This is the vehicle which must secure Maserati's future.

Maserati has illuminatedthe silhouette of its forthcoming Grecale crossover.

The Italian sportscar brand is fighting for survival and relevance in a world where its traditional product appears less relevant, with each new regulation passed in terms of emissions.

Maserati realises that high-performance limousines and outrageous two-door sportscars will not sustain it into the future. Customers are demanding SUVs and governments are becoming stricter on emissions, driving the industry towards electrification.

Responding to these trends and influences, Maserati has revealed the silhouette of its new Grecale SUV. Positioned below the company’s debut SUV, its Levante, this new Maserati will only be slightly smaller in size and roughly similar in technical detail to Alfa Romeo’s Stelvio.

Maserati’s Grecale is built on the Alfa Romeo Giorgio platform, which was the late CEO of FCA, Sergio Marchionne's, gift to his Italian sub-brands. A clever rear-wheel-drive biased platform, it has been adapted for all-wheel-drive useand delivered on its promise as an excellently rewarding driver’s structure, deployed in various Alfa Romeos.

Where things might become challenging for Maserati, is in terms of powertrain. The company has committed to an electrified product portfolio, following the curious strategy of offering both internal combustion and an electrified version of its future models – on the same platform.

Engineers agree that a dedicated battery platform is required for electric vehicles, which benefit from a completely different layout to any vehicle driven by an internal combustion engine. Maserati appears to disagree with this notion.

The cost implication of having to engineer around the incompatibilities of hosting both petrol and battery-powered motors in a single model range does not seem to concern Maserati.

No powertrain details are available at the moment but like its recently revealed MC20, the Grecale will feature both turbopetrol and electric power. It is expected to be officially shown, with a host of technical details, in Q2 of 2021.

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