What a difference a new model generation can make.
The previous Maserati GranTurismo, with its 4.7-litre naturally aspirated V8, was one of the rortiest-sounding cars in existence. Indeed, were an owner to fire up their sleek Italian GT on a cold start round the back of Harrods, the more keen-eared pedestrians outside South Kensington tube would just be able to make out the engine’s rip-roaring gargle. Superb.
But now the V8 has been retired on – of course – emissions grounds. The latest Maserati GranTurismo, which looks similar to the old one but is more or less an entirely new car, now carries a 3.0-litre V6, but the platform has been engineered also to facilitate a purely electric set-up. The GranTurismo has thus gone from having one of the most extroverted sonic signatures in the car world to having almost none at all.
We’re nonetheless keen and curious to road test the GranTurismo Folgore, as the electric version is known. As we’ll soon discover, Maserati’s approach to building a super-EV is different from what already exists out there. There’s also no shortage of speed and this car remains unusually easy on the eye.
Might, in some ways, a clinical, refined and hugely effectively electric powertrain actually suit the urbane GranTurismo rather well? Time to find out what the first electric Maserati is really like.
All variants, petrol or electric, are made at Maserati’s Modena plant and are also equipped with four-wheel drive – another first for the GranTurismo. Purists might not like that, but in the case of the Folgore, a driven front axle seems sensible in light of an output of 560kW (751hp).
Were you to strip away the sleek bodywork, you’d find three 300kW (402hp) electric motors from Marelli’s plant in Bari, Italy, with two of them on the rear axle. They spin to 17,600rpm and give the Folgore an installed power output of 900kW (1206hp), but because of the limitations of the NMC battery pack, ‘only’ 560kW can be generated at any given moment. The motors are notable in using Formula E-derived silicon-carbide inverters, which are lighter and have a greater power density than traditional silicon inverters.
The car’s 800V battery, which has a total capacity of 92.5kWh but usable capacity of only 83kWh, is made at the Mirafiori Battery Hub in Turin; and it doesn’t follow convention in being spread out flat along the floorpan. Instead, it is shaped to fill the space that, in ICE GranTurismos, would be occupied by the engine, gearbox and propshaft, with a cruciform just ahead of the rear axle. The car’s centre of gravity is therefore higher than it could be, though Maserati claims that this centralised glut of battery capacity puts the mass closer to the car’s roll axis. It uses pouch-style modules and can be DC fast-charged at speeds of up to 270kW. The pack weighs 600kg (1323lbs).
Unsurprisingly, the GranTurismo is hardly a light and dainty car, and it continues a recent trend of Maseratis weighing notably more than claimed. The Folgore’s official figure is 2260kg (4982lbs), some 465kg (1025lbs) more than that of the V6-engined GranTurismo Trofeo. However, on our scales, the electric car came in at 2358kg (5196lbs), albeit with a perfectly even weight distribution.
It’s also worth noting that the Porsche Taycan Turbo S we recently tested weighed 2356kg (5194lbs), versus a claimed 2295kg (5060lbs). Despite their differing door counts, the Porsche and the Maserati are remarkably similarly sized cars, so it’s reasonable to compare them. Strident, multi-motor performance EVs remain very heavy in general.
Aside from its electric driveline and some structural strengthening to the boot floor, around the front subframe and to the central tunnel, the Folgore is otherwise identical to the petrol versions. Suspension is by double wishbones at the front and a multi-link arrangement at the back, and the car remains reasonably rare in being a two-door sporting coupé (albeit it an unusually large one) that rides on air springs. Electronically controlled dampers complete the set-up, and the wheel-and-tyre package is as per the ICE cars.
The cabin of the Folgore is largely identical to that of the petrol car.
In short, there’s a good mix of finishes and the general atmosphere is suitably opulent and relaxing – something enhanced by our test car’s breezily slick two-tone upholstery. The Folgore is also notable for having a fine driving position, aided by the fact that there is no battery capacity directly underneath the front seats.
With the car’s generous wheelbase, the back seats are also usable if not for larger adults over longer journeys then certainly for short stints and teenagers. Less impressive is boot space, which at 270 litres trails that of the Taycan by some margin.
EV-specific elements are limited to the vast aluminium paddles, which no longer change gear but vary the level of regenerative braking (an appreciable 400kW and up 0.65g is available) on the fly, and the sharp graphics inside the 12.3in central touchscreen and the 12.2in digital instrument binnacle.
There is some latency in the software and the menu structure takes some getting used to, but Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard and work mostly seamlessly.
With a dedicated electric motor for each of the rear wheels (they are entirely decoupled), the GranTurismo Folgore needs no limited-slip differential.
The delivery of power and torque is instead determined by Maserati’s proprietary Vehicle Domain Control Module controller. How much go you get, and applied to which axle/wheel, also depends on the drive mode you’re in. Choices range from Max Range, through the default GT, into Sport and then finally Corsa. Only in Sport and Corsa are you given access to all 560kW (751hp) and 996lb ft (1350Nm) in GT mode, you’re limited to 80% of those figures and it is in these modes that the chassis also hunkers down.
