2023 Maserati Grecale Continues Testing In Frozen Lapland Ahead Of Imminent Debut

The Maserati Grecale was supposed to debut last November but the chip shortage crisis forced the company to delay its premiere until spring 2022. Taking advantage of the extra time, Maserati engineers are putting the final touches on the SUV’s setup, with the last leg of development taking place in Sweden.

Maserati published a set of photos showing camouflaged pre-production prototypes of the Grecale being tested in the harsh conditions of the Swedish glades. The vehicles were driven on tarmac, snow, and ice, making sure that they deliver maximum power and maintain in-car comfort in all weather conditions, with temperatures as low as -30°C in Lapland. According to the Italian automaker, the last leg of development included the fine-tuning of “traction, understeer and oversteer in different drive modes with varying sizes and types of wheels”.

The Grecale made its spy debut in April 2021, with numerous sightings on public roads since. The SUV is smaller than the Levante and is said to be sharing its platform with the Alfa Romeo Stelvio. It incorporates Maserati’s latest design language with aggressive intakes, fender-mounted MC20-style LED headlights, a muscular body, and slim LED taillight graphics reminiscent of the pre-facelift 3200 GT. Recently, we got a glimpse of the interior of the Grecale featuring a large curved screen panel and premium materials.

According to the latest reports, the Grecale will be fitted with a mild-hybrid turbocharged and supercharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine producing 296 hp (221 kW / 300 PS), alongside more powerful options including the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 sourced from the MC20 supercar that will most likely power the Trofeo performance flagship. All variants will feature an eight-speed automatic transmission sending power to all four wheels. We also expect a fully electric Grecale to appear in the future as the entire Maserati range will be offered in EV form.

We will learn more about the 2023 Grecale as we approach its debut in a couple of months. The main rival of the new SUV bearing the Trident emblem will be the Porsche Macan.