Unveiled — The New Maserati GranTurismo 2023

 

The New Maserati GranTurismo

When I first saw a Maserati GranTurismo some 11 years ago, I remember thinking at the time that car design had peaked.

The vehicle profile was striking and vast, baring its teeth as it elegantly roared past. It was design from another era, the past translated into the future if you will, now proven by the ongoing reverence for its design. Even inside the GT was an ever-revealing anomaly; they somehow managed to fit four well-spaced seats into a profile that looked vertically compact and lithe.

GranTurismo MC Stradale 2016

The last GranTurismo I drove was the MC Stradale Edition, a gratifyingly untouched V8 ode the 2009 Maserati GranTurismo. This was especially poignant, as at the time rumours were emerging that there was a successor in the works, a new GranTurismo. Those murmurings have since turned into reality as last week the brand unveiled these their latest iterations of their iconic grand tourer. This latest era also ushers in a new moniker for Maserati, now also referred to as the House of the Trident, further alluding to the brand’s extended reach outside the automotive and also an acknowledgement of the impact Maserati has had further afield.

This new GranTurismo will come in three powertrains, two combustion engines and new electric “Folgore” edition — the first 100% electric Maserati vehicle ever to be released.

Leading the way in combustion efficiency and performance for the Maserati family is the V6 Nettuno engine, originally developed for the MC20, since tweaked for Grecale Trofeo and now seen in both of the new GranTurismo models; the 490 CV 3.0-litre V6 Nettuno Twin Turbo in the GranTurismo Modena and the hyper-optimised 550 CV engine in the GranTurismo Trofeo.

The GranTurismo is much more than a car: it is a product, a brand, a lifestyle, embodying the distinctive concept of “The Others Just Travel”.

I’m the first to admit that while I understand the merits of electric vehicles, I still find it hard to get overly excited by them – especially when it comes to in Italian performance cars. Afterall Maserati is as much about the experience as it is the drive, and the roar of a naturally aspirated V8 adds authenticity to that argument that no electric powertrain could – at least until now.

Even set against the vestige of luxury automotive brands the Maserati engine soundtrack has been its calling card, distinguishable for its tone, resonance and emotive passion. So whatever they decided to do with the GranTurismo Folgore  – the House’s first 100% electric automotive vehicle — would quite literally set the tone for the future of the brand.

Their solution is an ingenious one: rather than translate the organic sound of a combustion engine into the GT Folgore, they mapped the audio profile of their combustion engines, and then recreated it using augmented sounds from the Folgore powertrain. Sounds great in theory, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating as the saying goes and I look forward to giving it the ear test as much as I am the road test.

The New Maserati GranTurismo Folgore Edition

To achieve peak performance this new GranTurismo Folgore has leant on technologies from Formula-E, enabling them to create a drive that their founders would be proud of. Adopting a “T-Bone” configuration for the batteries allows the GT Folgore to sit lower than any electric car currently on the market, while a 270kw charging capability allows you to get over 100km of range in just 5 minutes of charging.  Speedwise it reaches 60mph in a mere 2.7seconds; for comparison the GT Trofeo achieves the same feat in an equally impressive 3.5 seconds.

With over 75 years of GranTurismo heritage, this moment was always going to be highly scrutinised by the House — from the first impressions the scrutiny has most certainly paid off. The true test for a GranTurismo has always been on road and based on what I’ve seen and heard to date, that is something I’m very, very much looking forward to.


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