As you may have noticed, Maserati, one of the most prestigious brands under the still-fresh Stellantis umbrella (FCA-PSA merger), is making massive efforts to reshape its traditional values for the digital era, an age that seems to have little love for sedans or big V8s. And while the carmaker handles that, an independent artist has come up with a piece of work that seems like a proper way to bring Maserati’s tradition into the future, all with a Quattroporte twist.
We are now gazing at a painstaking digital restomodding adventure coming from Abimelec Arellano. The 22-year old, a self-taught 3D master, chose the ideal starting point for showcasing the blue blood that runs through the Quattroporte’s fuel lines, namely the Gen III model.
Coming after the technically estranged Quattroporte II (think: V6, FWD), the third iteration of the Italian luxury sports sedan was introduced in 1979, which reinforces its status as a classic.
And the digital artist left the styling work of the iconic Giorgetto Giugiaro mostly untouched, with the exterior updates being limited to items such as the illuminated Trident badge up front, the cameras replacing the door mirrors and the wheels—the latter are a three-piece evolution of the production hardware and could easily be mistaken for jewelry.
In fact, the elegant, minimalist lines of the Maser are perfectly highlited by the bare metal finish chosen by the aficionado.
Oh, and there’s another custom detail adorning the glorious body of the Italian temptress, namely the little sticker below the fuel filler door, which reads “synthetic fuel only”.
Abimelec, like so many of us, dreams of the industry delivering synthetic fuels to keep these retro beauties on the road in a sustainable fashion.
However, since the original V8 delivered up to 300 hp (for the Royale limited edition), this was left behind while the artist cleaned up the engine bay.
In its place, we find a token of the youngster’s appreciation for American car culture, a 6.4L HEMI working with a 48V system (the sort of mild-hybrid powertrain you’d find on contemporary RAM trucks). To you purists, we’d like to point out that the motor maintains the natural aspiration of the factory unit.
The inspiration is literally a mix of the glorious past and the vibrant digital present
“I put together this Maserati Quattroporte -one of the prettiest sedans ever, in my opinion- all done up, inspired by the videogame Cyberpunk 2077, the amazing work from my friend @the_kyza [digital artist Khyzyl Saleem], and a dash of mid to late ‘70s retro-futurism,” the enthusiasts explains on Instragram.
The artist went above and beyond for the cabin, mixing retro seats (would you look at the sofa-like rear accommodation!) covered in green leather with a digital dash that sports the layout of the Maserati MC20 supercar, albeit borrowing the graphics from the said Quattroporte.
And, even though they depict the four-door in a studio, the images are powerful enough to make us imagine the sheer exaltation of taking this modernized Quattroporte for a road trip.
