The recently revealed Maserati Grecale has been met by plenty of positive reception. That's no surprise; in this crossover-crazed world, the introduction of a premium and stylish offering will never be met with derision. Some say the Levante's baby brother has a striking similarity to the positively downmarket Ford Puma and, while that may be true, the Maserati is quite the looker.
Indeed, the introduction of the Folgore electric SUV has also been met with open arms. For a brand slow to enter the EV segment, this is a crucially important car. Business and electrification aside, Maserati has always been about outright style and chic design, offering fashion-conscious customers even more personalization choices through its Fuoriserie Program. In fact, one such customer has wasted no time in ordering a very special version of the Grecale.
Known as the Grecale Mission from Mars, the tailor-made compact luxury SUV has received design touches inspired by the Red Planet. A special textured metallic paint has been applied to the bespoke motorcar which, says Maserati, was inspired by mineral dust and metal erosion. Known as Galactic Orange, the brand says the "highly liquid base" evokes molten metal, with an element of futurism courtesy of the frosted orange-red resin.
At a glance, the intricately designed Vortex Wheels appear relatively normal. However, upon closer inspection, the black-painted items have flecks of red paint, along with red tires. This makes the Grecale Mission From Mars appear as if it's just come back from a particularly challenging Mars exploration.
Perhaps the most polarizing design aspect of the Grecale are the gold-tinted, reflective windows. We get that it's trying to demonstrate how the Grecale would look on Mars and, in the studio seen above, it looks very striking. We're not sure, however, that it would work sitting in traffic or in a parking lot.
Aside from the rather fetching paintwork, the Mars-inspired Grecale also boasts unique badging. Tacky stickering can be found on the side of the vehicle, while the Trident affixed to the C-pillar - usually a metalized 3D item - has been eschewed for a larger, more modern-looking graphic. Inside, it's more of the same.
The traditional luxury car trim elements have been booted in favor of silicon coatings and embossing. Transverse lasering has been used to lend the interior plenty of flair, although the seats are trimmed in a more down-to-earth Alcantara/leather combo.
Maserati has, obviously, not revealed any details about this Grecale's owner or what it cost. But with prices starting at $63,500 for the base model, we'd hazard a guess that this Mars-inspired example will have sold for considerably more. The Grecale GT is powered by a four-cylinder mild-hybrid engine with 296 horsepower on tap. That's not bad at all, but enthusiasts will make a beeline toward the Grecale Trofeo, which utilizes a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 with 530 hp to play with.