Maserati Levante review: The Trofeo life

THIS is Italy's latest, limited-edition, high performance monster with its cost on the giddy end of six figures. There are only three of them in Singapore, this test car included, and to no one's surprise it's also a sport utility vehicle (SUV).

Sure, that sounds vaguely absurd even in the crazy year that's been 2020, but Maserati's Levante Trofeo is just that sort of vehicle.

Italian carmaker Maserati, best known for building exceptionally-manoeuvrable grand touring cars like the rather obviously named Gran Turismo, waded into the sporty and luxurious SUV fight with the Levante that went on sale in late 2017. A twin-turbo, 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine powered the launch editions of the car, but Maserati engineers were already at work behind the scenes to see how much more kick they could stuff into the Levante's platform.

So the story goes that the Maserati Technical Department in Modena built a prototype with a V8 engine to see what would happen. Management were apparently so inspired by the results that they okayed the idea to put it into series production. And that is how we come to find ourselves behind the wheel of the Levante Trofeo, a twin-turbo monster SUV with 580 horsepower and a 0 to 100km/h sprint time of just 3.9 seconds.

The car driven here is also unique in that it is one of the limited Launch Edition variants, of which only 100 were produced and only three have made their way into Singapore. If you're interested, there's one each in Giallo Modenese yellow (above), Blu Emozione Matte, and Rosso Magma red. After these three are spoken for, later buyers will get the regular version.

The Launch Editions are mechanically identical to the regular cars, but feature additional details like embroidered logos on the seats, a numbered plaque on the centre console and massive 22-inch wheels, the biggest ever fitted onto a series production Maserati to date. The sweetener is that the Launch Edition costs no more than the garden-variety Levante Trofeo, so all it takes is swiftness to snag one.

Being more than a little swift itself, the Levante Trofeo is packed with tech to manage the massive amount of power that it can put to the ground. There's an all-wheel drive system that sends all power to the rear wheels under normal cruising conditions, and shuffles drive to the front wheels under more dynamic driving conditions or when it detects slippage at the rear end. Then there's Maserati's IVC, which is short for Integrated Vehicle Control, an all-encompassing, integrated electronic brain that aims to keep the car going where you point it through an active balancing act between the suspension damping, driven wheel output, throttle control, and engine speed.

Still, the star of the show is the 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8 engine that is, in fact, built by Ferrari.

Power is transmitted through an eight-speed automatic gearbox, and to extract maximum bang you need to select the car's "Corsa" mode, though given the sheer amount of power on tap, the slightly milder "Sport" mode is a much safer bet for us regular Joes.

Actually, even in the standard "Drive" mode, the Levante Trofeo can still be a pretty scary animal when you start flexing your right foot. 580hp is nothing to scoff at, and the car's Ferrari genes are loudly expressed with each flex.

It's also capable of being perfectly civil around town though, and at highway cruising speeds it's as good as the best grand tourers out there. Interior space is as spacious as it is luxurious, and it's a proper five-seat vehicle unlike some of the competition that put two individually shaped seats into the rear instead of a full width bench. A pair of USB charging ports accessible from the back seat will keep your passengers happy on long drives, which the Levante Trofeo also excels at.

Dig around the cabin long enough, however, and you'll come across some very un-Italian bits and pieces that have been lifted straight from the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles parts bin. This parts-sharing business is down to the fact that Fiat Chrysler owns Maserati and the inclusion of some pedestrian-looking, American-style components in a car of this calibre is a little disappointing.

But you could argue that's hardly important, as a Maserati is for being seen in, as well as the drama behind the wheel, and it certainly delivers the latter.

Driving the Levante Trofeo is a real Jekyll and Hyde experience. Once you start to drive it like a sports car, there's a realisation that its limits are far above the skills of most driving enthusiasts, and even then it's an exercise best done on closed racetracks.

But as unhinged as it sounds on paper, it's not as if the Levante Trofeo lacks competition. Audi offers its RS Q8, while BMW and Mercedes-Benz field two rival models each, in regular and coupe-SUV styles. Then there's Porsche's Cayenne Turbo, which still rules the super SUV roost, and is now offered in coupe-SUV style as well. Further up the rungs is Lamborghini's Urus, which rings in at just under S$800,000 without a Certificate of Entitlement.

The Levante Trofeo costs S$635,800 without a COE, putting it above the similarly sized, but slightly less powerful Porsche Cayenne Turbo, which retails for S$607,188 without COE.

Yet the Maserati Levante Trofeo has all the bits that will appeal to a select group of petrolheads. Massive power, Italian styling, and a street presence like nothing else on the road. All that, and plenty of room for five adults and luggage. It's practically a practical supercar, and of course it has a V8 assembled by an Italian company that's even more exotic than Maserati itself. Ferrari may not build its own SUVs yet, but at least it builds the engines for one.

Maserati Levante Trofeo Launch Edition

Engine 3,799cc, twin-turbocharged V8 Power 580hp at 6,750rpm Torque 750Nm at 2,500-5,000rpm Gearbox 8-speed automatic 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds Top speed 299km/h Fuel efficiency 13.3L/100km Agent Tridente Automobili Price S$635,800 without COE Available Now