Maserati Levante GTS revs up

If the chest-thumping Maserati Levante Trofeo is a little too angry for you, with its 440kW twin-turbo V8, perhaps the newly announced GTS would suit?

The Maserati Levante GTS is powered by the same 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 that's built at the Ferrari engine factory but pumps out 'only' 404kW and 730Nm, which is enough twist to see it rip to 100km/h in 4.2 seconds – slightly down on the Trofeo's 3.9sec.

The Maserati Levante GTS made it world premiere at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK overnight and joins an ever-growing cast of big-bore SUVs set to scorch their way up the famous hill-climb, such as the Bentley Bentayga Pikes Peak, Rolls-Royce Cullinan, Land Rover Defender V8 Works, Lamborghini Urus and Mercedes-AMG G 63.

Making use of a 'Q4' intelligent all-wheel drive system, the big Italian SUV manages to reach a 292km/h top speed – slightly down on the Trofeo's 300km/h v-max.

It should be noted that while the Italian stallion has more than 400kW of power – more than anyone would ever really want or need – it's still not as much as the $390,000 Lamborghini Urus (478kW/850Nm) or the $134,900 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk (522kW/866Nm).

The interior and exterior of the hard-core Italian SUV have been upgraded to communicate its extreme performance, with oversized wheels and a sporty body kit on the outside.

Full-grain Pieno Fiore natural leather upholstery is offered in the cabin, along with with sports front seats and pedals and 14-speaker Harman Kardon stereo.

There's no word yet on whether Maserati will import the V8-powered Levante GTS -- or Trofeo -- to Australia, but the latter is yet to be confirmed for right-hand drive and the former is officially under consideration for local release.

Given the predilection for high-performance SUVs models Down Under, the Maserati Levante GTS is more likely than not to be sold here. Watch this space.

Maserati also used Goodwood to reveal MY19 versions of the Levante, Ghibli and Quattroporte, which will go on sale here in the first half of next year.

They will bring new gear shifters, new colours, new wheel designs, Pieno Fiore leather interiors, an updated Nerissimo package and, for the MY19 Levante, standard IVC and optional full LED Matrix headlights for the first time.