The manufacturer of Mystery Car 97 could be described as exotic. It’s one of those cars that most people have heard of but will never own. The closest I came to owning one was back in 2006 when I test drove a coupe on the way home from picking up the kids from school. As I recall, the car was fairly plain on the outside but luxurious on the inside. The leather seats were very comfortable and made me forget about the exterior rather quickly. However, several poor reviews gave me the idea that this wasn’t the car for me. But this one might have been a better option.
Mystery Car 97 is a first generation Maserati Quattroporte. If you’re as dense as me, you might like to know that Quattroporte means … yes … “four doors.” It’s a rather lame name once you know the meaning, but the car makes up for that with its beautiful design. Maserati made the first generation Quattroporte from 1963 to 1969 in two series (Wikipedia). The first series (1963-65) came with a 256 hp 4.1 L V8 (143 mph). The second series (1966-69) eventually received a 4.7 L V8 with 295 hp which Maserati claimed could hit 160 mph. With less than 800 produced during that seven year production run, I imagine that the cars were quite expensive. So, how was it that somebody could afford to convert one into a fire truck?