A lot of people may be starting to think Chrysler is a one-trick pony. Chrysler recently discontinued the Chrysler 200, and before that, the Chrysler discontinued the Chrysler Town & Country to make room for the Chrysler Pacifica. A few months after the unveiling of the Chrysler Pacifica came the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, but the predecessor was all anyone could talk about when it came to minivans. We started to think that was all they had for surprises, but when Maserati announced its hybrid will be using the hyrbid tech from the Pacifica, well, that definitely got our attention.

When the Maserati Levante Hybrid was announced last year, it was still in the works. There were some rumors about Maserati and Chrysler working together, since they are both under the FCA umbrella, but now it’s official. Seems Chrysler has their hands in plenty of pockets, including Google’s with the recent Google Waymo tests. Perhaps having only two (three if counting the hybrid) models to your name isn’t so bad when making headway in various markets. Mitsubishi Motors is also known for doing this, having originally worked in the automotive, electric, and naval industries prior to expanding.

Now, Italian automakers usually wouldn’t trade parts with an American brand, especially when the prior is known for making sports cars. So it’s a bit of a surprise to see the Maserati getting parts from a minivan. Nevertheless, technology of a powertrain and the look and feel of a car are two different things. Make no mistake, the Maserati will still be a Maserati. It just has Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid tech running its hybrid variant.

“If it will be a Maserati—Maserati means many things … One of these things is the pleasure of driving. If we can deliver with hybrid technology or electric technology the same feeling that you can deliver with the current product range, why not …” - Umberto Cini, Maserati's overseas markets director, said to Car Advice.

We couldn’t agree more.

Photo Sources: FleetsAndFuels.com