Maserati GranTurismo Folgore review

March 5, 2025 Matt Allan

Maserati has long been famous for throaty V8s and howling V6s, so how is it managing the shift to electric? We’ve driven the GranTurismo Folgore to find out.

It’s been quite a few years since I drove a Maserati GranTurimso.

My memories of that drive in pouring rain along Loch Lomond-side are of a twitchy, furious sounding machine that felt pleasingly old-school amidst more sanitised, locked-down alternatives.

But it was definitely old-school, and not a car that fitted in in the 2020s, which is why in 2022 Maserati launched the second-generation GranTurismo with an eye to its long-term future.

Key to that future is a plan to be an all-electric brand by 2028, an effort spearheaded by the tri-motor Maserati GranTurismo Folgore, which sits alongside the V6-powered variants.

But does future-proofing through electrification rob the red-blooded sports car of the character that made it so appealing? I’ve been trying to find out.

In truth, the routes available to drive the GranTurismo Folgore weren’t quite of the calibre or challenging nature of a wet Loch Lomondside. But in amongst the Midlands traffic and mud. I did get a flavour of this grand electric tourer’s capabilities.

The Folgore is significantly more powerful than either of the two petrol variants of the GranTurismo

And on that relatively brief acquaintance, the GranTurismo Folgore definitely feels spectacular but more sanitised. Despite packing 220bhp more power than the old V8, the electric GT feels far more settled and less likely to snap at you in the way its predecessor did.

That’s undoubtedly partly due to far more advanced traction and stability systems and partly due to the Folgore’s four-wheel-drive setup. That all-wheel-drive system is powered by an innovative three-motor arrangement which places one motor on the front axle and an individual unit each at the rear wheels. In total those motors are capable of producing 1,183bhp, although for the sake of the battery, they’re limited to a combined 751bhp output. That’s still 200bhp more than the current twin-turbo V6 petrol.

The battery is also innovative, arranged in a T-shape in the space occupied by the ICE car’s transmission. This not only allows for better weight distribution but also an impressively low centre of gravity. The GranTurismo has the lowest ride height of any EV on the market.

The placement of the battery certainly seems to help the GranTurismo Folgore’s road manners. The car hugs the road and feels sweetly balanced when you find a flowing series of corners – carving through with the smooth precision you want from a grand tourer and powering out of them keenly thanks to the clever power and torque distribution of that three-motor arrangement. The steering is accurate and with the right weight and speed, but there’s a lack of feedback from the electronic system.

The GranTurismo Folgore hides its weight well on country roads

As with other Maseratis, Sport and Corsa driving modes firm up the electronically controlled air suspension as well as giving more urgency to the steering and throttle, but it’s too stiff for UK roads. Thankfully, a quick press on the drive mode dial softens the ride to an acceptable level while maintaining the sharper steering and throttle.

Acceleration from the three motors is gut-punchingly quick – 0-62mph in 2.7 seconds. And thanks to the electric motors, pick-up from any speed is instantaneous, making it feel far more responsive than the flappy-paddle ICE car. The massive alloy gearshift paddles remain in the Folgore but are used to adjust brake regeneration through four stages from ‘off’ to ‘kiss the dashboard’. Pleasingly, the transition from motor regen to friction brakes is imperceptible and there’s a reassuring meatiness and linearity to the stopping power.

Clearly, the howling V6 of the petrol car has a more emotive engine note but Maserati has tried to imbue the Folgore with a little of that drama through a synthesised sound. This creates a fairly convincing replica of a throaty V8 that matches your rising speed without becoming overbearing.

On a practical front, the GranTurismo Folgore uses an 83kWh battery that, theoretically, provides up to 280 miles of range. Settle in for a relaxing long-distance cruise and you might see close to that. Use the car’s prodigious power freely and you’ll be topping up far more frequently but thankfully, 270kW charging means you’ll never have to stop for long.

Sitting on top of all that high-power, high-tech gubbins is an absolutely stunning GT body. The wheel arches rise up at the front to frame the long, low bonnet while the rear arches swell to meet the short rear deck, giving the GranTurismo near perfect proportions. Maserati’s famous concave grille has a matte black finish common to all Folgore models and while the trio of vents behind the front wheels nod to Maserati’s heritage they are capped with the Folgore badge intimating the car’s modern powertrain.

Inside, you’ll find a remarkably spacious cabin that fits the grand tourer profile brilliantly. Even for an abnormally tall driver like me, there’s plenty of headroom – thanks to that low floor – and legroom in the front is also generous. Not so much in the rear. Maserati calls this a four-seater but with anyone above average in the front, the back seats are largely useless. The boot, too, is clearly only really for two, with a narrow aperture and 270 litres of space.

The interior is remarkably spacious for two, not so much for four

My test car featured a smorgasbord of textures – from the white leather and sustainable ‘denim’ fabric seats to the wood-effect sliver of dashboard trim and the open-weave carbon fibre centre console threaded with real copper wire. It sounds a lot but actually ties together remarkably well and, for the main part, feels like a match for Maserati’s high-end positioning. The biggest letdown of the interior is the unattractive two-screen setup in the centre console, which feels like it belongs in one of Maserati’s lesser Stellantis stablemates. The upper part controls the infotainment and vehicle settings while the lower is mostly concerned with climate functions. Both are slow to respond, with ugly graphics and are too visually busy to be considered user-friendly.

Frankly, the entire system feels out of place in a £195,000 car.

That price is with a host of options, including the tasteful £3,720 Blu Modena paint and the outrageous £5,000 driving assistance package that features the kind of kit that’s standard on a £40,000 Kia. But, really, if you can afford the £178,000 starting price, such matters are completely insignificant and you’ll tick every box on the configurator anyway.

If you do, you’ll be rewarded with a remarkably complete vehicle that really nails the concept of an electric grand tourer.

The Maserati GranTurismo Folgore has the looks, the space and the refinement of a great long-distance cruiser. That is paired with the eye-popping performance of its triple electric motors and what feels – on the basis of our brief time with it – like a neatly balanced, responsive chassis.

It might lack the venom of the original GT but shows there’s still plenty of bite in Maserati’s all-electric future.