Maserati has already announced its next step in crossovers — the V8-powered Levante Trofeo, designed to spark more interest in a vehicle that hasn’t gained quite as many sales as it was supposed to.
The official launch was at the New York Auto Show, accompanied by thunder and lightning no doubt orchestrated by the Auburn Hills media team, but now Real Fast Fotography has caught it running on public roads — in camouflage. Why does it have camouflage? That’s your guess as much as ours. They even have the logo covered up, though it’s obviously a Maserati (based on the grille).
The Trofeo’s Ferrari engine may have eight holes, but displacement is not much higher than the Maserati Quattorporte V6. The Ferrari engine has two turbochargers and is good for 590 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque; and peak torque starts at 2,250 rpm. That’s a lot more than the similarly-sized Quattroporte V6, and also more than the Quattroporte V8, which has the same basic engine block; the difference is new heads, turbochargers, and such, good for around a 70 horsepower boost.
Possibly donated by Dodge is a new launch control feature. The Corsa mode alters the shock absorbers, air suspension, AWD, transmission, and throttle for higher performance.
The company claims that the Trofeo can jet from zero to sixty in less time than the 707 horsepower Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk Hellcat, which also has all wheel drive: 0-60 is claimed at 3.7 seconds with a top speed of 187 mph. That also beats the BMW X5 M, in case you wondered. Don’t try to tow a seven thousand pound trailer, though.
North American buyers can (again taking from SRT’s playbook) get a Launch Edition with a serial-number badge and exclusive seat stitching. Is that what’s being hidden? Again, if you have an idea, tell us! Surely they couldn’t have just forgotten to take off the camouflage?
David Zatz has been writing about cars and trucks since the early 1990s, including books on the Dodge Viper, classic Jeeps, and Chrysler minivans. He also writes on organizational development and business at toolpack.com and covers Mac statistics software at macstats.org. David has been quoted by the New York Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Detroit News, and USA Today.
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Nice one !