Maserati Levante has been one of the most interesting offers of the Italian automaker in recent years, especially given its turbulent history of creating sports and luxury GT cars.
But it was inevitable that Maserati was about to enter the luxury crossover sports wars, and they did just that. Maserati Levante has arrived to compete with such as the Range Rover Sport, Porsche Cayenne and many others.
But rumors of the vine suggest that Maserati is not just striving to compete with the base crossovers, as AutoBlog reports on the existence of a Levante prototype with two V8 turbines. It exists as a test mule to research and develop the capabilities of the high-performance Levante variant, mainly to compete with the likes of the Cayenne Turbo and Turbo S, as well as the Range Rover Sport SVR.
Currently, Levante is offered with only two forms of the latest 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 developed by Ferrari, similar to Ghibli and Quattroporte, while the V8 is offered, but only for the Quattroporte rear-wheel drive model. This V8 is a 3.8-liter turbocharged engine with 523 hp.
Speaking to David Danesin, head of Maserati automotive programs, AutoBlog found out that the V8 Quattroporte really fits under the Levante hood – I mean, they are basically the same platform. In addition to the installation in Levante, there is also plenty of room for packaging in an all-wheel drive system.
Danesin also confirmed the existence of a prototype V8, which should not be surprising. Car companies have prototypes of many cars with which they see potential. However, the V8 prototype faces some competition, mainly from the V6 forced crowd, where Danesin even said that V6 developments are making great strides, and engineers can squeeze more energy out of existing designs.
However, the Levante V8 may not even happen, because the twin-turbo V6 is simply the best deal from creating the same or more power with better fuel economy.
-Jack Wilson