The last time we had snaps of Maserati's soon-to-be-unveiled Levante out testing it was some sort of Frankenstein's monster of Ghibli underpinnings, Gaffa tape and mismatched body panels. Is this closer to production test mule much better?
Yes, in as much as it's a Maserati SUV and a necessary evil for any luxury brand in this day and age. A Cayenne, X6 and Range Rover Sport competitor rather than a Macan or F-Pace sized crossover, Maserati has seemingly followed the lead of Jaguar and Porsche in attempting to translate sports saloon styling language into an SUV context. Surface detailing is still concealed by the camouflage but it looks like there is some interesting contouring going on with the bonnet and a long nose/sloping roof combination reminiscent of the original Infiniti QX.
We'll find out more about what's powering it soon but with a 275hp 3.0-litre V6 diesel and a 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 with 330hp and 410hp in the Ghibli Maserati already has some suitably punchy powerplants paired with the familiar eight-speed automatic gearbox used across the industry. And if the temptation is there to build a Cayenne Turbo or X6 M rival there's also a 530hp 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 from the Quattroporte that could put Maserati on terms with some of the faster super SUVs on the market. Given the brand heritage you'd have to hope they're tempted.
With the widespread acceptance that a sporting SUV is pretty much essential to the bottom line of any premium brand these days don't necessarily expect a huge amount of wailing and gnashing of teeth at Maserati's entry to the 4x4 market. Certainly the brand's UK management are expecting great things and see no hesitation among their existing customer base in upscaling to a Levante, while the attraction of the trident badge may well cause a few Cayenne buyers to pause for thought. For Maserati's sake you'll have to hope they've upped their game dynamically if they're serious about maintaining their interest - the brand has some emotive pulling power but there will need to be substance to back it up.
[Photos: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien]