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Maserati Levante crossover not Jeep based after all?

Maserati has been teasing its crossover project since 2011, which is when it first showed off the Kubang concept (pictured above). Still, the production version, rumored to be called the Levante, remains a complete mystery. The CUV was first rumored to borrow the platform from the Jeep Grand Cherokee, but new rumors indicate that the Italian, luxury crossover might actually take the underpinnings from the Quattroporte and Ghibli.
In a brief interview, Maserati CEO Harald Wester told CNN Money that the Levante wouldn't use Jeep's platform. Motor Trend spoke with an unnamed Maserati engineer who confirmed the rumor. Officially, the company says that no decision has been made.
We can add this to another long list of rumors about the Italian CUV. It was originally supposed to be built at Chrysler's Jefferson North assembly plant in Detroit. Then, plans were changed to build it in Italy.

Maserati planning second smaller SUV?

Maserati's product plans have taken a few wild turns, but as we get closer to production dates for the long-awaited offerings things are getting a wee bit clearer. The the sixth-generation Maserati Quattroporte is here, and a quick recap according to a report in Car and Driver has the smaller Ghibli sedan on Chrysler's LX/LY platform next, then the next-generation GranTurismo coupe and cabrio on a Maserati platform, then the Kubang SUV concept (pictured) that, for production, will become the larger Jeep-Cherokee-based Levante SUV.
All of which gets us to 2015. That same year, according to the report, the Levante will get a brother: a smaller SUV or crossover, perhaps sized like the Kubang concept, to challenge the Audi Q5 and the Porsche Macan. It is predicted to use the Compact US Wide platform, built for front-wheel and all-wheel-drive vehicles, that supports the Dodge Dart and 2014 Alfa Romeo Giulia. In addition to giving the premium brand a competitor in what is a very popular segment, a Maserati move slightly downmarket can help fill a gap while Fiat brass figures out what to do with Lancia.

2014 Maserati Ghibli prototype spied for the first time

Looking to better compete with mainstream luxury automakers, Maserati has already announced its plans for expanding its model lineup. Now, these spy shots give us our first look at a new, smaller sedan that resurrects the Maserati Ghibli nameplate. Seen for the first time as a prototype rather than a Quattroporte-based test-mule, this is the closest-to-production view of the upcoming Ghibli thus far.
Aside from its name, we don't know much about the 2014 Ghibli, but we do hear that this Maserati, like the upcoming Maserati Levante SUV, will have a direct lineage to a Chrysler product. While the Levante will be based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee, it sounds like the Ghibli could use the Chrysler 300 as its starting point. This means that the standard version of the car could get Chrysler's 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 - rumored to produce around 400 horsepower - paired with the latest eight-speed automatic transmission; sportier trim levels would almost certainly get a V8 from Ferrari rather than using the 300C's Hemi.
As for some of the details apparent in the spy photos, we can obviously see the size difference between these two cars when comparing previous spy shots of the newly released 2014 Quattroporte, which we drove last week. We also see that this car gets some performance-oriented, cross-drilled brake rotors, and based on the depth of the snow in which this car was caught testing, we also wouldn't rule out the use of all-wheel-drive on the Ghibli.