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Maserati Grecale announced as new compact crossover set to debut next year

Maserati is on a roll right now, and the Italian brand has just teased another new model: Grecale. Judging by the silhouette (and the information Maserati provided), it’s a smaller SUV than the Levante. Think Porsche Macan or BMW X3 size. Its stubby nose, small body and short overhangs all make it appear much smaller. The name “Grecale” is derived from the name for the north-east wind from the Mediterranean Sea. It seems Â…. fine. It sounds a lot better if you say it with Italian pronunciation, as opposed to an American gre-kale. Naming the Grecale after a wind is normal for Maserati. The Mistral, Ghibli, Levante, Bora, Merak and Khamsin are all named after famous winds, too. One final detail Maserati provided is the most telling of all, though. ItÂ’ll be built at FCAÂ’s Cassino, Italy, plant, which is the current home of Giulia and Stelvio production. The takeaway here is that itÂ’ll be a Stelvio-based crossover riding on the Giorgio platform. From a performance standpoint, that is fantastic. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio is one of the best-driving crossovers in the world, and a Maserati version of this car sounds like a recipe for success. WeÂ’re not sure how much the two will share at this stage, but now that Maserati has a firecracker of a V6 with the Nettuno, it can use its own engine for propulsion. Maserati claims the “Grecale is destined to play a leading role for the brand,” so weÂ’re expecting to be impressed when it debuts. ThereÂ’s more than just the Grecale to look at here, though. Maserati also flashed a silhouette of the next Gran Turismo that is coming in 2021. Most of it is left to our imagination, but weÂ’re happy to see Maserati is revamping its whole lineup. The Grecale is truly the big news of the day, especially since crossovers continue to be a seriously hot commodity. Watch out for a debut next year sometime. Related Video:

Camal Studio pays tribute to the Maserati GranTurismo

Although the Maserati GranTurismo may have looked pretty hot when it hit the scene in 2007, eight years on, it's starting to show its age. Maserati is focusing its attention on the new Quattroporte, Ghibli and upcoming Levante utility vehicle, but Camal Studio is evidently keen to pick up what Maserati has let fall by the wayside.
The design house, as you may recall, was founded by former Pininfarina designers - the same firm that penned the GranTurimso (among other Maseratis) in the first place. Camal calls its redesign the Tributo (a name which should require no translation) and it draws its inspiration from Maserati GTs past like the original Ghibli, Bora and Khamsin. The resulting design comes across as clean enough, but to our eyes somewhat unremarkable. And if you're going to go to the trouble of coachbuilding a Maserati, you might as well go for a bit more visual impact. But that's judging solely from the renderings, and that's just our opinion - the financially well-endowed customers Camal is going after may feel otherwise once they see it in the flesh.

Maserati ramping up production of Ghibli, Quattroporte

While Porsche may be relatively new to the four-door game, Maserati has been building the Quattroporte with few interruptions since 1963. But like its rival from Stuttgart, the Trident marque is rapidly shifting from a sports car company primarily to a manufacturer of high-end family transportation. Not only does it have the new Quattroporte on the market, but now it's got the Ghibli sedan as well and the Levante crossover on its way.
It's a gambit that's reaping huge benefits not only for Maserati itself but also for its newly merged parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which is finding the mass market less lucrative than it once was and is positioning both Maserati and Alfa Romeo against other luxury marques like BMW, Audi and Porsche. As a result, Maserati is considerably expanding its production.
Last month, Maserati sold over 3,000 cars, putting it on track to double its sales from 2013. But it's not about to stop there. With growing demand for its authentically Italian luxury sedans, Maserati is shifting more workers to its assembly plant in the Turinese suburn of Grugliasco (where the QP and Ghibli are made) and shortening vacation time to ramp production up from 750 cars per week to 900.