Levante

Make
Maserati
Segment
SUV

Maserati has been working extremely hard lately to boost sales and find its place in a crowded luxury and performance car and SUV market. From what we recently learned, instead of aiming at the likes of Audi and BMW, Maserati wants to attract high net worth customers who don't want the typical German luxury car. No, they want something even more special and unique.

Considering those aforementioned German premium brands are quickly adapting electrification plans for their respective future lineups, what will Maserati do? The same, actually, only with a little help from Ferrari.

According to Mopar Insiders, a good chunk of Maserati's not-too-distant future lineup will utilize a new 48-volt mild hybrid system.

This system will also be used in place of diesels, which Maserati plans to eliminate entirely from its lineup. In addition to that system, a new performance-oriented plug-in hybrid system will debut, and this is where things can potentially get interesting. That system is said to be related to an also new Ferrari hybrid system. As part of Maserati's five-year plan (itself a part of parent company FCA's own five-year plan), it will continue using Ferrari's powertrains for electrification as well.

One possibility would see Maserati adopting Ferrari's new V6. Maserati is already using a Ferrari-designed V8 that will also receive electrification in the coming few years. But above all, Maserati is in a race against time to get its 800-volt fully electric technology to market, which will be used for performance vehicles.

Why the rush? Because two main competitors are also working on 800-volt tech of their own, Aston Martin and Porsche. All three automakers want to be first to bring this tech to market. The reason why it's such a big deal is its Combined Charging System Type 2 (CCS2) charger that allows for charging twice as fast as 400-volt technologies with CCS2. Why is CCS2 vital?

Because it's capable of charging vehicles three times faster than a Tesla Supercharger with the same battery capacity. Word has it that the Alfieri concept, first shown at Geneva in 2014, will make production in 2022 as a high-performance coupe and cabrio utilizing the 800-volt technology. The next generation Levante and Quattroporte are likely to benefit from it as well.