Maserati to jump on SUV bandwagon

We've just told you about Jaguar's plans to build an sUV, and now we can tell you that another sedan specialist is going to have a go at it: Maserati, one of Fiat's brands, is mulling the prospect of launching an SUV. It won't be too hard; with the acquisition of Chrysler, Fiat now has access to Jeep, and the spanking new Grand Cherokee will do just fine for the underpinnings. They can even bung in the Hemi V8 for good measure - that's 6.4 litres that manages 465PS.

Why not a Ferrari V8, you ask? The company says that those deliver power, not torque, which is what you need when you're going off-road or simply hauling a lot of weight around. There's also the small matter of Ferrari engines being hideously expensive, and the Hemi V8 already fitting the Grand Cherokee platform. Maserati could also run it with Fiat's diesel V6. Expect the Maser to have better on-road manners than the Jeeps, and the usual creature comforts that befit a luxury SUV. We're not sure if we want to have an SUV from this particular marque - it always has made us think of svelte designs made to take you to dinner rather than mud-plugging. but this could be one way for it to rejuvenate itself.