Maserati to launch SRT8 powered SUV

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scottm
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Maserati to launch SRT8 powered SUV

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Maserati to launch its first SUV
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/maserati-2011
We told you recently that Jaguar was getting into SUVs. Even more surprising maybe, so is Maserati. And soon. The Italian-shaped crossover, imagined here by TopGear's ace render-meister Dougie Wood, launches early next year.

We say Italian-shaped, because it's actually American-boned. Underneath, it's based on the brand-new Grand Cherokee. But we had a quiet word with one of the designers, who swears you wouldn't be able to tell. The trademark Maserati patrician nose flows back into a wavy waistline, all chromed-up with somewhere muddy to go.

But only slightly muddy. Because indoors, you'll find a plush-upholstered three-piece suite in finest Italian leather, with wood strips all over the place.

As for engines, the Chrysler Hemi V8 will be the one if you need bragging rights against your mates who strap themselves into V8 Cayennes. Thank you, that'll be 6.4 litres and 465bhp. Why the Hemi and not the Ferrari-made V8 of other Maseratis? The PR spin will be that the Hemi has more torque, making it better for an SUV. The reality is it already fits the platform, and also Ferrari doesn't sell engines cheaply. Oh no.

If you're going to let sanity have any say, though, the rather good new Fiat V6 diesel will do just fine. It's also out of the Grand Cherokee.

This isn't an off-road crawler like the Grand Cherokees we've seen so far, but a speed merchant. So forget the air springs and extra low-ratio set of the normal Grand Cherokee.

The chassis is proper sophisticated independent, with adaptive damping front and rear. Electronically controlled diffs, in the rear and centre, keep the power going where it's useful.

The moment we post this story, we're expecting the comments section to light up. Maserati shouldn't make an SUV, some will howl. Maserati shouldn't make a Chrysler-based car, others will yelp.

We've every sympathy with those views. But maybe a couple of little reality-check points first.

One, Maserati needs to get its business up a notch. This is one way to do it.

Two, the Grand Cherokee is itself a derivation and improvement of Mercedes parts. (Just one of the many reasons why Fiat Group got itself a bargain when it picked up the Chrysler Group out of bankruptcy last year.)
Imagine, a Maserati keeping the HEMI nameplate alive... 8)
Rob
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Re: Maserati to launch SRT8 powered SUV

Post by Rob »

So I reckon yall are gonna laugh at me for such a stupid question.....but I wasn't aware MasaRATTY was under Chrysler's umbrella. I guess it is?
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scottm
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Re: Maserati to launch SRT8 powered SUV

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Rob wrote:So I reckon yall are gonna laugh at me for such a stupid question.....but I wasn't aware MasaRATTY was under Chrysler's umbrella. I guess it is?
Not Chrysler's umbrella, but Fiat's umbrella.

I think Fiat gets to boss around Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, etc. Can you imagine?
Rob
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Joined: Thu May 05, 2011 10:15 pm

Re: Maserati to launch SRT8 powered SUV

Post by Rob »

That's kinda a strange setup right there. BUT I know this.....Fiat had some VERY formidable little military vehicles. So, they CAN build somethin.
mart
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Re: Maserati to launch SRT8 powered SUV

Post by mart »

scottm wrote:
Rob wrote:So I reckon yall are gonna laugh at me for such a stupid question.....but I wasn't aware MasaRATTY was under Chrysler's umbrella. I guess it is?
Not Chrysler's umbrella, but Fiat's umbrella.

I think Fiat gets to boss around Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, etc. Can you imagine?
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Actually, long before the Fiat takeover of Chrysler, there was a Chrysler-Maserati connection dating back to the mid-1980's. Remember the somewhat ill-fated and short-lived 'Chrysler TC' - circa 1989 -91? The TC was basically a K-car, with a DeTomaso-designed body that was manufactured and assembled in Italy by Maserati and powered with a Mexican or Brazilian-made turbocharged 2.2 Chrysler 4-banger short block that was in turn, fitted with German-made Mahle pistons, a British-designed and manufactured Cosworth DOHC 4-valve head and hooked to Japanese-made Mitsubishi transmission!! Talk about a weird global combobulation - or perhaps, discombobulation - of parts!!! At the time, I think the TC was merely a collaboration between Chrysler and DeTomaso, which also owned Maserati at the time. I could be wrong, but I don't think Chrysler actually owned any of either company. Oddly though, at about the same time - from 1987 to '92, Chrysler did own Lamborghini. which was a rival and a competitor to both DeTomaso and Maserati in the exotic car market!

mart
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