1990 Maserati Quattroporte Royale

This car is offered from outside of the European Union. It has been imported under temporary admission customs bond and is therefore subject to Dutch import tax (9%) on top of the winning bid price. Cars less than 30 years old will pay 10% Dutch import tax plus 21% VAT on the hammer.

The winning bidder will receive a receipt for the final hammer value, as their proof of purchase.

This vehicle has been on static display for a number of years and the documented history available is limited to that displayed in our photography section.

We have not tried to drive the car, and cannot vouch for its mechanical viability or functionality.

It will require recommissioning prior to road use and is sold ‘as seen’.

As CARS Europe BV is the guarantor of all customs duties and taxes for vehicles within Dutch customs bond, the car cannot be released to the buyer or transporter immediately after the sale. For all enquiries relating to Customs, please contact CARS Europe BV.

Purchases will only be released once cleared funds are received. All vehicles must be collected after the payment of funds.

All storage charges must be paid in full prior to the vehicle’s collection or onward transportation. Storage charges payment must be arranged with the storage company. Collection is strictly by appointment only.

Please send a booking email to the storage centre to ensure vehicle(s) are ready at time of collection. Photographic ID will be required at time of collection. If a third party is collecting for you, then written authorisation is required in advance from you and photographic ID of the third party is required at the time of collection.

Collection either by buyer or third party is only possible for vehicles within customs bond if applicable import taxes paid are paid to import into country of bonded storage location.

As soon as The Market by Bonhams receives your payment, the accounts department will send a release note to the manager of the storage facility where your car(s) is stored.

CARS Europe BV will contact you just after the sale to confirm onward transport requirements. Direct contact at CARS for enquiries is as follows; Joanna Herlihy, +31 (0) 252 682 526, +44 7483 433912, joanna@carseurope.net.

STORAGE CHARGES - €30 + local VAT per motor car per day commencing from the sixth day following the auction end.

CUSTOMS CHARGES - €500 per motor car (plus applicable permanent import taxes from bond).

VIN: AM330495978.

In common with many vehicles from the vendor’s collection, the car comes with no history or service records.

We do, however, have the following auction notes on the occasion of its sale to the current vendor at Bonhams 2008 Gstaad auction.

“This Swiss-registered, left-hand drive Maserati Quattroporte Royale has the 4.9-litre engine and is finished in black with beige leather interior. A one-owner example sold new in Switzerland, it has been maintained by Garage Pichler in Gstaad and is presented in very good original condition, having covered a mere 7,500 kilometres from new. Representing the ultimate in Italian motoring opulence of its day, the car is offered with sundry service invoices, Swiss Carte Grise and Contrôle Technique.”

We think that the auctioneer must have noted the mileage incorrectly, as it currently reads 6,670 kms and the car hasn’t turned a wheel since 2008. We’d also describe the interior as cream rather than beige.

Today the car comes with only the facsimile documents shown in the gallery.

With the proviso that we haven’t tried to start or drive this car and can therefore only comment on its cosmetic condition, we think this exceedingly rare LHD Maserati Quattroporte Royale remains in the good condition described by Bonhams in 2008.

This very handsome car presents well from every angle.

From a few metres away the black paintwork seems to have plenty of shine and depth.

Get a little closer and you’ll see paint chips and scratches here and there.

The panels are straight and even, the bodywork is free of any significant flaws, and the panel gaps and shut lines seem consistent and even.

The chrome work, lights, lenses and badging all appear to be in first-class order.

The wheels, too, seem fine.

The passenger-side doors have paint chips and scratches in various places, as does the front wing and the bonnet on the same side.

There is a scratch on the roof and a crack in the plastic bumper below the passenger-side front light cluster.

The interior is every bit as impressive as the exterior and is far more a reflection of the car’s very low kilometres than its age.

The ruched cream leather upholstery is showing only the lightest creasing and appears to be in excellent condition, front and back. It needs cleaning, but nothing else, as far as we can see.

The door cards are excellent, as is the headlining. The carpets seem broadly OK but are a little scruffy in places.

The walnut veneers on the dashboard, centre console and picnic tables (which, unusually, are concealed in the rear doors) are good, but the lacquer has cracked and lifted on the rear passenger door armrest.

We can’t vouch for the full functionality of instruments, dials, buttons, knobs, switches or levers because we haven’t started or driven the car.

The boot looks virtually unused and contains a spare wheel.

Everything in the engine bay seems to be in its right and proper place and entirely as you’d expect to find in a car that’s yet to travel more than 7,000 kms.

The undersides of the car similarly reflect this car’s relative lack of familiarity with road surfaces, weather or dirt, although there are a few dents on the undersides of the sills.

This car doesn’t come with any history or service records.

It must be registered in the country of your choice and you will need to contact the appropriate vehicle licensing agency for instructions on how to do this.

None of the paperwork shown in the gallery in any way constitutes any kind of licensing or registration certification.

Provided, of course, that the engine, electrics and mechanicals are as good as the rest of the car, we think you might struggle to find a Maserati Quattroporte Royale that’s in better condition overall condition and has fewer kilometres on the clock.

And that’s if you can find one at all.

We’re confident to offer this rare car for auction with an estimate of €10,000 - €20,000.