Less than six months separate us from the world debut of Maserati’s first SUV, the Levante.
Maserati CEO Harald Wester has confirmed that the Levante will be unveiled in early March 2016 at the Geneva Motor Show. The executive said at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show that pre-production of the Levante will start soon, with full production to begin at an extension of the Mirafiori plant in February 2016.
According to Autocar magazine, Wester also said the Levante will be based on “100 percent Maserati parts” and will not source anything from other Fiat Chryles Automobiles brands, including Jeep. While the Levante will be based on the same platform used by the Ghibli and Quattroporte, it will be sized and priced between those models, the executive added.
As for powertrains, the Levante SUV will use the same V6 and V8 engines, transmissions and all-wheel drive system as the Ghibli and Quattroporte. However, the SUV will sport many new features and innovations, including plug-in hybrid drivetrains.
These will be offered in the Levante, Ghibli and Quattroporte from late 2017/early 2018 and may be fitted to the upcoming Alfieri and Granturismo as well.
Wester said the production Levante would be “different in every way” from the Kubang concept car shown at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. The production model will be “better than competitors” off-road as as capable as a non-Trail Rated Jeep.
The Maserati Levante was supposed to be in production by now, but the delay is due to the fact that executives wanted to make sure it is a proper Maserati product and not one derived from other FCA models.
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