Maserati’s Electric GranTurismo Folgore Is Really Complicated—And Really Fun

• Maserati is preparing to launch its first set of battery-electric vehicles, with the 2024 GranTurismo Folgore the first of them to hit the streets.

• With pricing estimated at over $205,000, the GranTurismo Folgore is built on a modular chassis shared with its ICE companions, power figures rise to 750 hp and 995 lb-ft of torque.

• By using a modular chassis and co-producing, Maserati says it is learning how to build proper performance EVs while maintaining profitability and tradition through its ICE derivatives.

Stepping out of the metallic, trackside paddocks at the ACI Vallelunga Circuit, I was more excited than nervous, as the opportunity to drive a prototype model all out doesn't regularly present itself. Gliding out of the pit lane with a droning electric bass line underneath, my Rome-born driving instructor guided me through a few laps of the circuit, as it was set up in Superbike-series spec and the sporty but road-going tires needed some heat.

Pointing the nose and pushing the accelerator seemed easy enough—reaching over my shoulder and grabbing the seatbelt was more difficult—but the challenge of lapping a battery-electric beast soon became clear. As the pace picked up, egged on by a driving instructor and the unending feeling of battery-powered acceleration, adequately slowing down the nearly 5000 pounds of aluminum, steel, and lithium-ion cells that make up the 2024 Maserati GranTurismo Folgore required a concerted brake pedal push. But that's just how the forces of weight, inertia, and gravity work, right?

Let's backtrack for a moment, though, and acknowledge that Maserati is set to release a fully electric version of its historic GranTurismo coupe by the second half of this year. And that's historic for a number of reasons. For one, it will be Maserati's first battery-electric offering, though it will be shortly followed by an electric version of Maserati's Grecale SUV. Additionally, it will signal the official introduction of the first GranTurismo lineup under Maserati's Stellantis overhead. Within that rapid rollout, however, lies Maserati's not-so-secret plan to electrify the niche and historically flamboyant luxury brand.

For starters, the GranTurismo Folgore and its internal-combustion siblings, the Modena and Trofeo, are built on the same chassis from the same Turin-based production line, a production line that can be adjusted to meet ICE or BEV demand. And Maserati was so proud of the modular engineering feat that it actually brought a bare chassis as well as both ICE and BEV drivetrains to show us how it works. While the Nettuno-engined gasoline-powered version is assembled and runs in a way familiar to even those with rudimentary car knowledge, the construction and assembly of the electric Folgore are where Maserati could give competitors a run for their money.

Laid out and arranged in an upside down T-shaped pack are 92.5-kWh and 1300-pounds' worth of pouch batteries (LG-produced cells that are internally packaged at a facility in Turin), allowing Maserati to place the pack through the ICE version's transmission tunnel and create an identical feeling and mechanically undisturbed interior. Additionally, the GranTurismo Folgore has three, 300-kW radial electric motors, with one in the front and two in the rear. These motors provide direct propulsion to each of the rear wheels and run power through a differential to the front wheels, in addition to acting as an all-wheel-drive torque management system and providing adjustable regenerative braking. Yes, that means that drift mode is possible. Altogether, the GranTurismo Folgore makes 750 hp and 995 lb-ft of torque sent to all four wheels, with an unlimited top speed of 201 mph.