The Maserati GranTurismo is returning as a 1,200hp EV

By topgear, 21 March 2022

Crikey. And Maserati will follow it up with five more electric cars by the end of 2025

An electric version of the Maserati GranTurismo will be the first of six fully electric cars launched between now and the end of 2025.

You’ll remember that the GT was killed off back in 2019, but the nameplate has been revived as Maserati plots its course to be an EV-only carmaker by the end of the decade.

Every electric Maserati model will be tagged with its new ‘Folgore’ badge; think Audi and e-tron or Volkswagen and its ID. range.

So what do we know about the GranTurismo Folgore? Not a lot at this stage, but the company has promised a tri-motor powertrain capable of more than 1,200hp, with 0-62mph chalked off in under three seconds and a top speed in excess of 186mph. No messing around, then.

Beyond that Maserati is teasing ‘best in class handling’, as well as ‘top-class charging’ and a “level of range [that] will be satisfying for our consumer” in the words of Francesco Tonon, head of product planning.

The four-seater GranTurismo Folgore will arrive in 2023, as will electric versions of the soon-to-be-revealed Grecale mid-size SUV and GranCabrio GT.

Maserati is aiming to be the first luxury car manufacturer to ‘complete’ its EV line-up with electric versions of the MC20 supercar, a new Quattroporte saloon and new Levante large SUV.

There’s no room in the plan for the Ghibli saloon, which will not be replaced.

Why the sudden push towards batteries and charging cables? It’s all part of Maserati’s grand vision to completely phase out combustion engines from its line-up by 2030, although the company insists that customers will have the final say on an exact date as demand ebbs away.

Which begs the question: what will Maseratis sound like in the future? “The Maserati sound through the decades… has always been a critical element to define the brand and the product,” admits CEO Davide Grasso. But “you will not hear a song or fake sound” he explains, adding that a team of engineers have spent more than 18 months working on a solution. “I’m actually pretty excited about the results.”

And what of the Stellantis-shaped elephant in the room? The juggernaut parent company will no doubt want to economise with shared platform tech where possible, but Maserati insists that its products ‘deserve some level of uniqueness’ and Grasso says every Maser will still be built in Italy.