Those who have gasoline in their veins strain their ears when they hear 1,200 hp and 1,350 Nm. But the Maserati GT Folgore that we tested is not a combustion car
The Maserati GT Folgore has a nominal power of 1,200 hp and a maximum torque of 1,350 Nm. It surpasses everything that is currently being created in the field of high-powered vehicles, but it still has a very clear opponent: the Porsche Taycan Turbo S.
Because? Because the three electric motors of the Maserati, two on the rear axle and one on the front, actually “only” yield 761 hp permanently. In ‘boost’ mode it raises them to 829 CV for a short time.
However, the Italian with its engine layout has its own advantages, which of course cannot be better experienced anywhere than the racing circuit of the brand with the trident, or what comes to the same thing: at the Auto Dromo di Modena.
Several personalities in the Maserati GT Folgore
The GT has four driving modes. The first ensures maximum autonomy, which is specified at 450 kilometers according to WLTP, but not only limits performance, but also influences highly energy-consuming elements, such as air conditioning. GT mode is for travel. Here, only 80% of the available power is released. But, even with this “depletion” of power, it is powerful on the circuit.
If you want full power you should put it in Sport mode, although the ESC and some other little “helpers” will still be very attentive. Things really heat up when the drive programs switch on the steering wheel is turned to the Corsa position. Full power, without control systems and fireworks of emotions on the circuit.
This is because, as GT technical director Davide Danesin explains, “care was taken to ensure that much more power is sent to the rear wheels.”
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Thanks to the two motors and a sophisticated vectoring system it allows an optimal distribution of power exactly to the wheel that is needed at that moment. “We can mobilize up to 100% of the available power at each wheel,” explains Danesin. “Of course, that only makes sense if you want to drift or just spin,” says the chief engineer with a smile.
However, the fact is that it is precisely this distribution of power that prevents the rear of the Folgore from going wild when cornering too fast. Although the movement of the rear end can be clearly felt, the electrified GT returns to the track with stubborn force before the driver has a heart attack. In this sense, the car allows more than what you are used to with a combustion engine.
Heart-stopping benefits in the electric Maserati
This also applies to acceleration. If you put your foot down, you can hit 100 km/h in 2.7 seconds, 200 km/h in 8.8, and Maserati advertises a top speed of 320 km/h without a break because no gearbox is required. That’s 60 km/h more than a Porsche Taycan Turbo S can do.
But something else sets the Italians apart: the battery is not tucked under the floor between the axles, as is now the case in electric cars, but extends through the underbody in a T-shape.
Thus, it grows up where the cardan shaft would find its place and divides just behind the front and rear axles. On the one hand, this has the advantage that the seats can still be lowered, on the other hand, it avoids the physical force that the weight of the battery would cause when cornering: this lateral thrust on the wheels is completely absent on the Maserati GT Folgore .
That’s not to say the weight of the 2.3-tonne isn’t noticeable, but it can be steered almost effortlessly with the help of smooth but absolutely precise steering.
The true electric sound
By the way, all this happens under a very particular soundscape. While other manufacturers allow themselves to compose fantastic sounds, Maserati has decided that electric machines also deserve to produce noise based on good. “And that’s exactly what we use to create our own sound,” explains Danesin.
To make the work of the electric motors or the converter clearly audible, 120-watt speakers were installed near the rear axle. And so, the rumble makes it “the V8 of the electric”.
Now, of course, the question can be raised as to how long the driving pleasure lasts on the circuit: much longer than expected in the test. The reason for this is undoubtedly that up to 400 kW of energy is recovered under braking and the battery, with its 92.5 kWh gross and the 83 kWh useful, does not deplete so quickly. And if you wish, you can use the powerful paddle shifters on the steering wheel to use the recall levels up to single-paddle driving in all driving modes.
All the technology is based, and here you can also look at Zuffernhausen, on 800 volt architecture. However, the Folgore is also superior to a Taycan in these contests, because it charges with a maximum of 270 kW. This means that after five minutes at the correct charging station, there is electricity in the battery for another 100 kilometers.
A circumstance that did not have to be taken advantage of in the Modena circuit, because after some 20 laps with a fully charged battery there was still room for another 185 kilometres.
Interior design
The attentive reader will be surprised that there are no images of the interior of the Maserati GT Folgore in that test. The explanation is simple: it has not yet been released. But nothing prevents us from making a spoiler: it is very similar to that of the Maserati Grecale.
Digital instrument cluster in the driver’s direct field of vision, a touch screen that literally flows from the dashboard to the center console, through which you can control the air conditioning or headlights as well as multimedia services. Four tactile switches activate “forward”, “reverse”, “park” and “neutral” positions.
This creates space in the center console, because storage space is at a premium in the GT Folgore. And that is no less important, because the trunk has a volume of 270 liters, 40 liters less than in the combustion models.
At this point, the last and perhaps most important question arises: How much does the Maserati GT Folgore cost? Here, too, the Taycan Turbo S was apparently looked at: the Italian will be around 200,000 euros.
Factors to decide the purchase
The Maserati GT Folgore is something very special within electric cars. The fact that it’s based on the Porsche Taycan Turbo S in terms of performance is legit, but that it surpasses it on the racetrack in terms of performance is pretty amazing.
Its acceleration is just as impressive as its top speed, though how the Italian will fare in everyday life remains to be seen, because that’s exactly what the words Gran Turismo stand for. What we are clear about is that on the circuit it has a license for absolute driving pleasure.
