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Maserati has unveiled an ultra-high performance version of its Levante SUV at the New York Interational Auto Show. Until now, the Levante has had to make do with a turbocharged petrol or diesel V6 but the Trofeo gets a mighty 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8, handbuilt by Ferrari in Maranello, developing 590hp and 730Nm of torque. The Levante Trofeo can do some impressive things with that engine. It'll do 0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds and on to a top speed of just over 300km/h (187mph), putting it up the likes of the Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus.
There have been a few styling tweaks with the Trofeo, mainly focused on the lower front fascia and rear bumper. As you might expect, it's a bit more aggressive looking than a standard Levante with sharp, high-gloss carbon-fibre aerodynamic cues including a front splitter and a pair of bonnet vents to aid cooling. Heading towards the back, the C-pillars get special Trofeo logos and the rear end also gets a wider and more muscular look with more carbon-fibre surrounding a set of oval quad-exhausts. That exquisite engine hasn't escaped visual attention either - the engine cover is also made of glossy carbon fibre and bears V8 and trident logos, while cylinder heads and intake manifolds are painted red. The car sits on a set of huge 22-inch forged aluminium "Orione" wheels.
Inside the car, the sculpted sports seats are finished in "Pieno Fiore", a soft, expensive natural leather available in black, red and tan, all with contrasting stitching and "Trofeo" logo on the headrests. As per other Maseratis, there's lots of carbon-fibre in here too, around the dash and centre console and a 17-speaker Bowers and Wilkins sound system.
Whilst the standard Levante gets four driving modes - Normal, Sport, ICE (Increased Control and Efficiency) and Off-Road, the Trofeo gets another, special one - "Corsa". What Corsa does is improve engine response, further opening exhaust valves during acceleration, as well as providing faster gear changes, lower air-suspension height levels, sportier damping and optimized all-wheel drive settings and it interacts with the traction control and ESP systems so you can make the best of that engine and the tuned suspension.
According to Maserati CEO Tom Kuniskis: "It's proof that when you play with the elements you end up in a storm. In the case of Trofeo, the engineers and designers in Modena knew that the driveline parameters were more than able to cope with additional power and they also knew that Maserati had access to the finest engines on earth. So, they were up to the challenge of making the finest luxury SUV also one of the fastest."
There's no word on pricing yet and the Levante Trofeo is expected to hit the roads later this year.