Maserati Kubang

The Maserati Kubang was presented at the Detroit Motor Show in 2003, it is a car straddling a grand tourer and a station wagon whose car body is raised off the ground giving life to a crossover that closely resembles a modern SUV. In reality, the center of gravity of the Maserati Kubang was about 100 mm lower than the average of SUVs and it was equipped with a weight distribution (48% at the front, 52% at the rear), which was more optimal for a grand tourer than for a sport utility vehicle.  Designed by Italdesign Giugiaro, the lines takes up the stylistic approach and the stylistic features of the models of the Maserati rebirth, which in those years had allowed the Modenese brand to bring back the accounts in surplus and to re-enter markets that proved to be key for its commercial strategies (such as the United States). The front, in particular, recalls an evolution of the 4200 Coupé and Spyder in production in those years, although more massive. The car manufacturer’s aim was to enter an expanding market sector while not distorting the image of the brand. Maserati was not the only one of the Fiat Group companies to take this path; in fact, the same year Alfa Romeo also presented its own concept of sporty SUV: the Alfa Romeo Kamal. The Maserati Kubang incorporated both dynamic and habitability qualities in a single car: powered by a 390 HP V8 engine, it was equipped with an unconventional architecture, especially in the interior, which, also thanks to the craftsmanship that distinguishes the car manufacturer Italian, it could have been with four, five or even seven seats, and each configuration had very different characteristics from the other two. The car was designed for four-wheel drive and a 6-speed automatic gearbox, which hinted at the orientation of the latter mainly to the North American market. However, the vehicle never had a productive outcome, but created a precedent in the range of the Modenese house which inevitably opened the latter to a completely new type of vehicle, which reappears, eight years later, with a second concept.