Special Alfa Tonale Is Not Enough? Then Have a Maserati Grecale Fuoriserie Instead

Probably to make sure no one will forget about them once Maserati steals the spotlight with their Grecale compact luxury crossover, Alfa Romeo recently revealed their 2023 Tonale Edizione Speciale (Italian for special edition) has become available for grabs. The order books were officially opened for the limited series, which is motivated by the company’s new 130-horsepower hybrid powertrain.

The 160-hp version will soon follow in its lesser sibling’s footsteps, but even that may not be enough for the diehard Italian fan. So, perhaps the larger, compact instead of subcompact luxury crossover from Maserati will do the trick. Unveiled earlier this week, their all-new Grecale has three ICE options available at launch: GT, Modena, and Trofeo.

Both the Grecale GT and Modena are mildly electrified (mHEV) and feature 300 or 330 horsepower powertrains, while the Grecale Trofeo keeps the pure adrenaline alive with a 530-pony V6 count. Naturally, all three of them make huge promises of striking the right balance “between versatility, elegance, performance, and innovation, guaranteeing performance, comfort, and safety, all at the same time.”

A lot of marketing gibberish, but they probably harbored such creativity for a long time since not a lot of new Maseratis have been flaunted across the automotive industry recently. Anyway, we are here to discuss the Maserati Grecale options when an Alfa Romeo Tonale Edizione Speciale may not be enough. Luckily, there are enticing variants. Such as the Grecale PrimaSerie Launch Edition, an exclusive series available at launch to celebrate the new model with “exclusive content.”

Even better, Maserati has also decided to outmaneuver Elon Musk and all the other space-bound billionaires in one swift Fuoriserie blow, announcing they are willing to break the rules and fulfill an order... from Mars. The Grecale ‘Mission from Mars’ is actually “a special Maserati for a special customer” that takes full advantage of the company’s Fuoriserie customization program to write an out-of-this-world love letter to their newly released compact luxury crossover SUV.

“A special textured metallic paint inspired by mineral dust and metal erosion is used on components inside and out,” so the exterior got treated to a cool, multi-layered Galactic Orange shade, and it also comes complete with so-called Vortex wheels. Moving inside, the unique Grecale features a technology-inspired approach, lots of Alcantara and leather, as well as the opportunity to deliver a little bit of stargazing (via the “star chart” ceiling) irrespective of the time of day/night or cloud coverage.

Maserati has promised their “boldest journey through outer space takes off from Mars and lands in Milan,” as the one-off Grecale (is it David Beckham's?!) will be officially unveiled during an exclusive gala event. Still, if not even that is enough for the fussy Italian automobile enthusiast, perhaps the promise of future EV sustainability might do the trick, in the end.

The Italian automaker, just like its Stellantis sibling Alfa Romeo, has promised during the Grecale reveal that a battery-powered version is already in the works, “destined to become the first 100% electric SUV in Maserati’s history.” Probably just to make sure we know they were not kidding, a 2024 Maserati Grecale Folgore prototype was also spied during winter testing for the very first time, looking all sporty and low due to the heavy battery pack.

Right now, it is anyone’s guess about the technical details of the Folgore series, but it will not take long before Maserati itself spills all the juicy electron beans since the company already revealed every model in the lineup will have an EV counterpart by 2025. From then on it is only a matter of time before the entire range becomes exclusively powered by batteries, a feat that should be achieved around 2030 if all things go according to Stellantis’ master plan.