"Hi Enrico,

Thanks for asking, I have lot to tell: here is a little bit longer story how I made my dream come true!

Since a little boy I have always been interested in cars. In the end of 80s (I was about ten years then) my father used to subscribe a Finnish sports car magazine SuperCar and I used to read them over and over again. In the magazine there were many articles about Biturbos and I remember dreaming especially of them. Unfortunately when I got my driving licence the only Italian car I could afford was old and rusty Fiat 127. Cars were, and still are, very expensive here in Finland thanks to sky high taxation.

After three 127s and three Citroens (AX, AX GT and CX GTI Turbo) I started to think that I deserve something better. I still couldn't afford 3200GT which I had been dreaming of since it's introduction, so I started to weight up other marques as I wanted a coupe or roadster. (I had to give up idea of buying Biturbo because I was looking for relatively new car with low mileage.) I was already ordering tickets to fly Germany to buy a Honda S2000 or BMW Z3, when I accidentally saw a Quattroporte for sale at a Finnish sports car dealer. I took a day off from work and went to see it, just in case.

The car was Maserati Quattroporte '98, in very good condition and with mileage of only 55,000 kms. Car has 2-liter engine with manual gearbox. In the pictures the green interior was ugly, but I actually liked it when I saw it in real life. (And an especial car needs an especial interior, right?) The car had two previous owners, perfect service history without any major problems and in my opinion, a reasonable price. After consulting the previous owner, a local Maserati garage where the car had always been serviced, and insurance company I decided to buy it. (btw. the insurance is actually cheaper than in my previous car, Citroen CX, because only thing that really counts around here is the size of the engine!!!) I made the decision to buy it on April Fool's Day, so you might guess that none of my friends believed when I told them that I had bought a Maserati!

Afterwards I heard that there are only two Quattroporte IVs in Finland, both sold as new in 1998 with same grey metallic colour and green interior. My car is a 2.0-litre manual and another one is a 2.8-litre automatic (if I remember right!). I suppose no used Quattroportes have been imported: I checked the custom's data for import tax and found no Quattroportes. But at least there was one Ghibli in the list! I wish I meet some other Maseratistis in July in Bella Italia, which is a local meeting of Italian cars and motorcycles.

I am still very happy and excited with my car. It is fantastic to drive, I love the engine and cornering abilities. Engine sounds good and it is powerful, albeit some might say it needs a little more torque on lower revs. But over 3,000 rpm there is definitely enough, you just have to keep in mind that it is a sports car, not a diesel. In curves the car goes just perfectly and there is enormous amounts of grip. I just can't describe how it feels, but I still think that everybody know what I mean. :) I haven't tried my car on the circuit yet, but I think it will be amazing there. I must admit that I need lot of practise before I am able to take her to the limit. After all this is just my first sports car, you really can't count AX GT...

I take my car out 2-3 times a week, usually I take a little trip to the countryside in the evening or go to my old hometown on weekends. On stormy days I drive also to work, but usually I use my bicycle to go to the job and school, even in cold Finnish winter! (Yes, I am a little bit crazy!) I have been using my beauty also on long journeys around the Finland. I am surprised how spacious the car is, there is not any problems to fit in four adults and luggage for the weekend. All of the passengers have been positively surprised how much room there is also in the back seat. The comfort has also been a surprise; although the suspension is stiff and tires are low profile, the ride is very smooth even on Finnish bumpy and rutted roads. And the car is definetely made for Finnish winding roads where you can't find lot of straight stretches for overtakes.

Overall I can say this is perfect combination of a gran turismo and a sports car.

BR,

Joose."