Quattroporte

Make
Maserati
Segment
Sedan

Just the other day we brought you news that Maserati was dropping the Kubang name from its SUV project. Now the Trident marque has announced the new name not only for that model, but for another as well. While unveiling the new GranCabrio MC at the Paris Motor Show, Maserati revealed that the production version of the Kubang will be called Levante. The name pays tribute to the street in Bologna where the Maserati brothers started their journey almost a century ago.

The Levante name was previously thought to be earmarked for the upcoming baby Quattroporte, but has now been announced for the SUV that will take on the likes of the Porsche Cayenne and upcoming Lamborghini Urus in the high-end SUV market when it debuts in 2014 at the company's centenary. As for the baby QP, that has been revealed to be called Ghibli. That name was originally used on a sports coupe and roadster which Maserati made in the late 1960s and 70s, and again in the mid-90s. The new Ghibli, however, will be a four-door sedan, smaller than the current Quattroporte and about the same size as the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class.

Finally the full-size Quattroporte will continue carrying that name, one which it has used for the last half-century since the first Quattroporte debuted in 1963. The three new models are earmarked to give the Modenese automaker an increased output of 50,000 units per year. What Maserati has not revealed, however, are plans for the GranTurismo's replacement, and the prospect of a mid-engined V8 sportscar to slot in between the Alfa Romeo 4C and the Ferrari 458 Italia in the Fiat group's stable of supercars.