Maserati's first SUV here inside two years

Exotic Italian car-maker Maserati's bold growth plans hinge on the success of the new Levante SUV, a rival to the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X6 that will launch in Europe in late 2015.

Expected to be priced upwards of $120,000 when it reaches Australia in the fourth quarter of 2016, the new model will be a big contributor to the company's stated goal of reaching 75,000 annual sales by 2018.

Likely to be formed around modified Jeep Grand Cherokee underpinnings (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles owns Maserati and Jeep), the new model's global launch has been confirmed for late 2015, with the first right-hand drive models to go on sale in early 2016 in the UK, reports Autocar.

The new SUV will be powered by a range of turbocharged petrol and diesel engines currently in active duty in the Quattroporte and Ghibli sedans, including a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 priced to compete directly with the Cayenne diesel at just over $100,000.

Expect the high-output 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 worth 310kW/550Nm and the pulsating 3.8-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 that produces 390kW/710Nm to also be starters in Australia, putting high-performance Cayenne including the top-shelf Turbo on notice.

An eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive will be standard – the latter an evolution of the Ghibli and Quattroporte's Q4 system and likely augmented with off-road software systems used in the Jeep Grand Cherokee. This could mean hill descent control along with gravel and snow surface selection options available.

It's not yet clear how capable the Levante will be off-road or how much ground clearance it will have (and whether adjustable ride height will be offered) but the recent alliance formed with French aviation giant Airbus could play a part in the SUV's on-road performance if it takes advantage of new weight-saving materials.

The Levante is expected to generate two-thirds or 1000 of the 1500 annual sales expected in Australia by 2017, but another key element in Maserati's bold plan to reach 75,000 global sales annually in four years will be the introduction of the Alfieri supercar.

Although it won't sell in numbers anywhere near the Levante SUV, the upcoming supercar will be an important halo model for the brand, which celebrated its 100th anniversary this week, out-performing the GranTurismo.

As well as getting people into showrooms, Autocar reports that Maserati will keep the Alfieri name originally emblazoned across the concept car when it was unveiled at the 2014 Geneva motor show.

Scheduled to launch in 2016, the Alfieri coupe will be followed by a convertible version, possibly a year later asserts Autocar, citing Maserati UK executives.

The Alfieri will rival vehicles such as the Porsche 911 and Jaguar F-TYPE and will reportedly be powered by six-cylinder engines initially. The big-belter 400kW 3.8-litre V8 will eventually power the rear-drive coupe, but before then it's likely to be plonked into the bigger, heavier, next-generation GranTurismo coupe and convertible from around 2018.