Maserati beats Ferrari and Lamborghini with Folgore

As Italian as its rivals Ferrari and Lamborghini, Maserati, which took to the track in Formula 1 in the 1950s under the Prancing Horse brand, with Fangio at the wheel, He never managed to rival his compatriots and rivals in series models. In part, because it was dedicated to the GranTurismo models, with more emphasis on luxury than on pure and simple performance, but the reality is that It has always had a certain power deficit. This is about to end as the Stellantis group builder will show later this year, to start delivering in 2023, the Folgore, his first GT with 1200 hpfar above what its rivals offer.

For years, Maserati took steps without the necessary resources to invest in its modernization and evolution. But with the creation of Stellantis, the door was opened to new flights and the Italian manufacturer, which combines luxury and sporty character, is determined to prove its worth. The opportunity for this leap forward was fostered by a clear commitment to electrification, taking advantage of this new technology to outperform the competitionnot only the legendary Ferrari and Lamborghini, but above all beating direct rivals who also pursue luxury and thrills behind the wheellike the Audi RS, BMW M, Mercedes-AMG or Porsche.

Folgore is the keyword

Almost simultaneously with the presentation of the new Grecale, the SUV smaller than the Levante that promises to become the best seller From the Italian manufacturer, Maserati revealed what we can expect from the trident brand in terms of electrification. announcing that in 2025, all its models will offer a 100% electric versiona strategy that will take its first steps in 2023, with the arrival of the Grecale battery-powered SUV and GranTurismo, Maserati has taken a further leap by ensuring that, from 2030, it will only produce electric models. Since the message to the market is to bet first on battery-powered vehicles to conquer leadership.

For the future range, Maserati will have the new Stellantis platforms designed specifically for electric models, the STLA, Maserati needing the STLA Medium and the STLA Large, the most adapted to its range. But that will not happen before 2024/2025, so until then it will start to work with models that can install electric and combustion engines, similar to those of BMW and Mercedes, but at a much higher level.

Maserati returns to competition in the Formula E World Cup

The first 100% electric Maserati will be the GranTurismo Folgore, thus being the name of the electric versions of the Transalpina brand. The platform will be new, of the multi-energy type, but the Italians wanted to make sure that all the wins were on their side. A) Yes, Lion’s entry into trams will take place at the same time as participation in Formula E, from which they will obviously obtain knowledge to apply to road models. However, the use of the technology by Rimac, the Croatian company that supplies half the world, is not planned, since the trident logo does not appear among the list of clients on the Croatian website.

1200 hp, 305 km/h and 0-100 in less than 3 seconds

The new GranTurismo Folgore has already appeared on the road, and Maserati took the opportunity to publish on its social networks photos of the CEO of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares -recently awarded the Leadership by the Observer award-, a great lover of cars and competition, with the director apparently liked what he felt behind the wheel. The first Folgore has an 800V electrical system installed, which allows charging at higher powersaving time in this process, without forcing (heating) the battery so much, whose capacity remains unknown.

Although it is not known if it will mount two or three engines, Maserati advances that with engines divided between the two axles, “the total power will exceed 1200 hp”that allows exciting performances and never seen in a Maserati. Therefore, the constructor announces a top speed of 305km/hvery respectable for an electric sports car (the Porsche Taycan, for example, does not exceed 260 km/h), and then promises the ability to go from “0-100 km/h in less than 3 seconds”.

In addition to this GranTurismo Folgore, electric technology will also reach the Grecale, GranCabrio, Quattroporte and Levante, and the level of power that Maserati intends to install remains to be seen. However, it is likely that several versions will emerge, with packages batteries of different capacities and motors with different power levels.

Who should announce a power equal to or greater than 1200 hp will be the MC20 supercar, which has a 620 hp V6 biturbo engine in the gasoline version, a propellant that will also be mounted on the combustion engine version of the GranTurismo. The purpose of the trident mark will be level it with the best in the segmentso it only makes sense to exceed 1,200 hp in this two-seater coupé, Maserati’s sportiest.

With these electric sports cars and coupés, Maserati is preparing to make a significant qualitative leap, even managing to jump to the forefront of new technologies among traditional manufacturers. With the “over 1,200 hp” of the four-seater GranTurismo coupé, the Maserati overtakes, albeit momentarily, Ferrari (whose most powerful model is the SF90, with 1000 hp, a value that is achieved through a PHEV system, since the combustion engine is at 780 hp) and the lamborghini (its flagship model is the Aventador SVJ, with a 770 hp naturally aspirated V12). The truth is that these legendary manufacturers will emerge, sooner or later, with electric and electrified models with higher powers, doing justice to their reputation. In relation to the Audi RS, BMW M, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche, the evolution of the respective powers should be slower and less “generous”.