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Maserati gives us our best look yet at its Grecale small crossover

Maserati's second SUV, the Grecale, is nearly ready to make its debut. The company took advantage of a visit by Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares to release some of the most revealing photos of the model we've seen to date. While the Porsche Macan-fighting soft-roader remains fully draped in camouflage, we see enough of its front end to tell there's a wide, low-mounted grille with vertical slats and almond-shaped headlights located higher on the fascia. We'll hold our judgment until the Grecale is unveiled, but we're starting to see what Klaus Busse, the head of Maserati's design department, meant when he told Autoblog the MC20 would have big influence on future models. Viewed from the side, even with Tavares standing in the frame, it's clear that the Grecale's proportions were drawn with more of an emphasis on sport than on utility. Its front end is relatively long, its dash-to-axle ratio hints at the rear-wheel-drive platform underneath, and its roofline has more slope than the average kid-and-dog-hauling Ikea warrior. Earlier spy shots taken near Maserati's headquarters suggest the rear end wears horizontal LED lights. Unverified rumors claim the Grecale rides on an evolution of the Giorgio platform that Alfa Romeo's Stelvio (one of the better-handling crossovers on the market) and Giulia models are built on. Some reports warned the architecture would be phased out, but Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato suggested they're not accurate. If the Grecale is indeed Giorgio-based, it will likely come standard with rear-wheel-drive, and it will be offered with all-wheel-drive at an extra cost. Engine options remain unconfirmed; four- and six-cylinders can easily fit in Giorgio-based cars. Maserati will finish fine-tuning the Grecale in the summer of 2021, and it will present the model before the end of the year. When it lands, the Grecale will slot beneath the Levante as a taller alternative to the Ghibli. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Maserati Levante crossover not Jeep based after all?

Maserati has been teasing its crossover project since 2011, which is when it first showed off the Kubang concept (pictured above). Still, the production version, rumored to be called the Levante, remains a complete mystery. The CUV was first rumored to borrow the platform from the Jeep Grand Cherokee, but new rumors indicate that the Italian, luxury crossover might actually take the underpinnings from the Quattroporte and Ghibli.
In a brief interview, Maserati CEO Harald Wester told CNN Money that the Levante wouldn't use Jeep's platform. Motor Trend spoke with an unnamed Maserati engineer who confirmed the rumor. Officially, the company says that no decision has been made.
We can add this to another long list of rumors about the Italian CUV. It was originally supposed to be built at Chrysler's Jefferson North assembly plant in Detroit. Then, plans were changed to build it in Italy.

Maserati to halt production for one week in November

When it comes to selling cars, exciting new product is king. This is a fact Maserati is learning the hard way as it struggles to hit aggressive internal sales targets set by its Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ownership. And now a report from Reuters indicates that Maserati will be forced to shutter its Grugliasco plant near Turin, Italy, for one full week in November. Rewind back to 2013 and things were looking really good at Maserati. The brand had rolled out a new version of its four-door flagship, the Quattroporte, a smaller and somewhat more accessible sedan one rung below in the form of the Ghibli, and a new line of twin-turbo engines in both six- and eight-cylinder guises. A sales spike seemed imminent. That's exactly what appeared in 2014, as Maserati topped our end-of-the-year sales chart with a monster 171-percent gain in the United States when compared to the year prior. Like we said, product is king. The first signs of trouble brewing at Maserati rose into our consciousness in January of 2015, as, here in the States, the Italian brand took a monster nosedive in sales. That month's 20-percent decline would prove no anomaly, as February's 43-percent decline would attest. For the next few months of 2015, sales remained basically flat as allegations of shady sales accounting practices hit the news. In September, the last month sales data is available, the brand saw a drop of nearly 34 percent. How does Maserati expect to fix its lagging sales? Exciting new product, naturally, this time in the form of the long-awaited, highly anticipated Levante crossover. While Maserati's history is full of grand-touring coupes and four-door sedans, CUVs are all the rage right now. In other words, as long as the Levante isn't terrible, it really ought to bring the brand's sales back to 2014 levels. Following the Levante, Maserati has promised a new coupe based on the design of the Alfieri Concept it showed off at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, and that will surely bring another hefty dose foot traffic into showrooms as the next product wave. FCA is banking on turning Maserati from a niche player into a meaningful contributor to its sales chart. If that plan has any hope of turning into a reality, it's clearly going to take a lot more shiny new product to make it happen. Here's hoping the Levante is the next positive step in that direction. Related Video: