Maserati GranTurismo Folgore review: Nice but niche
After five years in development, Maserati recently scrapped plans for its fully electric supercar: the MC20 Folgore. Blamed on ‘insufficient demand in the super sports car market for a battery electric vehicle’, the decision reflects a wider challenge for the automotive industry. In short, car enthusiasts don’t feel enthusiastic about EVs.
Where does that leave the GranTurismo Folgore? Would Maserati have canned it, given the benefit of hindsight? Either way, this opulent electric coupe is here and priced from £179,950, or £185,610 for the drop-top GranCabrio.
On paper, it looks a tough sell, but the Folgore (it means ‘lightning’ in Italian) is also a pretty unique proposition. Its closest rivals are arguably the Audi RS E-Tron GT Performance and Porsche Taycan Turbo S, yet the Italian EV is more exotic – and more expensive – than either.
My first encounter with the electric GranTurismo came two years ago, driving a pre-production car on the Vallelunga circuit near Rome. Now the finished Folgore is finally ready to drive on UK roads. Is it worth at least £17,000 more than the V6 version? And does it suggest Maserati was wrong to abort the electric MC20? Let’s see…
A battery-powered boost
Whatever powertrain Maserati had planned for the MC20 Folgore, it would have been seriously potent to outgun this one. The GranTurismo combines a beefy 92.5kWh battery and three electric motors (one for the front axle, plus another driving each of the rear wheels) to deliver 761hp and a monstrous 996lb ft of torque.
The result is hypercar-baiting performance: 0-62mph in 2.7 seconds, 0-124mph in 8.8 seconds and a top speed of 202mph – the latter unusually high even for a fast electric car. For comparison, the GranTurismo Trofeo, the quickest V6 alternative, musters a mere 550hp and 479lb ft, enough for 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds, 0-124mph in 11.4 seconds and 198mph.
The inevitable penalty for going electric, of course, is added weight, and the Folgore duly tips the scales at 2,260kg – a whopping 465kg heavier than its petrol-powered sibling. On the plus side, Maserati’s T-shaped battery layout results in perfect 50:50 weight distribution between the axles, an improvement on the 52:48 achieved with an engine up front.
And the sensible stuff? Well, Maserati quotes a range of 275 miles, which seems less than ideal for a car that epitomises gran turismo (i.e. driving long distances in comfort). Still, a maximum charging speed of 270kW does mean you can replenish the battery from 20-80 percent capacity in 18 minutes, assuming you can find a 350kW public charger to suit (Ionity and Gridserve sites are your best bets in the UK).
Hiding its electric identity
A long bonnet, sweeping roofline and truncated tail are all classic coupe design cues, lending the car a timeless elegance at odds with its new-fangled drivetrain, Indeed, aside from copper-coloured badges and the green flashes on its number plates, there’s nothing to hint at the Folgore’s electric identity.
Given this was already one of the most head-turningly handsome cars on sale, Maserati has wisely avoided gilding the lily. The glamorous GranTurismo even manages to rock a set of polished three-spoke wheels without looking naff.
To nitpick, the trident badge within the front grille seems to be made of Fisher Price plastic, and I’d prefer more muscle in the car’s rather flat haunches. However, bigger hips would either make it wider or reduce rear-seat space – and the GranTurismo is one of the few coupes that can accommodate two adults in the back. A shame, then, about the limited luggage capacity, which shrinks from 310 litres in the V6 to 270 litres here, thanks to the batteries beneath the boot floor.
Inside the Maserati GranTurismo Folgore
Inside, the GranTurismo is a car of contrasts: a place where beautifully stitched leather and artful aluminium paddles meet Fiat-sourced switches and an over-abundance of electronic screens.
Let’s start with the good stuff. The driving position is pleasingly low-slung and the view over that long, voluptuous bonnet instantly puts you in a gran turismo state of mind (even if you’re just popping to Morrisons for some milk). The displays look crisp, the copper detailing is neat and the one-touch buttons to open the doors feel suitably premium.
By contrast, the drive selector buttons are awkward to use (a lever or toggle is far more intuitive), the central, open-book-shaped touchscreen is slow to react and many of the hard, brittle plastics would feel more at home in a budget Chinese SUV than an exotic Italian coupe.
