Maserati Levante GTS Takes Goodwood by Storm with Ferrari Engine

TopSpeed

By Ciprian Florea

Published Jul 12, 2018

Slots in just below the hardcore Levante Trofeo

This year's Goodwood Festival of Speed brings many cool sports cars into the spotlight, but when it comes to SUVs, the Maserati Levante GTS reigns supreme. Powered by a Ferrari-developed engine, the Levante GTS bridges the gap between the regular V-6 model and the hardcore Trofeo, which also made its European debut in England.

While not as aggressive as the Trofeo on the outside, the GTS is sportier than the regular model thanks to upgrades in the lower front fascia and rear bumper. The side intakes are much bigger, while the center vent is taller and features a honeycomb mesh. The grille also has black vertical slats instead of the usual chrome elements. A sportier diffuser and new wheels complete the look.

Inside the cabin, the GTS badge adds a full premium leather upholstery and sport pedals as standard. A 14-speaker Harman Kardon audio system was also added. The options list includes full-grain Pieno Fiore natural leather, which is standard on the Levante Trofeo.

The SUV gets its juice from the same twin-turbo, 3.8-liter V-8 that also motivates the Trofeo model, but the mill is not as powerful. While the Trofeo comes with a whopping 582 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque, the GTS cranks out 542 horses, while torque remains unchanged. All told, the GTS lost 40 horses compared to the Trofeo. Does it affect performance significantly? It does actually, as the GTS is three tenths slower from 0 to 60 mph, needing 4.1 seconds to hit the benchmark. However, it's still one of the quickest SUVs available. Top speed is capped at 181 mph, six mph below the Trofeo, but four mph more than the Porsche Cayenne Turbo.

Just like the Trofeo, the GTS comes with the company's Q4 all-wheel-drive system as standard.

The Levante GTS is displayed alongside other Maserati models, including the Ghibli and the Quattroporte, both of which received mild upgrades for the 2019 model year. Maserati also brought an MC12 supercar to the event.