Maserati Reveals GranCabrio Folgore And A New EV Roadmap To Shock Long-Time Fans

At a pulsing event in Rimini, Italy, this week, Maserati debuted the new GranCabrio Folgore. This fully electric, convertible version of the GranTurismo coupe and the strategy behind the launch event emphasized the company's continued commitment to leading the luxury industry into electrification. Now, with a fully electric option across the entire lineup—or, almost, but more on that later—Maserati also announced plans at Rimini to move up the internal-combustion engine's phase-out time horizon by two years.

The GranCabrio Folgore arrives on the same modular platform as the GranTurismo Folgore we drove last year, albeit with additional chassis bracing to compensate for the lack of hardtop rigidity. The specs remain identical, with 800-volt architecture, a trio of 300 kW electric motors allowing for rear- or all-wheel drive, and a combined potential for up to 1,200 horsepower. But batteries remain both the GranCabrio and GranTurismo Folgore's main limitation, as currently max output caps at a sustained 750 horsepower and up to 280 miles of claimed range.

For the GranCabrio, specifically, that combo makes for a unique offering on the U.S. market today. The convertible can retract in 14 seconds at up to 31 miles per hour and, despite the soft top, the GC still manages to achieve a top speed of 180 mph. Even when Maserati inevitably updates the GranTurismo and GranCabrio later in their lifecycle, with better batteries to unlock more power and range, that top speed likely will not increase due to aerodynamics and tires as much as anything else.

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At the launch event, CEO Davide Grasso repeatedly referenced Maserati's full slate of electric versions across the lineup. That's a first for a luxury heritage brand, even though one new model stands out as still lacking a BEV option (and notwithstanding the Levante and Ghibli, still on sale today with the last of the Ferrari V8 engines).

The MC20 supercar's Folgore variant, or even a teaser prototype expected to appear at Rimini, remains nothing more than a promise. Grasso did confirm plans to debut the MC20 Folgore in 2025, however. If the production version of the MC20 EV arrives even shortly thereafter, and the Levante and Ghibli exit the lineup as expected, the entire Maserati range will indeed offer electric and internal-combustion variants simultaneously.

But that dual persona may not last as long as initially expected, because Grasso also revealed plans to take Maserati fully electric by model year 2028, two years earlier than previously promised. 

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The announcement comes as something of a surprise, given the presumed need to amortize development costs of the spectacular Nettuno V6 engine that appears in the internal-combustion GranTurismo, GranCabrio, Grecale, and MC20. And especially as other major manufacturers, including Toyota and Mercedes-Benz, have recently revealed somewhat slower electrification forecasts.

When pressed by journalists during a short Q&A session, however, Grasso then waffled on the 2028 deadline, suggesting more of a time horizon than a true commitment, and with decisions being made for specific international markets that are dependent on consumer demand and varying regulatory requirements. 

Grasso's comments repeatedly referenced Maserati's involvement in Formula E and popularity in Asia, as well as the electric Folgore lineup's conceptualization as a performance-focused transition, rather than an effort to improve sustainability and reduce the environmental impact of internal combustion.

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While the GranTurismo and GranCabrio Folgore variants certainly deliver on the performance aspect, the Grecale Folgore somewhat pales in comparison. With 400-volt architecture, a skateboard-style battery layout, and components borrowed from the Stellantis parts bin, the Grecale EV slots in at a rung below the highest ICE-spec Trofeo in performance terms, while also delivering disappointing range and charging stats.

The GranTurismo and GranCabrio's "dogbone" battery layout better represents Maserati's vision for an electric future, with more compact motors and the ability to shave poundage as much as possible while using the same chassis for internal-combustion and EV variants of the same model. But the enhanced driving dynamics of the dogbone battery pack, with improved weight distribution for an optimized polar moment of inertia, may make cramming three motors into a carbon-fiber supercar something of a challenge in terms of traction and stability control programming—which could explain the MC20 Folgore lagging behind.

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To further demonstrate the complexities of converting ICE vehicles to electric propulsion, Head of Engineering Davide Danesin walked assembled media through Maserati's Vehicle Dynamics Control Module hardware and software requirements. Each Maserati EV employs two high-speed processors with 12 cores, using six CAN bus networks and a single ethernet connection to process in-house-developed software programs 500 times per second. 

The VDCM manages throttle control, regenerative braking, thermal management, traction control, boost modes, torque vectoring, suspension damping, and vehicle ride height simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Head of Design Klaus Busse detailed the GranCabrio Folgore's role as the final capstone to the new era of design language that the MC20 ushered in way back in September of 2020. Maserati's trident theme appears more frequently on the electric version, as do unique Econyl seat inserts with laser-etched patterns. Even sound design for the electric drivetrain's aural presence, pumped into the cabin via 19 Sonus Faber speakers, aims to enhance the so-called "Tridentity" of the new EVs.

Enhancing the performance and panache of Maserati's fully electric lineup aims less at increasing sales volumes exponentially, however. Instead, Grasso emphasized the need for Maserati to remain both luxurious and exclusive in the electric era. "The goal for us," he said, "is to produce one less than the market wants." 

So, as with the MC20's slow rollout, buyers should certainly expect to experience enforced scarcity, when the GranCabrio Folgore starts shipping in Q4 of this year.