Hyperbole? Not really, if you slash to the core of the global car business. The Levante isn’t important precisely because it’s Maserati’s first SUV, or the first luxury-grade Italian SUV since the Lamborghini LM002 disappeared in 1993. It’s important because it’s the Italian auto industry’s last, best shot at relevance beyond the niche of hypercars from Ferrari, Lambo and sundry Paganis, Covinis or Fornasaris (a sexy, potentially profitable niche, but a niche nonetheless). The Levante is Italy’s last, best shot in a mainstream luxury business populated by Audis, Lexi and, soon, Hyundai’s Genesis brand.
In case you missed it, SUVs now account for nearly 50 percent -- half -- of global luxury auto sales. Maserati has big plans, starting with the goal of increasing sales sixfold over a six-year period ending in 2018, with “100 percent Italian” products. To succeed, Maserati needs a vehicle to compete in what amounts to half the luxury market.
Welcome, Levante. The most important Italian car debuts with Italian design, aromatic Italian leather and power-dense, sweet-sounding engines cast at the same foundry as Ferrari V8s and V12s. Its styling, according to exterior designer Giovanni Ribotta, continues a theme started with Maserati’s big Quattroporte sedan and carried through the smaller Ghibli. Maserati calls it Double Soul -- striving equally for elegance and sporting athleticism.
At first glance, Levante’s Double Soul looks a bit derivative. This SUV’s profile resembles the Cheetah look introduced on the Infiniti QX. Yet two-dimensional renderings don’t do justice to Levante’s subtle curves or details, from the split, dual-beam headlights to Maserati’s familiar portholes to the polished exhaust tips. An informal survey of people who’ve seen it off an auto-show stand produced predominately thumbs up, with the fanged grille putting off most dissenters.
Whatever the photographs suggest, the Levante is big. At 197 inches long, on a 118.3-inch wheelbase, Maserati’s SUV is 8 inches longer than a midsize Mercedes GLE -- and almost as long as the full-size GLS, on a longer wheelbase. By wheelbase and width, Levante surpasses both the recently introduced Bentley Bentayga and a full-size Chevy Tahoe. Yet one exterior dimension stands out. At 66.1 inches tall, the Levante’s roof sits 4 or 5 inches lower than the typical mid- or full-size SUV’s.
Product chief Davide Danesin says Levante starts on a lengthened evolution of the Ghibli sedan platform, itself an evolution of the Quattroporte platform. Its structural elements are largely cast aluminum, with a magnesium cross member for the dashboard. Doors, hood and hatch are also aluminum. The published curb weight (4,649 pounds in standard trim) puts it near the bottom of competitive behemoths and Maserati claims several bests in class. At 24 inches, its center of gravity is lowest among luxury SUVs, including the Porsche Cayenne. Thanks to active shutters behind the grille and a nearly full-flat bottom, its .31 coefficient of drag is lowest. And it’s the only SUV with precise 50/50 weight distribution.
Whatever the photographs suggest, the Levante is big. At 197 inches long, on a 118.3-inch wheelbase, Maserati’s SUV is 8 inches longer than a midsize Mercedes GLE -- and almost as long as the full-size GLS, on a longer wheelbase. By wheelbase and width, Levante surpasses both the recently introduced Bentley Bentayga and a full-size Chevy Tahoe. Yet one exterior dimension stands out. At 66.1 inches tall, the Levante’s roof sits 4 or 5 inches lower than the typical mid- or full-size SUV’s.
Product chief Davide Danesin says Levante starts on a lengthened evolution of the Ghibli sedan platform, itself an evolution of the Quattroporte platform. Its structural elements are largely cast aluminum, with a magnesium cross member for the dashboard. Doors, hood and hatch are also aluminum. The published curb weight (4,649 pounds in standard trim) puts it near the bottom of competitive behemoths and Maserati claims several bests in class. At 24 inches, its center of gravity is lowest among luxury SUVs, including the Porsche Cayenne. Thanks to active shutters behind the grille and a nearly full-flat bottom, its .31 coefficient of drag is lowest. And it’s the only SUV with precise 50/50 weight distribution.
Engines are a second-gen evolution of the Ghibli’s 3.0-liter, 60-degree, twin-turbo V6, built at the Ferrari works in Maranello. Danesin says there are subtle hardware or “optimization” differences between the standard V6 and the Levante S upgrade, but the turbos are identical. The engine makes 345 hp, 369 lb-ft in the base car and 424 hp, 428 lb-ft in the S the highest specific output among luxury SUVs. The torque maps change from normal to sport modes flat torque delivery in sport, rev-dependent in normal and the exhaust track is fitted with pneumatic flaps for a more circuitous, muted flow in normal, and a straight-dump, full Maserati roar in sport.
