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2019 Maserati Levante GTS First (Wet) Drive Review | A brief taste of a Ferrari-flavored SUV

If it rained any harder, someone would've had to scrounge up an extremely old man to build a giant ship and start herding animals. Lake Huron is dryer. My shoes were still unwearably soggy the next day. So, not exactly the best environment to sample the 550-horsepower, V8-powered leviathan of a performance SUV known as the 2019 Maserati Levante GTS. Sure, it has all-wheel drive and a limited-slip rear differential, but those are traction aids, not magic. In any event, our time with the "lesser" of two V8-powered Levantes would be limited, compromised and extremely damp, but several laps around the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Mich., nevertheless provided a taste of what one might expect under better conditions. Chiefly, you can expect noise. Beautiful, beautiful noise. Even with our heads and ears encased in helmets, the V8 sang a nasty warbling wail. Though built by Ferrari in Maranello, the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 doesn't build to the expected screaming Italian crescendo – it's deeper, more muscular and still deeply invigorating. You'd undoubtedly drive like a buffoon just to hear the thing. Second gear may be popular. Maserati Levante GTS View 8 Photos Stuffing a V8 into the Levante was never originally intended. It was only supposed to have a V6. Nevertheless, a group of engineers secretly took it upon themselves to see if they could fit the Quattroporte GTS' V8 into the Levante, because why not? Turns out they could and in the process, even beef up the engine. Rather than being lambasted by their bosses for going rogue on their little skunkworks project, Maserati instead green-lit not one but two V8-powered Levantes: the 550-hp GTS and 590-hp Trofeo. See, screwing around at work does have its benefits. The differences between GTS and Trofeo are largely horsepower, some minor cosmetic differences, and the Trofeo's extra standard equipment and heftier price tag. Respectively, that would be $121,475 and $171,475. The priciest V6-powered Levante S GranSport goes for $93,475. Maserati Levante Trofeo View 13 Photos Maserati didn't stop with the engine, however. The chassis was tuned to handle all those extra prancing horses, and while suspension componentry is shared with the rest of the line, tuning is specific for the V8's. The Sport Skyhook adaptive damping system was also retuned, while the air springs feature six different height levels spanning a total of 3 inches from its lowest to highest position.

High school design students sketch out FCA's 'ultimate status vehicle'

Each year since 2013, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) hosts a design contest for high school students called Drive for Design intended to educate and encourage automotive career hopefuls. For 2019, FCA prompted 10th, 11th, and 12th graders to imagine the "ultimate status vehicle." The top three choices include two Alfa Romeos and a Maserati. FCA named first, second, and third places in the contest. Maximillian Cooper (lead image) from Design and Architecture Senior High in Miami won first place. Mason Ross (first inline image) from Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien, Wash., took second. Vincent Piaskowski (Maserati image) from Ernest W. Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Mich., placed third. The three winners of the contest will be awarded with numerous valuable prizes. They will get behind-the-scenes tours at the FCA U.S. Product Design studios, as well as mentoring time with some of FCA's designers. They will also get scholarships to attend the Precollege Summer Experience Transportation Design program at the College for Creative Studies. Lastly, they'll have the honor of serving as junior judges at the EyesOn Design Car Show. Although each sketch has a unique look, all three take the same approach: cab-forward, bubble-top supercar coupes with dramatic lines and curves. Piaskowski's shows direct inspiration from a shark, but we wouldn't be surprised if all three students have special places in their hearts for the Pininfarina Maserati Birdcage Concept.

Baby Jeep to join Renegade in FCA's plan for new Italian-built models

FCA is boosting its European production, introducing new models that will be built in currently under-utilized manufacturing facilities. Among the new models is a new small Jeep, smaller than the current Renegade, as Automotive News reports. FCA's Mike Manley mentioned the entry-level Jeep model earlier this year, also saying that the vehicle is targeted to European and possibly Latin American customers; in the summer, Autocar placed the launch date in 2022. The new "baby" Jeep would be made in the same factory in Pomigliano, Italy, as the small Fiat Panda, which is a top seller in Italy. The current generation Panda was introduced in 2011; if it gets a replacement in 2022, it could possibly share a platform with the Jeep model — or, the Jeep could be an eventual outright replacement for the Panda. One of Fiat's earlier core products, the Punto hatchback, was canned in August, and that production capacity will be used to make the Jeep Compass instead, at the Renegade-producing Melfi factory in southern Italy. The Compass has not previously been built in Europe. The Fiat model portfolio would be shrunk to just the 500 model family and the Panda — the 500 would also be FCA's key electric vehicle offered in Europe. It is not yet clear whether the electric 500 would be made in Turin, Italy, or in Poland; Turin might also get a Giardiniera-badged wagon version of the refreshed 500. As for the Alfa Romeo brand, it is set to gain an even bigger SUV model than the Stelvio, based on the Maserati Levante's platform. The Levante's sales have suffered recently in China, but Maserati does have light in the horizon: The Alfieri 2+2 grand tourer is still in the cards, with a launch expected for 2020 and both a convertible and an electrified version planned to follow. The Alfieri would be made in Modena, Italy, according to Automotive News' sources. None of these plans namedrop the storied Lancia brand, which has been shrunk to just the Ypsilon hatchback, based on the same platform as the current 500 and Panda. Despite that, the Ypsilon was again the second-bestselling car in Italy after the Panda in October. It is unlikely that FCA will be able to ignore this, but it is just as unlikely that any development money will be afforded to come up with a replacement for the Ypsilon, which is as similarly old as the Panda. Perhaps official announcements expected on Thursday will also clarify what will happen to Lancia.