The 2014 Maserati Quattroporte, the sixth generation of the luxurious Italian sedan, recently made its world debut at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show and is now on its way to showrooms all across the country ahead of its sales launch this spring.

However, one of the first cars to be sold to a customer in the U.S. has just gone under the hammer at a charity event held at the Naples Winter Wine Festival in Florida.

Maserati hasn’t confirmed whether it was in fact the first Quattroporte to be offered for sale, though the automaker has revealed that the winning bid for the car was an impressive $340,000.

All proceeds from the auction will aid the Naples Children & Education Foundation. The charitable buyer wished to remain anonymous, though we do know he is an owner of a previous-generation Quattroporte.

The auction managed to raise more than $8.5 million for various charities and also included the sale of a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, which sold for $750,000. That’s significantly less than the $1.125 million paid for the first example in the country, though it’s still more than double the car's $315,888 list price.

Maserati hasn’t revealed pricing for its latest Quattroporte, though we don’t expect it to deviate much from the price of the outgoing model. Of course, for 2014, buyers do have a lot more options.

The 2014 Maserati Quattroporte will offer the choice of V-6 and V-8 engines, as well as a new all-wheel-drive option on the V-6 model. The newly-developed engine family boasts a 523-horsepower 3.8-liter V-8 and a 404-horsepower 3.0-litre V-6, both of which are twin-turbocharged and direct-injected. Outside the U.S., a new diesel option is expected as well.

All versions come equipped with the latest eight-speed automatic transmission developed with ZF. The V-8 is the fastest, most powerful and efficient four-door Maserati has ever built, reaching 60 mph from rest in just 4.6 seconds and achieving a top speed of 191 mph.

For more on the new Quattroporte, check out our video preview here, and our full coverage here.