Maserati GranCabrio Folgore review: A Lightning Bolt from Italy

New Maseratis don't come by often â€" this kind of art takes time to create. The last time I drove a Maserati, it was the Levante Trofeo in Italy itself â€" that was five years ago. In June this year, Maserati invited us to another gathering, this time to experience a new nameplate that joins the ranks of the Modena and Trofeo. It's called Folgore, which is Italian for lightning. Hint enough?

Even Maserati's invitations don't come by often. Unlike many other carmakers, a typical Maserati junket involves a deep dive into the luxury experience to bring us journalists up to speed with what the Maserati lifestyle is all about. As the exclusive Indian on this junket, I also indulged in some exquisite food and wine, only to realise that knowing your wines isn't enough; you also need to know which ones pair well with different kinds of perch (a variety of fish) and the specific methods of their preparation. The fish in question isn't exotic, but it came from an exotic lake â€" Lake Maggiore, one of the largest in Italy and home to the town of Stresa, a luxury spa destination where we drove Maserati's latest offering â€" the GranCabrio Folgore.

Design and Aesthetics

With the Alps casting their majestic shadows and the lake amplifying the drama, it's hard not to feel the romance of Italy seep into every curve and line of this car. Hearing Quentin Amore, Exterior Design Chief at Maserati, speak about the form of the new GranCabrio is like listening to a poet describing his lady love.

From head to toe, it's a grand tour of Italian excellence because it is, after all, the drop-top version of one of the best grand tourers you can buy from Italy â€" the Granturismo. It's like a finely brewed coffee â€" rich, robust, and ready to invigorate the senses. But speaking of coffee, Italians love their espresso, and the Folgore might make the Italians switch to Americano. Let me explain.

The Electric Revolution

Folgore is Maserati's new variant line for electrics. A few years from now, every Maserati car on sale will have a Folgore variant, which sounds fine for the Levante and Grecale SUVs. But from a quintessential grand touring perspective, Italians who want to travel from Modena to Monaco or Cannes on a single pit stop will have to wait much longer for a battery refill than it takes to sip an espresso. An Americano might suffice for a quick 20-minute top-up, provided they find a 270kW fast charger. Italians may love their siesta, but I don't think they would be keen on an extended EV recharging stop in a Maserati. The fact that this car doesn't produce any evocative soundtrack could further aggravate the situation.

Petrolhead's Delight

This is why Maserati ensures that the Grancabrio is available with a petrol power plant too, keeping its typical petrolhead clientele happy. We had a go at the V6-powered Trofeo before driving the Folgore, and it's every bit a Maserati as you would expect and then some! It's quite techy with its pre-combustion and cylinder deactivation functions, it has 500+ horsepower, hitting the ton before you can finish breathing, and adding plenty of aural drama to let the whole neighbourhood know you're in the vicinity. But the Trofeo's performance is not in the same vicinity as the Folgore's â€" and that's the advantage (or the sad truth, depending on which side of the fence you're on) that an EV sports car brings to the table.

Power and Performance

The Folgore puts out a staggering 750 PS with a 0 to 100 km/h time of under three seconds. While it makes only faint noises from the motor, that typical Maserati form turns heads instantly. Save for the absence of tailpipes, it's a spitting image of its petrol counterpart â€" bearing a functional grille and air intakes in the front, diffusers at the rear, and a similar ride height and ground clearance.

Maserati has retained the classic silhouette that we have come to love, reminiscent of the golden era of grand touring. Two-thirds of the car is constructed from lightweight aluminium, and the body lines are decidedly simple, allowing for an aggressive yet elegant stance that imparts Italian charisma. Sure, some might argue that at 0.26 CD, some electric SUVs have a better drag coefficient, but I would argue that the GranCabrio has stunning proportions. The design ensures that it cuts through the air with minimal resistance without compromising its classic form.

Driving Dynamics

And boy, does it go!

The Folgore rockets off the line like a scalded cat, plastering a grin on your face that could only be rivalled by an Italian chef's satisfaction after crafting the perfect tiramisu. All Folgore models feature electric all-wheel drive, ensuring that every single horse is put to good use. The Granturismo and Cabrio employ a single motor at the front and two motors at the rear. In theory, the motors are capable of producing over 1200 PS of combined output, but the battery pack limits it to a mere 750 PS of usable, continuous power â€" because we must have some semblance of sanity.

