Maserati's First Ever Crossover SUV - Cinqueporte


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We told you recently that Jaguar was getting into SUVs. Even more surprising maybe, so is Maserati. And soon. The Italian-shaped crossover, imagined here by TopGear's ace render-meister Dougie Wood, launches early next year. We say Italian-shaped, because it's actually American-boned. Underneath, it's based on the brand-new Grand Cherokee. But we had a quiet word with one of the designers, who swears you wouldn't be able to tell. The trademark Maserati patrician nose flows back into a wavy waistline, all chromed-up with somewhere muddy to go. But only slightly muddy. Because indoors, you'll find a plush-upholstered three-piece suite in finest Italian leather, with wood strips all over the place.

As for engines, the Chrysler Hemi V8 will be the one if you need bragging rights against your mates who strap themselves into V8 Cayennes. Thank you, that'll be 6.4 litres and 465bhp. Why the Hemi and not the Ferrari-made V8 of other Maseratis? The PR spin will be that the Hemi has more torque, making it better for an SUV. The reality is it already fits the platform, and also Ferrari doesn't sell engines cheaply. Oh no. If you're going to let sanity have any say, though, the rather good new Fiat V6 diesel will do just fine. It's also out of the Grand Cherokee. This isn't an off-road crawler like the Grand Cherokees we've seen so far, but a speed merchant. So forget the air springs and extra low-ratio set of the normal Grand Cherokee. The chassis is proper sophisticated independent, with adaptive damping front and rear. Electronically controlled diffs, in the rear and centre, keep the power going where it's useful. The moment we post this story, we're expecting the comments section to light up. Maserati shouldn't make an SUV, some will howl. Maserati shouldn't make a Chrysler-based car, others will yelp.

We've every sympathy with those views. But maybe a couple of little reality-check points first. One, Maserati needs to get its business up a notch. This is one way to do it. Two, the Grand Cherokee is itself a derivation and improvement of Mercedes parts. (Just one of the many reasons why Fiat Group got itself a bargain when it picked up the Chrysler Group out of bankruptcy last year.) Source: Top Gear
 
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Re: Maserati To Launch First Crossover

well it looks awesome!! but its concept only..i hope real model will be also looking this much great!!
 
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Re: Maserati To Launch First Crossover

Looks weird.

And this is as close as it is going to get to a Ferrari SUV.
 

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Re: Maserati To Launch First Crossover

Seriously, it looks much better than my expectations. Phew, now the only gripe is weird name “Kubang” which thankfully, Maserati is soon planning to change. This car will be now known as “Cinqueporte” (Pronounced as tʃinkwe- porte) which translates in five door in Italian. The rumour is that this name has been already registered by carmaker in European patent and trademark office.

Drive Safe,
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Maserati SUV Officially Named Levante

As we had previously speculated, since Maserati chose to revive an old name for their upcoming 5-Series rival - Ghibli, it was a fair assumption that they would be using the Levante name for their upcoming SUV. They plan to boost sales considerably, from the 6,150 units they shifted last year, to some 50,000 by 2015.

The name is, of course, Italian, and it means ‘east’. It is a nod towards the company’s move into a bigger production facility, on Via Emilia Levante, in Bologna, way back, in 1919 - it’s good to see automakers using tradition-minded names, instead of making them up.

The Levante SUV will be built on a Jeep Grand Cherokee platform, with some modifications in order to give it that sporty Maserati feel, as well as to enable it to compete with the Porsche Cayenne, the new Range Rover, BMW’s X5 and X6, as well as Mercedes’ ML.

Of that total figure of 50,000 units that they want to achieve by 2015, Maserati hopes that at least half of them will be Levantes. If they get it right, it may catch them by surprise, and they may have a winner on their hands.

Maserati SUV Officially Named Levante - autoevolution
 

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