Maserati SUV to Use Rock and Roll Ferrari Engine

As the launch date of the unspeakable Maserati SUV approaches, more and more information about the project is being released by one Fiat official or another. Present at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) and caught in a chatty mood by reporters, the trans-continental CEO Sergio Marchionne had a thing or two to say about the yet unnamed model.

Confirmed for production for 2012 (earlier than initially anticipated) at the event in Detroit, the Maserati SUV had a platform (identified as the one used in the Jeep Grand Cherokee), but so far no engine. At NAIAS, Marchionne decided to shed a bit of light on the matter, confirming expectations that a Ferrari heart will be propelling the Jeep body.

"It will be a rock and roll engine," the CEO was quoted as saying by CNN, adding that the unit may come as both a V8 and V12 monster. Unfortunately, Marchionne's chatty mood ended after confirming the SUV.

In the last months of 2010, Marchionne confirmed the fact that it would be Jeep that would inspire the platform of the SUV. Having tied the knot with Chrysler in 2009, the Italian manufacturer is now ready to have children, who will take, as usual, the best features from both parents.

“The Grand Cherokee architecture has legs. It's important for us to tap all of the hard work that has gone on inside Chrysler on the new Grand Cherokee,” Marchionne said back in November last year. “It has a level of solidity and resilience that we have underestimated.”