Maserati Levante GTS confirmed for Oz

If exclusive high-performance SUVs from the likes of Range Rover, Porsche and BMW aren’t floating your boat, perhaps the latest fire-breathing freeway fighter from Italian brand Maserati will pique your interest?

The Maserati Levante GTS is a 404kW/730Nm weapon of an SUV and after being shown in the US and the UK, it’s now been confirmed for Australia.

Following its 2018 New York motor show unveiling in March and its Goodwood Festival of Speed dynamic debut in July, the all-wheel drive luxury wagon will go in sale in Australia in late 2019… so there’s a bit of a wait and pricing is yet to be confirmed.

But given that the Maserati Levante GTS is powered by Ferrari-engineered 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 that belts out enough power to put many sports car to shame, it won’t be cheap.

Currently V6-powered Maserati Levante turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel models are priced between $140K to $180K, so somewhere around $250,000 wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility – which would nonetheless undercut all of Maserati's other V8 models starting around $300,000.

“Given that the Levante GTS is over a year away, it is too early to provide local pricing or specification, but we expect it to be priced in line with other V8 models in the Maserati range and with a specification that clearly positions it at the pinnacle of Maserati models,” explained Glen Sealey, chief operating officer of Maserati Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Although the Maserati Levante GTS could cost the same as a single bedroom apartment around the corner from the carsales.com.au office in Richmond – with options added, of course – the Maser regional boss said there are already Aussie and New Zealand customers eager to queue up for the the Trident brand's fastest SUV.

“From the moment the V8 Levante was hinted at, let alone revealed in the USA, we have had clients wishing to put their name down for the ultimate Maserati SUV," said Sealey.

“Now that it has been confirmed for our market I have no doubt that the pace of people wishing to own a Levante GTS will only speed up."

The Levante SUV now accounts for the lion’s share of Maserati sales both overseas and here in Australia. Between January and July 2018, a total of 230 Levante SUVs were sold Down Under.

Nevertheless, Maserati Levante sales have declined by more than 20 per cent this year, placing the big Italian crossover wagon 11th in the large luxury SUV segment after the BMW X5 (1691 units), Range Rover Sport (1579), Audi Q7 (1389), Mercedes-Benz GLE (1240) and Lexus RX (1212), among others.

Including 140 Ghibli sedans, 40 GranTurismo sports cars and 29 Quattroporte limousines, Maserati has sold a total of 439 vehicles thus far in 2018 -- down seven per cent on last year’s tally of 472 -- so Maserati will be keen to have a new flagship version of its top-selling vehicle taking pride of place in showrooms, to generate more interest in its SUV and drive sales north in 2019.

The large luxury SUV’s Ferrari-fettled twin-turbo V8 pumps through an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive system to propel the striking machine to 100km/h in 4.2 secs.

That’s 0.1sec slower than the lighter but less torquey 404kW/700Nm Porsche Cayenne Turbo ($239,000), but faster than the $238,200 Range Rover Sport SVR, whose supercharged 5.0-litre V8 pumps out 423kW/700Nm.

Other ivals will include the 423kW/750Nm BMW X5 M ($188,729) and 430kW/760Nm Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S ($192,840),

Maserati reckons fuel consumption is 13.5L/100km.

Top speed for the 2019 Maserati Levante GTS will a smidge under 300km/h (292km/h) and the aerodynamic bodywork has been restyled accordingly with a bigger front fascia and reworked rear bumper.

Maserati’s sartorial savants have given the interior a workover too, with high-end leather upholstery on almost every surface, including the bolstered front sports seats.

Four leather colours are available (black, red, tan and beige) and if you really want the supple stuff, there’s optional Pieno Fiore natural leather – but only in three colours and beige is out. Alcantara headlining and a 14-speaker Harman Kardon stereo is standard.

The suspension has been reworked to deliver improved handling dynamics while big 22-inch forged alloy wheels are shod with 265/35 R22 front and 295/30 R22 rear tyres – probably Italian rubber too.

It’s not yet clear if the even hotter 440kW Maserati Levante Trofeo, which hits 100km/h in a claimed 3.9sec on its way to 300km/h, will be offered in Australia.