The Maserati MC20 Folgore will arrive in 2024 as the flag-bearer for a brigade of electric sports cars, pairing traditional mid-engined styling and handling with whip-crack acceleration and outstanding usability.
In a rare exclusive interview with Autocar, Maserati CEO Davide Grasso outlined his expectations and hopes for the MC20 Folgore, which is one of six EVs Maserati will launch by 2026 as it gears up to phase out combustion engines.
Above all, revealed Grasso, Maserati aims to substantially boost performance over the existing V6-engined MC20 without losing its character or sense of engagement.
“The type of acceleration you get from an electric car is different from an ICE [car],” said Grasso. “But absolutely from a handling standpoint and from a speed standpoint, the electric MC20 will be, to our knowledge, the first super-sports car that’s fully electric.”
Grasso refused to be drawn on more specific performance and technical details (“the programme is still going full steam; it’s a bit too early for me to start sharing”). But he suggested the difference in character between the V6 and EV versions of the new Granturismo will be a good indicator of how the MC20 variants will be told apart:
“Once we’ve launched the Granturismo in Folgore and ICE forms, I think you’re going to have a sense – driving both those cars – of how that could be translated in the MC20 Folgore versus [MC20] ICE.”
The MC20 will be the third Maserati made available as an EV, following the Granturismo and Grecale SUV in 2023. The next-generation Quattroporte saloon and Levante SUV are set to be electric-only from launch (see overleaf).
The MC20 was conceived from the off to accommodate both ICE and EV hardware, so the Folgore will be structurally very similar to the existing car, rather than sit on an adapted version of the platform used by Maserati’s larger EVs (itself derived from sibling firm Alfa Romeo’s Giorgio platform).
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for me an EV is akin to a kitchen appliance, does a job, but not something to get excited about!
Anyone who thought the supercar driving experience was seriously damaged from thr demise of manual gearboxes, is going to be really disappointed with these EV's.
Thing is, every EV I have driven gives largely the same experience. Instant torque, near silent (or annoying hum/whine) progress and a heavy feeling when changing direction. All that coupled with poor range when exploiting the performance. Seems like a backward step for most petrol heads I would guess. That's why I have just treated myself to a nice V8.
You make good points, but, as you say “every EV [you] have driven gives largely the same experience”. That being instant torque, silent motoring and the sensation of heft when changing direction, which are all the classic experiences of driving a BEV. Yet, you then go on to add that “All that coupled with poor range when exploiting the performance. Seems like a backward step for most petrol heads I would guess.” This is the part that seems to not hold up under scrutiny in my opinion humble opinion. Isn’t it the case that ICE vehicles experience “poor range when exploiting the performance”?! Famed, but extreme, examples being the Veyron and Chiron. Driven civil, you’ll be fortunate if you get 10+ miles per gallon, but attempting to reach their 250 mpg+ performance threshold, would leave you burning through a full tank of fuel in less than 15 minutes! The same is true whether one is driving a family vehicle, sports car, super car and hyper car. EV are heavy, but with most vehicles sold being CUV/SUVs, most vehicles on the road today are not far behind those of electric vehicles. When you watch the video, though, of the Top Gear team driving the preproduction electric GranTurismo, one can not help to see that it is going to be a special car! It does/will having it s draw backs, but as seen in the video, it will leave little to nothing to its ICE stablemates. IMHO, I think in time that unbiased auto enthusiast will find, when it comes to ICE verses BEV, that neither is better then the other, only different. While they may have their individual preference, there are things to love about each mode of transportation. In the end, I think that EVs are not going to be as easy to live with as some may have hoped, but others will find that they are not as difficult to live with as they had feared! In the over all picture, BEVs will not be as hard to live with as vehicles with internal combustion engines!
Similarly, nobody floors a Skoda from London to Manchester.
EVs might have a range problem, still, but performance EVs do not.