Maserati Levante SUV – first photos LEAK ahead of Geneva debut

The first SUV from Maserati – the Maserati Levante – is due to debut at the Geneva Motor Show, but the first photos have already leaked on-line.

Sergio Marchionne promised the Maserati Levante SUV would arrive in 2015, but an arrival in 2016 is still good going for a company whose deadlines seem to be as flexible as an Olympic gymnast. But the Levante has arrived a bit earlier than the revised deadline.

Thanks to Holland’s Auto Week, we have the first photos of the Maserati SUV, heading for a debut in Geneva in a week or so (more photos on Auto Week’s site), and it looks to have moved on a bit since the Maserati Kubang SUV Concept in 2011.

In many ways, the Levante SUV looks a bit generic, with hints of a Cayenne going on, but with a rather incongruous Maserati nose bolted on the front. Perhaps it will look better in the flesh?

Based on a modified version of the Ghibli and Quattroporte underpinnings, the Levante is Maserati’s big hope of taking sales from Porsche SUVs, and is expected to go on sale later in 2016.

Under the skin there will to be a choice of a 3.0 litre V6 (0-62mph 6.3 seconds) or 3.8 litre V8 (0-62mph 5.2 seconds), with the V8 producing something around 500bhp. There will also be a 3.0 litre diesel Levante (0-0-62mph in 6.9 seconds). Power will be sent to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

The Maserati Levante SUV will debut at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. More details then.