Smaller Maserati SUV teased again

The new 2022 Maserati Grecale is now undergoing off-road, circuit and, as you can see from these three fresh teaser images, public-road development testing ahead of the all-new mid-size luxury SUV’s world debut later this year.

In typical Maserati fashion, the official teaser images were not immediately released to the media but first to staff at the Italian car-maker’s historic plant on Viale Ciro Menotti in Modena.

The images of a pre-production prototype were then shared across social media channels before being formally released by Maserati.

All that said, the new blurry shots don’t show much more than what we already saw in a fancy teaser image that showed the sleek side profile of the Maserati Levante’s new baby brother back in September 2020.

As we reported then, the smaller Maserati SUV is part of the biggest new-model push in the history of the 107-year-old trident brand, which plans to release seven new models by 2022 and 13 over the next three years.

Beyond the recently updated Ghibli, Quattroporte and Levante (Maserati’s entire range), these include the upcoming Ghibli mild-hybrid, the Ghibli and Quattroporte Trofeo V8s and the $438K, sold-out, mid-engined MC20 supercar.

Further afield are the new-generation GranTurismo coupe and GranCabrio convertible powered by both EV and internal combustion powertrains, both Spyder and Folgore EV versions of the MC20 and, by 2023/24, new Levante and Quattroporte models – both of which will also reportedly be offered with Maserati’s new three-motor, 800V EV system that supports rapid 300kW fast-charging.

But it’s the Grecale that’s tipped to become Maserati’s instant best-seller globally and in SUV-mad Australia, where the brand previously promised to launch its new entry-level model by the end of this year.

However, Maserati’s answer to the Porsche Macan won’t be priced significantly below the Levante (currently $129,990 plus ORCs), but it will be offered with the Nettuno 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 from the MC20 as well as a pair of hybrid and potentially Folgore all-electric powertrains.

Expected to be priced from around $100,000, the entry-level Maserati Grecale is expected to come with the same 245kW 48-volt mild-hybrid 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol powerplant with e-turbo from the Ghibli hybrid.

Meantime, a plug-in hybrid version is expected to borrow the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine and twin electric motor set-up from the newly revealed Jeep Wrangler 4xe, which has a 17.3kWh lithium-ion battery, 280kW/637Nm outputs, 4.7L/100km fuel consumption and a 40km EV range.

Expect in-car technology to match that of its German rivals too, including cutting-edge infotainment and driver-assist functionality.

Claimed to be based on an all-Maserati platform, the Grecale will be built at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) plant in Cassino, Italy, alongside the Alfa Romeo Stelvio.

Overnight, Maserati said the Grecale prototypes are “currently undergoing a period of intensive road, circuit and off-road tests, in various conditions of use, to acquire vital data for the preparation of the new SUV’s final set-up”.

In a sign of the times, SUVs are expected to account for 70 per cent of Maserati’s sales by 2025, by which time sedans are forecast to comprise just 15 per cent and sports cars like the MC20 and GranTurismo/Cabrio just five per cent.