Alfieri V6 to arrive in Maserati showrooms from 2016

MASERATI'S gorgeous Alfieri concept that premiered at the Geneva motor show in March will enter production as a V6-powered coupe in 2016 and cabriolet in 2017, the car-maker has revealed.

Previewed as a drop-dead coupe concept in Geneva this year, the Alfieri – named after one of the Maserati brothers who founded the company in Modena 100 years ago – will be a bonafide Porsche 911 and Jaguar F-Type rival, and more sharply-honed than the GranTurismo.

Maserati has also announced engine details for its 2015 Levante SUV, as well as its plans to release an all-new GranTurismo coupe in 2018, the final year of its current five-year company-wide growth plan to grow its annual sales from 15,400 units last year to 75,000.

For a point of reference, the company managed only 6300 sales in 2012.

This significant growth will stem from the incremental volume offered by the 2014 Ghibli large sedan and 2015 Levante luxury SUV, which will give the Trident brand what it considers “100 per cent luxury market coverage”.

To keep costs down, Maserati will use brand-exclusive common architecture, engines and transmissions across its models.

Entry rear-drive versions of the Alfieri will come a 301kW V6 petrol engine – understood to be the same twin-turbo unit as the Ghibli S – while flagship versions will come with all-wheel-drive and the choice of 335kW or 387kW V6 engines.

This basic V6 engine is presently used in the Ghibli and entry versions of the Quattroporte, and will also see service in the Porsche Cayenne-rivalling Levante SUV due in 2015.

The AWD-only Levante will also use the V6 diesel found in the Quattroporte and Ghibli in three states of tune – 186kW, 204kW or 253kW – or in thumping 420kW-plus petrol V8 guise, with this version shaping up as a likely rival for the Cayenne Turbo.

This latter engine will also power the thumping rear-drive next-generation GranTurismo, the company said. No mention of a new GranCabrio is made, meaning the launch could either happen beyond 2018, or not at all, if Maserati considers the smaller Alfieri cabriolet fills this niche.

Reflective of the Maserati's growing importance within Fiat Chrysler, the company's projected total revenue in 2018 is around 6 billion euros ($A8.9b), up from 1.7 billion euros last year.