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Maserati Grecale announced as new compact crossover set to debut next year

Maserati is on a roll right now, and the Italian brand has just teased another new model: Grecale. Judging by the silhouette (and the information Maserati provided), it’s a smaller SUV than the Levante. Think Porsche Macan or BMW X3 size. Its stubby nose, small body and short overhangs all make it appear much smaller. The name “Grecale” is derived from the name for the north-east wind from the Mediterranean Sea. It seems Â…. fine. It sounds a lot better if you say it with Italian pronunciation, as opposed to an American gre-kale. Naming the Grecale after a wind is normal for Maserati. The Mistral, Ghibli, Levante, Bora, Merak and Khamsin are all named after famous winds, too. One final detail Maserati provided is the most telling of all, though. ItÂ’ll be built at FCAÂ’s Cassino, Italy, plant, which is the current home of Giulia and Stelvio production. The takeaway here is that itÂ’ll be a Stelvio-based crossover riding on the Giorgio platform. From a performance standpoint, that is fantastic. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio is one of the best-driving crossovers in the world, and a Maserati version of this car sounds like a recipe for success. WeÂ’re not sure how much the two will share at this stage, but now that Maserati has a firecracker of a V6 with the Nettuno, it can use its own engine for propulsion. Maserati claims the “Grecale is destined to play a leading role for the brand,” so weÂ’re expecting to be impressed when it debuts. ThereÂ’s more than just the Grecale to look at here, though. Maserati also flashed a silhouette of the next Gran Turismo that is coming in 2021. Most of it is left to our imagination, but weÂ’re happy to see Maserati is revamping its whole lineup. The Grecale is truly the big news of the day, especially since crossovers continue to be a seriously hot commodity. Watch out for a debut next year sometime. Related Video:

Maserati teases us with its MC20 testing in the snow

It may be feeling spring-like here in parts of the United States, but there was still plenty of snowpack in Livigno, Italy, when Maserati took its forthcoming MC20 supercar out for a photo session during some cold-weather testing at Ghiacciodromo Livigno.  "During its cold-weather mission, the super sports car was tested to evaluate engine cold starting, the low-temperature performance of its elastic components and the car’s handling on cold and low-grip asphalt surfaces," said the accompanying release. "The test is also performed to verify correct functioning of the Climate Control System in cold conditions; tests were also conducted on the battery, suspensions and brakes." Just reading that, you'd think their trip was all business. Indeed, this is the latest stop on the MC20's worldwide durability testing tour, but from the playful scenes we see here, it's pretty obvious that the engineers had their share of fun giving the MC20's suspension and powertrain a workout in the low-grip environment.  2022 Maserati MC20 winter testing View 5 Photos The MC20 is a mid-engined, 621-horsepower, mid-engine super-coupe that was built with the race track in mind. Power comes from a new V6 that is the first in the company's new "Nettuno" (Neptune) engine series. The twin-turbocharged mill produces 210 horsepower/liter, making it one of the most power-dense engines in the world. It was designed, developed, and produced in-house by Maserati's engineers despite sharing some of its fundamental design with other performance engines in its corporate family.  Maserati has only unveiled the street-legal variant of the MC20 seen here so far, but we expect it won't be long before we hear more about its competition aspirations. 

Maserati plans to launch Alfieri and GranTurismo by 2018

Maserati reportedly aims to have the next GranTurismo and the Alfieri (concept above) on the market by the end of 2018. According to Drive, we should see the GT sometime in 2017, and the production Alfieri doesn't arrive until 2018. The company's five-year plan in 2014 originally slated the Alfieri to arrive first in 2016 and the GranTurismo in 2018. The Alfieri will have a modified version of Maserati's current chassis, but the tweaks will incorporate more aluminum, which will make the new sports coupe lighter. "Today the architecture is shared between Ghibli, Quattroporte, and Levante," Maserati engineer Davide Danesin told Drive. "With the Alfieri we think we need to make another step on the architecture so we're going to arrive at another more sporty architecture, with some common basis but with development from there." The Alfieri and GranTurismo will also likely use Maserati's latest turbocharged V6 and V8 engines. However, the power will only go to the rear wheels because the company doesn't think all-wheel drive is right for them. "So let's say for the next sports car we don't foresee all-wheel drive to be the best option for the style. We also have some solution for some sports cars with all-wheel drive for the future but that is not what we're working on now," Danesin told Drive. After the stunning concept in 2014, the longer wait for the production Alfieri is disappointing, but at least the model appears to be still on the way. Recent rumors suggested the 2+2 sports coupe was on hold because of the weakening market in China. Company boss Harald Wester also refused to speculate about the model's future at the Geneva Motor Show, but he said the GranTurismo would arrive first. Related Video: