FANCY a sleek, quick and expensive off-roader?

From next year, there’ll be a new name to consider alongside the Range Rover Sport, the Porsche Cayenne and BMW’s X6 – the Maserati Levante.

And that’s just one of a number initiatives that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has in mind for its sport/luxury arm.

Maserati is expected to grow from sales of about 15,000 last year to 75,000 in 2018 according to FCA’s ambitious new plans, and a luxury SUV like the Levante will plug an obvious gap in the range and help it get there.

And there’s more – the new Ghibli, just coming on stream now, will help, of course, but there’ll also be a new sports car, the Alfieri, previewed in concept form at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, which will slot in below the current Gran Turismo model.

The Gran Turismo will itself be refreshed in a few years’ time as well.

Maserati only covers about 50 per cent of the luxury market at the moment but reckons it will be a player right across the board in that sector once its model range expansion is complete.

So does that mean more business motorists will find themselves driving behind the famous trident badge in future?

Well Maseratis are likely to remain a rarity in the company car park but with tax-friendly diesel engines in the Ghibli and the Levante, and the Ghibli and the Alfieri bringing lower price points to the Maserati brand, a few traditional Mercedes, BMW and Jaguar buyers may just be tempted by something Italian that’s a bit different.