Iona was built in Darlinghurst in the late 1880’s and the ornate Italianate mansion has a colourful history that includes being converted to a psychiatric hospital for a period of time.
Baz and Catherine, who were married in 1997, are Hollywood heavyweights; he’s a renowned film director and screenwriter, and she an accomplished costume designer, set designer, production designer and film producer.
Between them their projects include Moulin Rouge, Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, Australia and The Great Gatsby – they’ve collaborated on a number of these – and for the time being at least, they’ve left the sitting room full of priceless memorabilia.
So what am I doing here? Sitting on Baz Lurhmann’s couch, wandering around the room, reading a framed letter to Baz from Marlon Brando, staring at the gold jewellery worn by Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo + Juliet?
Maserati chose this fabulous location to unveil their new SUV – the Levante. The event started with some time marveling at both the house itself and it’s contents, before sitting down for a beautifully light brunch while attendees were introduced to the new car with a multimedia presentation.
The Maserati Levante is a coupe-style SUV and the first offering of this kind from the Italian marque – the country of origin was the link between the car and the location.
Pricing has been confirmed, the range that consists of three versions will start at $139,990 before on-road costs, with the Luxury and Sport variants both priced at $159,990.
Rather than a typical boxy SUV shape, the Levante is all sweeping lines and is decadent inside. It will compete with the luxury SUV likes of the Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne and Range Rover Sport.
As you would expect, it was with a little bit of theatre that the cover was slipped off the Levante, as we gathered outside in the beautiful grounds surrounding this impressive mansion.
Maserati, who typically builds sportscars like the Ghibli and Quattroporte, are tipping the Levante will make up the majority of its sales in Australia.
Production will start in October and, with pre-orders already in the triple figures, expect to see these on the road around January 2017.
The Levante is reasonably priced for a luxury SUV and has a really impressive amount of standard inclusions as well as a raft of customization options including Italian leather with bespoke silk from fashion designer Ermenegildo Zegna and Alcantara for the roof-lining.
Wood, carbon-fibre or high-gloss interior finishes are available and there are 28 interior colour combinations in single or dual colour leather.
There are thirteen exterior colours to choose from including three that are unique to the Levante.
For the foreseeable future, it will only be available with a three-litre six-cylinder turbo diesel producing 202kW at 4000rpm and 600Nm between 2000 and 2600rpm, teamed with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Features include the Maserati Q4 all-wheel drive system with torque vectoring and enhanced stability program for both on- and off-road conditions.
The Levante has adjustable air suspension that offers a variable height range of eight centimetres, and a mechanical limited-slip differential at the rear axle.
The Levante will offer a range of drive modes to tackle not only off-road conditions and urban environments, but also cater to those with a desire for sporting performance.
All will come with a suite of safety features including adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, surround view camera, trailer sway control, hill descent control and hill start assist. There are ISOFIX attachment points on both outboard rear seats and six airbags.
The Levante’s fuel consumption figures are listed at a claimed 7.2L/100km, while the 0-100km/h sprint is promised to be sorted out in 6.9 seconds.
The nitty-gritty hauling aspects include a 580-litre rear storage capacity with the back seats up, and a braked towing capacity of 2700kg.
Features in the cabin include an 8.4-inch touchscreen with a new rotary control, along with digital radio, and compatability with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Standard equipment also includes dual-zone climate control, wipers with rain sensor, keyless entry, outer rear ISOFIX attachment points, reclining rear seats, start/stop system, Maserati Active Sound system that features two sound actuators near exhaust tailpipes to enhance the engine note and adjust them depending on which driving mode is selected.
The Levante also scores LED daytime lights, indicators and fog lights, as well as bi-xenon headlights.
The Italian brand’s flair for design and technology certainly shines through. The contrast between seeing the future through the eyes of Maserati, the historical significance of the location and Baz Luhrmann’s creative legacy at Iona, was a match made in heaven.
2016 Maserati Levante pricing (before on-road costs):
Levante Turbo Diesel – $139,990
Levante Luxury – $159,990
Levante Sport – $159,990
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