Sergio Mrchionnet, topman of Ferrari owner Fiat, shared recently that it is not Ferrari but Maserati which will challenge brands like the Bentley and Porsche. Maserati has several new models in the pipeline to make it a stronger contender it the segment of luxury sports cars.

According to Marchionne, the Ferrari will never play with the other two brands since it has its own box to enjoy. He also ruled out the possibillity of a Ferrari SUV which was rumored to meet head on the Cayenne from Porsche and the Bentley SUV. Marchionne also confirmed that Ferrari is not looking into 4-door Ferraris just to meet the Rapide of Aston Martin.

Ferrari expects around 7.000 units to go off their showrooms his year and a projecton of around 10,000 by mid term next year. The Fiat CEO also told the press that 15,000 units for the Ferrari is a bad news since they want to keep the brand’s uniqueness.

Marchionne said that Maserati has invested believing that it has all the potentials to over come the presence of Porsche and Bentley in the luxury ride segment. He wants the sales of Maserati to baloon to at least 55,000 units which is really very ambitious considering the numbers for last year at 5,675. He explained that it will be made feasible with the introduction of the new SUV and the two sedans which were previewed back in November. The smaller ride will lsport a V6 engine while the bigger model will get a V8 Ferrari -built powerplant.

The two new Maserati cars will work side by side with the convertible GranCabrio and coupe GranTurismo. The new SUV will take shape from te Kubang Concept displayed in Frankfurt. The new SUV, due for production by 2013, is expected to pull in at least 10,000 to 15,000 more sales annually for Maserati.