Photo: AutoGuide
As Bentley finishes testing for the Bentayga ultra-luxury SUV, the peeps from Maserati are still fine tuning their first-ever crossover SUV before a purported unveiling at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show. Until the teasing game will start playing with our minds and expectations, we’re left with the patent drawings featured in the adjacent photo gallery.
Uncovered by the AutoGuide team without mentioning anything remotely related to a source (Ufficio Italiano Brevetti e Marchi comes to mind), the patent drawings appear to be the real deal. Remember all those sets of spy photos with test mules of the Maserati Levante? It is reassuring that many prototype styling cues won’t be carried over by the production-ready Levante.
Compared to the Maserati Kubang concept, the design team modified the waist line, taillights, gills on the front fenders, the hood’s rake angle and the front bumper’s design - fog lights and headlamps included. Overall, I admit Maserati did a fine job with hiding the bulkiness of the Levante in a body shell as beautifully sculpted as the one we find in these patent drawings.
Expected to be underpinned by the same architecture employed by the Ghibli and Quattroporte, the 2016 Maserati Levante will benefit from the automaker’s Q4 AWD system and all engine options are expected to be mated to a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission. On the petrol-fed front, the lineup consists of a twin-turbo V6 powerplant with 350 and 425 ponies, joined by a twin-turbo V8 developing 560+ horsepower.
Despite the quad tailpipes and Italian flair, oil burners will find their way under the hood as well. Do expect a 3-liter twin-turbo diesel with outputs ranging from 250 horsepower to 275 and 340. There’s not a single bit of intel on the pricing of this thing, but chances are it will fill the gap between the entry-level Ghibli and range-topping Quattroporte.
Based on this presumption, the 2016 Maserati Levante should start from €90,000 in Europe and about $85,000 in the U. S. of A.
Compared to the Maserati Kubang concept, the design team modified the waist line, taillights, gills on the front fenders, the hood’s rake angle and the front bumper’s design - fog lights and headlamps included. Overall, I admit Maserati did a fine job with hiding the bulkiness of the Levante in a body shell as beautifully sculpted as the one we find in these patent drawings.
Expected to be underpinned by the same architecture employed by the Ghibli and Quattroporte, the 2016 Maserati Levante will benefit from the automaker’s Q4 AWD system and all engine options are expected to be mated to a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission. On the petrol-fed front, the lineup consists of a twin-turbo V6 powerplant with 350 and 425 ponies, joined by a twin-turbo V8 developing 560+ horsepower.
Despite the quad tailpipes and Italian flair, oil burners will find their way under the hood as well. Do expect a 3-liter twin-turbo diesel with outputs ranging from 250 horsepower to 275 and 340. There’s not a single bit of intel on the pricing of this thing, but chances are it will fill the gap between the entry-level Ghibli and range-topping Quattroporte.
Based on this presumption, the 2016 Maserati Levante should start from €90,000 in Europe and about $85,000 in the U. S. of A.
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