ZF supplies the eight-speed torque convertor automatic, with wheel paddles and full manual control -- no shift-up override. Maserati’s Q4 all-wheel drive is essentially the same as in its sedans: a power take-off at the end of the transmission with a multiplate clutch to shift power to the front differential. The default torque split is biased way rearward -- 100 percent in sport mode -- but as much as 50 percent of the engine torque can be directed to the front wheels. A mechanical limited-slip rear differential is standard, with brake vectoring on the front axle.
The Levante uses the Ghibli’s basic suspension layout, with geometry adjusted for more wheel travel and air springs in place of steel coils. The suspension pieces and sub-frames are aluminum. The springs are controlled independently at each wheel by the same ECU that manages Maserati’s Skyhook adaptive shocks. Air springs are used because they maximize both on- and off-road capability, according to Danesin, who says the Levante generates the most lateral acceleration and the least understeer of any SUV.
So equipped, Maserati’s SUV can operate at five different ride heights (plus a sixth for park), with a 3.35-inch range. There are four selectable drive modes -- normal, sport, off-road and ICE -- managing three basic control groups together: engine map, boost and transmission; air springs and dampers; AWD and stability control. There is no individual adjustment within the groups.
The Levante S comes with a brake upgrade -- larger disks and six-piston aluminum front calipers, as opposed to two -- delivering what Maserati claims is the shortest stopping distances among SUVs (60-0 mph in 113 feet). Calipers can be painted five colors, with the Maserati trident, and wheels range from 18 to 21 inches.
The Levante uses the Ghibli’s basic suspension layout, with geometry adjusted for more wheel travel and air springs in place of steel coils. The suspension pieces and sub-frames are aluminum. The springs are controlled independently at each wheel by the same ECU that manages Maserati’s Skyhook adaptive shocks. Air springs are used because they maximize both on- and off-road capability, according to Danesin, who says the Levante generates the most lateral acceleration and the least understeer of any SUV.
So equipped, Maserati’s SUV can operate at five different ride heights (plus a sixth for park), with a 3.35-inch range. There are four selectable drive modes -- normal, sport, off-road and ICE -- managing three basic control groups together: engine map, boost and transmission; air springs and dampers; AWD and stability control. There is no individual adjustment within the groups.
The Levante S comes with a brake upgrade -- larger disks and six-piston aluminum front calipers, as opposed to two -- delivering what Maserati claims is the shortest stopping distances among SUVs (60-0 mph in 113 feet). Calipers can be painted five colors, with the Maserati trident, and wheels range from 18 to 21 inches.
Inside there are six trim choices and optional silk seat inserts. The infotainment system starts with an 8.4-inch capacitive touchscreen, and the Bowers & Wilkins audio upgrade pumps 1,280 watts through 17 speakers. Passive and active safety systems run the gamut, including full stop-and-go adaptive cruise control and autonomous braking, up to anything involving steering intervention. Surprisingly, the Levante is fitted with conventional hydraulic steering assist, chosen for what Maserati considers optimum feel.
Maserati’s first SUV has been tested more extensively than any Maserati before, according to the company, starting with 1.7 million road miles on four continents and New Zealand. Levante is built on a new line at Fiat’s Mirafiori plant in Turin.
It reaches the United States by October, starting at $72,000 for Levante and $83,000 for Levante S, before a destination charge roughly equal to Ghibli’s ($1,250). Sport and Luxury packages (about $6,000) adjust wheels, seats, exterior trim and interior appointments, and the upward price limit should hit $110,000. Maserati says a Levante prototype with an updated 3.8-liter, 530-hp V8 from the Quattroporte -- fitted for the first time with AWD -- is testing in Italy. That’s another way of saying we’ll see a Levante V8 in a year or two.
By then, Levante should almost certainly be Maserati’s best-seller, with roughly a third of its volume going each to China, North America and rest of the world.
Maserati’s global sales grew from 12,000 in 2012 to 36,000 in 2014, largely on the strength of more Quattroporte and GT variants and the Ghibli launch. Levante opens another 50 percent of the luxury market, accounting for the bulk of growth if Maserati is to reach its targeted 70,000 sales by the end of 2018.
Levante, by the way, is not a 1970s R&B singer. It’s an easterly wind blowing across Italy, southern France and Spain -- sometimes arriving with near-gale force before dissipating to a cool, calming breeze. The Levante is also known for bringing cloud cover and rain.
Information resource: autoweek.com