Maserati stages ‘car vs horse’ race

Maserati devised a unique ‘car vs horse’ challenge to explore the capabilities of the luxury marque’s first ever SUV, the Levante.

In the run-up to the world famous Grand National, National Hunt trainer, Dan Skelton, drove a new Levante Diesel in a race against professional jockey brother, Harry, on horseback.

The Point-to-Point challenge took place in the grounds of Chavenage House Estate in the Cotswolds.

Following the rules of historical point-to-point racing, Dan and Harry were tasked with travelling between two set points as fast as possible.

The nature of the race and the course allowed the Levante to showcase its off-road capabilities and intelligent Q4 All-Wheel-Drive system, having to navigate through rough terrain that was unsuitable for horseback.

With both competitors taking different routes to the finish line, the power and speed of the Levante eventually told, with Dan just overtaking Harry and Dinnie O on the final straight.

“Racing my brother through the British countryside in the new Maserati Levante was fantastic fun and of course the best man won!” said Dan.

Harry admitted: “We’ve always been ultra-competitive and of course I never like losing to my brother.

“The challenge was something very different to my usual day job, and I’m hoping Dan will lend me the keys to his Levante soon so I can get behind the wheel for a test drive.”

The Levante, complete with 3.0 litre V6 Turbo Diesel engine, starts from £56,250.