Grecale

Make
Maserati
Segment
SUV

Maserati is getting its mojo back with the new MC20 halo sports car. However, the Grecale SUV is arguably the Italian automaker's most important new model that will hopefully help Maserati steal sales from the popular Porsche Macan.

Maserati's new mid-size SUV will slot below the Levante, making it the brand's most affordable SUV. It has the potential to become Maserati's best-selling model. Originally, the Grecale was supposed to debut in November, but the reveal has been delayed until next spring due to supply issues caused by the semiconductor chip shortage.

With more time to finetune the SUV, Maserati has been spied testing the Grecale in the snow. The prototype is based on the high-performance Trofeo variant, indicated by its larger brakes with drilled discs and red calipers and sports exhaust system with a different tailpipe design.

Fittingly, the prototype is wrapped in red camouflage just in time for Christmas. Even the wheels are wrapped in red camo. With some countries requiring travelers to quarantine to stop the spread of new Covid-19 variants, we like to think Santa is retiring his reindeers this year and using the high-performance Maserati Grecale Trofeo as a 500-hp sleigh.

As it will be based on the same platform as the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, we're expecting the Grecale Trofeo to utilize the Quadrifoglio's twin-turbo V6 that produces 505 horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque. However, there are reports the range-topping Trofeo will use the same 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 as the MC20. This unit develops 621 in the MC20, but would be detuned for the Grecale. This seems unlikely, though, as Maserati has stated the Nettuno is designed to only fit the MC20.

The regular Grecale, on the other hand, will reportedly use a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system producing 296 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque. We'll find out more details when the Maserati Grecale breaks cover next year, but it's not clear if the high-performance Trofeo version will be revealed alongside the standard SUV or at a later date.