Maserati's history at the best of times gets confusing. With frequent changes in ownership, be that Ferrari or Chrysler the brand frequently reinvents itself and importantly frequently flounders. The brand's past two decades have seen the domination of two models. The GranTurismo and Quattroporte. The GranTurismo as the closest model the brand had to a sports car held a space in many gearhead's heart. Affordable and full of character. Recently three more models came to the lineup, the Grecale, their latest SUV. The Levante, a sporting luxury SUV, and the new supercar, the awesome MC20. With many historic marques rebranding due to the necessity resulting from the switch to electric vehicles, Maserati comes as no exception. Embracing hybrid technology with the Levante and Ghibli.
With the banning of internal combustion engined cars creeping up on us at the end of the decade, Maserati prepare to make the jump. Folgore is the name Maserati gives to their EVs. By 2030 the entire range will be Folgore and by 2025 all of their cars will have a Folgore option. The GranTurismo Folgore comes as the next step in this journey, an evolution of the previous model it risks falling short of the market's needs.
The luxury Italian marque's first EV will steal the hearts of gearheads around the world.
Why Does The Maserati GranTurismo Folgore Matter?
Like most cars for Maserati, the GranTurismo Folgore could make or break the company. However, now the stakes are higher, with money pouring into the development of this electric drivetrain from across the company the future rests on this model. According to Maserati, this car comes as "the first model in Maserati history to adopt 100% electric solutions". Like most Italian cars, critics walk away from Maserati's cars proclaiming them as full of heart and soul. This thus makes up for the car's lacking areas such as infotainment, or build quality. However, much of this character comes from the engine. With battery vehicles, this presents a massive problem, a uniform lack of character.
Mercedes-Benz and BMW have resolved this by creating fake battery notes, these replace the sounds of an engine and add more theater to an EV's instantaneous burst of torque. Maserati has done the same, creating a science fiction-inspired acceleration note. The same engineers that once designed engines and exhaust notes, use their know-how to create electric theater. This matches the futuristic performance. Maserati claims a 0-60mph time of 2.6 seconds and exceeds 200mph. While not earth-shattering this comes as a major leap for the GranTurismo. The most extreme version of the previous car, the MC Stradale, hit 60 mph in 4.6 seconds and topped out at 186 mph.
This concern aside, the Maserati GranTurismo Folgore appears on their YouTube channel. According to Klause Busse, Maserati Head of Design, the team has kept the batteries in the central tunnel. This keeps the car's center of gravity low and the sporty dynamics of the previous car. Even though the need for a long hood is now gone with the move from engines to batteries, Maserati's car still keeps the same proportions. This evolves the design first introduced with the 3200 GT and penned by the legendary Giugiaro of Italdesign. Even without the Trident badge on the front this design clearly is a Maserati.
Will The GranTursimo Folgore Make A Great Grand Tourer?
In January, Maserati announced that they would enter Formula E to develop their technology further. Motorsport comes as the natural prooving ground for vehicular technology. Maserati faces a distinct problem with the new GranTurismo, mainly the name. The outgoing GranTurismo made promises of comfortably eating up the highway miles on the way to the world's greatest back roads. With few EVs currently exceeding a 400-mile range, it's easy to see how the GranTurismo might fall short of many owners' expectations.
Maserati confirms that they now have ultra-fast charging technology, where in only 10 minutes the car regains the ability to drive 100 miles. Feasibly, you can get a full charge after stopping for lunch. But for many charging infrastructures, anxiety will still prevent them from embracing an electric grand tourer.
Maserati has not yet unveiled their next generation of dashboard and driver controls. But it is clear that the interior is minimalistic, lacking in buttons, it's simple and elegant. The interior appears to also step up the previous model. With space for four adults, leather on each panel, and comfortable yet bolstered seats, Maserati brings an air of luxury to their EV that a Tesla simply can't match. Klaus Busse claims that Maserati wants their customer to feel as if they are wearing the car like a "well-fitted suit", in other words, full of heart and soul. A vehicle that makes you feel a certain way.
What Are Maserati Doing For Sustainability?
Maserati isn't just focusing on saving the environment by swapping to battery power. According to Klaus Busse, Maserati embraces the latest design technologies alongside traditional Italian design creativity to produce the car. Citing the recycling of nylon into the fabric. This yields a soft material suitable for use in place of other materials. As further information comes available to us, the new GranTurismo gets more and more exciting. Piping emotion into an EV perhaps this car will install a love electric horsepower into some of the most diehard gearheads.