Gaat het Maserati lukken? Dat is de grote vraag die iedereen zich zal afvragen in Genève. Is de Maserati Levante goed genoeg om de strijd aan te gaan met een overvolle markt van sportieve SUV's.
For Maserati the Levante is really important. The introduction of this model is necessary to increase the sales to 70.000 cars in 2018 and that goal can't be reached with their current range of models. That's why Maserati used so much time for the development of the SUV which was introduced as a concept car in 2011. For Maserati, this isn't the last thing they can do but nowadays it's hard to survive as a car manufacturer of only sports cars. The Ghibli and Quattroporte are the most important cars for the manufacturer. Eventually Maserati is also working on the Alfieri but we don't know when to expect this model.
The Levante. The car is immediately recognized as a Maserati. Luckily we don't see to much parts we recognize from the Kubang that was shown over the past few years. Iconic details of the Maserati can be found on the exterior. We see several logos and characterizing air intakes behind the fenders. In real life the Levante is a really impressive SUV.
Where the Range Rover and Porsche Cayenne are available with a big V8, the Levante will only be available as a V6 version. The gasoline as well as the diesel versions. The Diesel produces 275 hp and the 3.0 V6 produces 350 or 430 hp. All models are equipped with four-wheel drive and the engine is attached to an eight speed gearbox. The Levante S sprints to 100 kph in 5.2 seconds while the normal version needs 6 seconds. Both cars have a top speed of over 250 kph while the diesel version stops accelerating at 230 kph.
