One of the cars Sergio Marchionne, Fiat-Chrysler CEO, had been asked about repeatedly at the 2011 Detroit motorshow was Maserati’s upcoming SUV. He of course reiterated that the Maser SUV will be based on, and built by, Chrysler in Detroit. He also revealed that it will be powered by Ferrari.

Now the first option you would think of is the 4.3 liter V8 out of Ferrari California, which seems to suit a SUV by Maserati pretty well once retuned to give a little more torque at low rpm. And it works great with a dual-clutch gearbox. But some say they could also go for a V12 Ferrari is developing for the 612 Scaglietti successor, which could very well be a hybrid, to make a top-level car capable of embarrassing Range Rover and Porsche Cayenne.

Whatever engine they provide, it’ll be hugely powerful becasue it’s Ferrari and they don’t come up soft! This idea sounds very interesting, a Maserati SUV with Ferrari engine, perfect. But you see, that car is going to be based on the underpinnings of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. I know that’s a good platform, but good enough for a Ferrari powertrain?

Maserati SUV is going to be a high performance car, more suited for on-road activity than off-road. But neither Maserati nor Ferrari have ever made a SUV. On the other hand, Jeep is brilliant at making agricultural SUVs, but not very good with speed and handling. See where it’s going?!