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Maserati Levante SUV Spied During Final Tweaking, Here’s What Matters

This time next year, we might see the first examples of the Maserati Levante on the street, with the SUV set to make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March. This means the Italian machine is now in its final testing phase and you can see the Maserati engineers at work in a recent video.
Maserati Levante SUV 1 photo
Photo: SB-Medien
Even though there has been plenty of time to get used to the idea of an SUV wearing the Maserati badge (the Levante was supposed to come out this year), purists still cringe at the sight of prototypes such as the one in the clip below.

Then again, it’s not difficult to remember how many regarded the Cayenne, the vehicle that’s now credited for saving Porsche’s precious posterior, back in the early 2000s when the German SUV debuted.

And while Bentley and Jaguar have now unveiled their SUVs, Maserati has a huge responsibility on its shoulders. Not only will the Levante be its first SUV but the vehicle will also serve as an answer to the “When will Ferrari build an SUV?” question.

The vehicle you see here is a pre-production model, with production set to kick off in February 2016. And while it is covered in heavy camouflage, we can check out the series of patent drawings leaked earlier this year to get an idea on the visual side of the Levante.

While its profile may remind us of the Cayenne, the front and rear fascias will show a strong connection to Maserati’s pair of new-age models, the Quattroporte and the Ghibli.

The Levante will ride on an architecture based on the Jeep Cherokee platform, but the wheelbase will be longer, while the tracks will also increase.

Aside from gas and diesel engines, the Levante will also bring the first plugin hybrid Maserati. Petrol-electric power will spread across the automaker’s entire line-up.

Given Maserati’s fetish for all things aural, we’re expecting the Levante to clearly dominate its segment in terms of soundtrack and we’re extremely curious about the vocal side of the Levante.

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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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