In an interview with the German publication Auto Motor und Sport, Reid Bigland, global responsible for Maserati and Alfa Romeo, spoke about the future of the trident brand. A future that necessarily involves the SUV segment.
Launched last year, the Maserati Levante managed to be in 2016 the second best-selling model of the Italian brand, behind the four-door Ghibli saloon. This year is expected to become Maserati's best-selling model. As such, Reid Bigland could not escape the question: Will there be another SUV in Maserati's portfolio?
Without going into details, Bigland guaranteed that the decision is dependent on the market and its sustained growth, and gave the example of Porsche, a brand closely linked to its sports cars but which has SUV sales leaders in its proposals.
As for the current Maserati Levante, the head of the Italian brand admits that the SUV could have a more powerful and sporty variant. All Levantes come with V6 engines, with the most powerful version registering 430 horsepower. The solution could be to equip the Levante with a V8 engine, of Ferrari origin – as happens a segment below with the V6 of the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Q, which produces 510 horsepower.
And speaking of sportier versions, Reid Bigland referred to the brand's first electric model – Maserati Alfieri (below) – as a true sports car:
Reid Bigland"I can say this: the new Alfieri, together with the GranTurismo and the GranCabrio, will be one of the main models of the brand, and it will be distinguished by its 2+2 configuration."
About the Alfieri, one of the brand's representatives in Europe, Peter Denton, revealed at the end of last year that the sports car will be bigger than the Porsche Boxster and Cayman, approaching the dimensions of the Jaguar F-TYPE. Denton also said that the new model will first have a V6 version and then a 100% electric variant, which should reach the market in 2019.