It almost goes without saying that the Folgore is quick enough to stunt your speech and turn your stomach. Even in damp/drying conditions at the Horiba MIRA proving ground, it gets off the line cleanly and, as with the Porsche Taycan Turbo S we tested recently, there is evidently some very considered tuning of the ESP/TC systems underpinning it all.
The Porsche’s ability to skim forward just beyond the tyres’ limit of adhesion but still with colossal forward thrust is perhaps a touch more finessed than the Maserati’s, but both cars are amazingly adept at putting power down. In sub-optimal conditions, the Folgore hit 100km/h (62mph) in 2.9sec, 160km/h (100mph) in 6.4sec and 240km/h (150mph) in 14.6sec.
By comparison, the V6 GranTurismo Trofeo, on dry Tarmac, needed 3.6sec, 8.0sec and 18.7sec respectively. It is left for dead by its new electric sibling.
More subjectively, the Folgore is straightforward to rub along with in normal use. Even if you find yourself in Corsa mode, the initial flow of power and torque is deftly managed and never painfully sharp, with acceleration unfolding rapidly but predictably.
Moreover, while the chassis will happily get a bit of a gratifying slither on if it's damp underwheel and you’re deliberately heavy-footed, it always seems to feel controllable, with the front axle quick – but not too quick – to straighten you out. There’s some muscle-car character here, but also plenty of polish. Again, the underlying electronics seem to be expertly calibrated.
In performance terms, braking is the only weak spot, and even then it’s a minor qualm. Stopping power is good in the context of a 2.3-tonne car, and the ability to use the paddles to vary the potentially very powerful extent of the regen effect is a genuinely involving element of the Folgore experience. There’s also rather a seamless handover between motor-elicited and proper, physical braking, but the pedal feel itself is simply too numb in general. The Taycan is more convincing here.
The GranTurismo finds itself in a somewhat awkward middle ground when it comes to ride and handling.
It’s an impressively cohesive character, with a level of response and accuracy that's alien to the previous generation, and yet it still isn’t quite sharp enough to be termed a ‘driver’s car’. Simultaneously, it is passably serene and refined on the move, but it lacks that final level of isolation that would put it in about the same realm as the old Mercedes S-Class coupé.
It feels like Maserati should have gone one way or the other, rather than trying, and not quite managing, to cover both bases.
Nonetheless, the Folgore is enjoyable company and quite unusual in its dynamic flavour. Almost all performance EV have the same fundamental feeling: very low centre of gravity and an ultra-direct but also hefty nature to direction changes.
With its ICE-esque distribution of mass, the GranTurismo Folgore is different. It rolls and heaves and generally flows like a traditional GT, and we rather like that about it. It has an insouciance that the Taycan lacks.
Pair this with the fine driving position, an excellent helm and the smart integration of torque vectoring (both on power and coast) and you have the makings of a competent and satisfying GT car. What ends up holding the Folgore back is its sheer mass and the notable understeer balance on anything less than a committed ‘throttle’.
How much of the latter is unavoidable given the layout, and how much is intentional, for security purposes, is difficult to discern.
In terms of comfort and isolation, the Folgore has a fine long-wave gait but is often too reactive on poor surfaces. It also recorded 71dBA at 110km/h (70mph), which is notably louder than the 66dBA of the Taycan Turbo S.
The coupé starts at around 215,000 euros (£178,000), with the cabriolet adding £6,000. So yes, this is an expensive toy, especially for one that will only manage 400km (250 miles) if you’re really trying to eke out the range. In more normal driving, an EV that costs this much with a real-world motorway range of less than 320km (200 miles) clearly isn't good enough, especially one with grand touring associations.
A Porsche Taycan Turbo S – faster, better to use daily, and just more complete – starts at around 200,000 euros (£161,000).
But look at it another way. The next least expensive two-door performance EV from a storied brand (or, indeed, any brand at all) is the Pininfarina Battista, which costs more than two million and arguably isn’t as pretty as its compatriot. It’s also here now, unlike Tesla’s Mk2 Roadster.
Platforms designed for ICE and EV applications too often yield underwhelming results in both cases but the latest GranTurismo bucks this trend.
The V6s are more convincing than ever as super-GTs and now the Folgore shows it too can be fast and thrilling one moment but also uniquely calm and collected the next.
It is rather a likeable machine, despite lacking the overt sonic charm of GranTurismos of yesteryear and carrying around with it nearly 2.4 tonnes.
Alas, the recipe feels like a work in progress. Greater range and efficiency is needed. A little less dynamic compromise too. But that doesn’t detract too much from the enjoyment that you can still extract from driving a Maserati.
Assured and likeable but could only ever be bought with the heart – even sans V8
Move Electric verdict: 6/10
