This is the mysterious Maserati Grecale, to be revealed in full later on this year. The Grecale has been spotted out in the open, testing in jerk water Europe before its official launch. Although the Grecale sounds like a Greek tragedy it is indeed Maserati’s first compact SUV.  Grecale is derived from a well-known Mediterranean phenomenon, Gregale. Gregale is a Mediterranean wind that can occur during times when a low-pressure area moves through the area to the south of Malta and causes a strong, cool, north-easterly wind to affect the island. Despite being well known in the region, it is the first time we have ever heard of Gregale.

Obviously, someone at Maserati has expert general knowledge and so Italianised the word into Grecale. The Romans borrowed a lot of Greek-derived theories and technologies. And 2,000 years later the Greeks keep on giving. The Maserati Grecale is keeping the Italian tradition of borrowing state-of-the-art technology because future variants will use Peugeot’s current electric car platform and drivetrain. How do we know that? It’s simple really, Maserati is now part of the Peugeot AKA PSA empire.

And to make the Italians believe they are an important partner Peugeot created the Stallantis group, an all-in-one multinational auto manufacturer consisting of PSA, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Jeep and Maserati. And this allow’s Maserati to dip it’s toes into technology the Fiat group couldn’t afford with out a massive loan they could never repay. Nevertheless, initial Grecale models will be offered with 2.0-litre, 4- cylinder petrol engines and a 500bhp, 2.9-litre twin turbo V6. Sounds like overkill, sounds like Maserati.

At a later date, Maserati will add a hybrid, and, that electric version. Prices should start from £50,000. The Grecale marks the beginning of a planned 15 model assault in an effort to revive the ailing Italian brand.