Maserati GranTurismo Folgore prototype | PH Review

Amped-up EV will make petrol versions feel slow

While it would never be fair to describe the handsome styling of the Maserati GranTurismo Folgore as plain packaging, it does prove that radical innovation doesn’t need to look startlingly different. Beyond its lack of exhaust pipes and the arrival of the flap below the rear left-hand taillight that covers its charging port, only badging and different wheel designs distinguish the Folgore from its V6-powered sisters. Yet as Maserati’s first full EV, this is one of the biggest technological leaps the Italian brand has made.

The launch of the petrol-powered GranTurismos in Italy also gave the chance to experience a prototype version of the Folgore, albeit only on track at Vallelunga rather than the more relevant environment of a road route. At least the EV got to ride on summer spec Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres rather than the winter rubber I experienced its combustion sisters on.

The Folgore has been a huge engineering challenge. It shares its core structure with the Modena and Trofeo, necessitating the use of a strangely shaped battery pack which occupies most of the space filled with engine and gearbox in the combustion car, plus more besides. So the pack is tall and wide at the front, getting narrower and shorter as it moves into what would be the V6’s transmission tunnel and then gaining two cruciform elements at the back to exploit the extra space between the rear seats.

Laid out in one of the Vallelunga pit garages the pack is a truly spectacular-looking thing, but its size is also a reminder of how hard it is to store energy electrically rather than chemically. Peak capacity is 92kWh - of which 84kWh is usable – with Maserati targeting a 250-mile WLTP range rating. The battery boasts 800 Volt architecture and can support DC fast charging at rates of up to 300kW, but its most important statistic from a vehicle dynamic point of view is the fact it weighs nearly 600kg. Meaning that the 2,240kg Trofeo will be 450kg heavier than the V6 GranTurismo.

Maserati is also claiming that the complicated battery shape gives benefits over an underfloor pack, most obviously by allowing the Folgore to keep a seating position as low as the one in the V6, and to have handling characteristics similar to those of the combustion cars – it’s the same argument that Wiesmann uses for its tall, narrow pack in Project Thunderball. But it doesn’t take more than a rudimentary knowledge of Newtonian physics to recognise that the Folgore’s centre of gravity is going to be a fair bit higher than something with its mass as low as a Tesla or Porsche Taycan.

The Folgore’s extra weight is being offset by a substantial increase in power. Maserati has created a very advanced three-motor powertrain, with a pair at the rear, one turning each wheel and then one upfront. Each motor can deliver a peak output of 402hp, but the battery isn’t up to handling the flow rates that would be necessary to achieve that 1,200hp plus peak. The combined peak is battery limited to a still impressive 750hp, with up to 375hp of that going to the front – but the Folgore can also send its entire output to the back and become entirely rear-wheel driven.

Not today, though. The drive was limited to a tamed version of the track at Vallelunga, using all the available chicanes plus a couple of cone-marked ones to break up the longer straights. The combination meant it was never possible to apply full throttle for more than about five seconds at a time, which did feel like a configuration carefully designed to protect the Folgore’s powertrain from excessive heat. But, to be fair, it managed two five-lap stints without any sense of the powertrain de-rating while being driven flat out at every opportunity.

Acceleration felt predictably serious. It is hard to subjectively quantify the levels of performance of quicker EVs, all being able to produce organ-sloshing quantities of accelerative Gs. But from the driver’s seat, the Folgore feels in the same ballpark as the Taycan Turbo S and Model 3 Performance - bordering on being physically uncomfortable. As in the petrol GranTurismos, the Folgore has various dynamic modes controlled by a rotary dial on the steering wheel, with this cycling between Max Range, GT, Sport and Corsa. We couldn’t use Corsa in the prototype, which isn’t finished yet, and as GT limits the powertrain to no more than 80 per cent of peak output I spent pretty much all my time at Vallelunga in Sport to enjoy the full amount.

The Folgore does have a generated electronic noise, although not one I spent too much time concentrating on during my two stints. This gives an impression of rising speed and seemed fairly quiet through the padding of a helmet; I didn’t mind it but nor did it feel like a vital addition to the experience. The steering wheel paddles remain to vary levels of regeneration, but even the strongest of these didn’t feel especially powerful on track. The front motor does allow for regen to play a significant role in slowing down, though - helping save the brakes. It felt stable under big stops - impressively so given its weight - although the prototype’s pedal delivered over-keen responses at the very top of its travel.

The twin motor rear setup felt commendably natural at Vallelunga, given there is no physical connection between the motors powering each of the Folgore’s rear wheels. This requires an ultra-fast software system to maintain a safe relationship between them; just imagine the consequences if one rear motor failed and the other kept delivering full output for even a few fractions of a second.

This twin motor setup also allows full torque vectoring, the Folgore theoretically able to deliver 100 per cent of torque to one side and none to the other. On track, the torque-shunting felt less obvious than the active differential of the V6 Trofeo felt on road. I’ve no doubt that the system was working invisibly to help fight understeer, but that’s because there was a lot of understeer to fight - the Folgore’s sizeable mass especially obvious in the many tight corners of the circuit configuration Maserati was running. Steering communication was good - much crisper than the winter tyred combustion cars under track loadings; but the messages were mostly about the lack of front-end grip. The Corsa mode is apparently more rear-biased, and the finished car will even boast a drift function. But the prototype’s cautious stability control meant it never got the chance to show demonstrate a fun side during my brief time with it.

Remove corners from the mix and the Folgore will be much quicker than its petrol-powered siblings. Maserati is claiming a 2.7-sec 0-62mph time - 0.8-sec inside the Trofeo - and an even more impressive 8.8-second 0-124mph time which would make it a searing 2.6 seconds quicker than the V6 through that benchmark. The extra performance and pioneering novelty of being Maserati’s first EV is going to come with a substantial cost, though - we’re told to expect pricing to be around £185,000 when sales begin in the autumn.

SPECIFICATION | MASERATI GRANTURISMO FOLGORE PROTOTYPE

Engine: 3x electric motors, 84kWh usable battery
Transmission: Single-speed reductions, all wheel drive
Power (hp): 750 (system peak)
Torque (lb ft): 995 (system peak)
0-62mph: 2.6 seconds
Top speed: 202mph
Weight: 2,260kg
MPG: NA
CO2: 0g/km
Price: £185,000 (est)

OP Posts Only

Prev 2 3...5 6 Next

OP Posts Only

Author

Discussion

Oliie

Original Poster

47 posts

132 months