For £180,000, you’d also hope Maserati’s traditional dashboard clock was a finely crafted mechanical chronograph. But no, its configurable display is more like a smartwatch. When so much of our lives is spent staring, prodding and swiping at screens, they no longer feel special – as the likes of Aston Martin and Bentley already understand.
Going sideways? Of Corsa…
As you’d expect, the Maserati feels searingly, gobsmackingly fast. It’s the kind of acceleration that seems to squeeze the air from your lungs, instantly halting all conversation inside the car when you bury your right foot. Unlike some EVs, though, the Folgore doesn’t clobber you in the back with a show of brute force. Pedal response feels progressive and speed builds in a linear, relentless rush. Not long ago, who’d have believed driving a car with 761hp could be this easy?
The slender and tactile paddles used to change gear in the petrol GranTurismo have a different function here: adjusting the level of regenerative braking. This felt gimmicky at first, but I soon began making use of it: applying more regen to control the car’s speed on long descents, for example, or to allow one-pedal driving around town. That said, it’s tricky to make smooth progress in the strongest setting, so strong is the ‘engine braking’ effect.
You can also flick between three drive settings via a Porsche-style dial on the steering wheel. GT mode limits power to 80 percent (a paltry 609hp, or thereabouts) and is best suited for everyday driving. Sport gives you the full stable of horses, sharpens the throttle and stiffens the suspension. And Corsa mode loosens the stability control and unlocks three additional levels of torque vectoring: Stable, Standard and Agile. The latter is set up for going sideways, but is probably best experienced on very quiet roads or racetracks. You’re throwing a lot of weight around, after all.
Hurry up and weight
In fact, the Maserati hides its weight very well, keeping its composure through corners and dividing torque between the rear motors to deliver slingshot traction. The steering is quick and responsive, and the powerful brakes are easy to modulate. Yet there’s also a sense of software hard at work, and of the car bending the road to its will. The V6 models feel more fluid and ultimately more engaging to drive.
Where the Folgore does score highly is ride comfort. It glides over rough surfaces and makes light work of British potholes. Maserati has resisted the urge to make the car overly sporty, and it’s all the better for that. Its ability to effortlessly devour long distances really is reminiscent of a traditional GT, a genre of car perfected by the Italians before changing tastes (and the arrival of budget air travel) made them a rare breed.
Except… if you do attempt a cross-continental journey, you’ll need to stop regularly. An official, WLTP-tested range of 280 miles is closer to 200 miles in the real world, especially if you make use of the car’s performance. Planning a route with access to rapid chargers is thus essential – unless you want to spend a long time loitering at motorway services. And there’s nothing glamorous about that.
Verdict: Maserati GranTurismo Folgore
Whether it’s a Bora or a Biturbo, Maseratis have always been cars that demand a few compromises in return for plentiful character. They appeal to those who want to drive something different, rather than simply buying a Porsche like everybody else. In this regard, the GranTurismo Folgore is a chip off the old block, and while it might seem odd to mention ‘character’ in the context of an EV, battery power feels more at home here than it would in, say, a Maserati MC20.
Its high price – not least when compared to its V6 siblings – and the prospect of very steep depreciation will make the Folgore a rare sight. Perhaps, in time, Maserati will even regret making it. But we should commend its bravery in creating a unique and very capable car that, range aside, meets the gran turismo brief impressively well.
Two years ago, I concluded my review of the petrol Maserati by saying the entry-level Modena – now simply called ‘GranTurismo’ and priced from £125,355 – was the best version you could buy. Today, that’s still the case, unless you’re prepared to wait a few years, then pick up a Folgore for a fraction of what its first owner paid. Could the prospect of 761hp for BMW M3 money make you feel enthusiastic about an EV?
Tim Pitt writes for Motoring Research
Maserati GranTurismo Folgore
PRICE: £179,950
POWER: 761hp
0-62MPH: 2.7sec
TOP SPEED: 202mph
BATTERY SIZE: 92.5kWh
CHARGING SPEED: 270kW
EV RANGE: 280 miles