Handling and Suspension

But is it just a misty-eyed look into the electric future with typical supercar-beating straight-line acceleration, or does it go quickly around corners too? We thought we'd never find out, as the snaking roads around Stresa were narrow, rain-soaked, and about as forgiving as an Italian grandma when you criticize her pasta. Nothing like the Stelvio Pass pretenders we were hoping for. But thankfully, the second half of Maserati's curated drive route took us through some excellent winding sections of a forest, where the roads and the clouds mercifully opened up.

It took the GranCabrio only 15 seconds to drop the roof and only a minute to show me what it was capable of on a good stretch of tarmac! No matter how quick an EV can go, it makes its weight evident when attacking a set of tight switchbacks. The batteries usually start putting a lot of weight on the outer wheels, making the suspension work extremely hard to maintain composure when changing directions. The air suspension on the Folgore sure has a lot riding on it too, but since the petrol and electric versions of the Granturismo and Grancabrio (practically four cars) were developed together from scratch, the engineers were able to design the engine compartment and transmission tunnel in such a way that it could accommodate either an engine and drivetrain or a battery pack. So unlike most EVs, which place the batteries throughout the floor in a skateboard architecture, the Folgore places them behind the firewall, in the transmission tunnel, and under the rear seats. Imagine a battery housing shaped like a T, with serifs.

This allows the Folgore to have a low ride height like its petrol counterparts while ensuring that the four-seater layout and weight distribution aren't compromised. In fact, it helps achieve better mass centralisation by placing the heavy batteries like a spine, letting the car rotate with better control around bends. What adds further to this effect is the Vehicle Domain Control Module (VDCM), developed by Maserati using its Formula E learnings. The car intelligently masks its weight and controls a bit of the weight transfer by constantly balancing power between the front and rear motors. This system becomes most adept in Corsa mode, maximising acceleration and corner exits while keeping traction control intervention to a minimum. You can even enable a drift mode if you so wish, as a function of the Corsa setting.

Sport and Corsa modes also allow for Launch Control and will drop the car by 17mm for maximum performance. In GT mode, the ride height is neutral, and power output is restricted to 80%. At slow

speeds, the car can be raised by 25mm to negotiate speed humps or poor road conditions, which is like giving a racehorse the ability to tiptoe through a muddy paddock â€" utterly brilliant.

Tyres and Brakes

The Folgore uses the same staggered tyre sizes as the petrol variant but opts for the low-resistance Pirelli P Zero Elect tyres. These provide an excellent grip on the Grancabrio, just as they did with the new Taycan when we reviewed it last month. Tyre noise never becomes bothersome, even with the roof down, and the synthesised sonic sound of this EV drowns it out quite a bit.

The braking manners are excellent too, with the VDCM again coming into play, constantly monitoring speed and weight distribution to figure out how to juggle brake force distribution between the three motors and the physical brakes. The brake pedal feel is natural, and the handovers between the systems are so seamless that you wouldn't notice them in either mode.

Final Thoughts

The dynamic experience comes together in a surprisingly good manner â€" like the sweet Pietra Bianca wine paired with the almond-crusted trout we had for dinner the previous night. It wasn't the first time I'd paired white wine with grilled fish, but the experience was unique, and I must admit, it was better than the Italian Involtini I was craving that night. Similarly, it isn't the first time I've driven a ridiculously fast electric sports car, but this first experience with an Italian electric has been nothing short of electrifying.

Grand touring isn't a concept that resonates much in India. But grand tourers and super SUVs make for great everyday supercars and from that perspective, the Granturismo Folgore is an excellent proposition â€" it's a low-slung, two-door, cabriolet, beautiful to look at and guilt-free if you will, without compromising on performance. And when you put all of this together, it's one of a kind! It may not become a collector's item or a Maserati icon, but as a diehard petrolhead, I hate to admit that the Folgore actually drives better than the Trofeo. Yes, you read that right. Better!

This car has proven that at least for Maserati, electrification doesn't mean the end of passion, soul, and that indefinable magic that makes driving their cars an experience to cherish. The Folgore could be the dawn of a new era for the brand because if its performance is any indication, Maserati's lightning bolt has struck!