavier than its sportier siblings, but its 4.2 litre engine still allows it to hit 60 miles an hour in just 5.6 seconds.

While Maserati has had a history that mixes failure with success, the Quattroporte has remained a staple of its range.