Folgore. Say it as Pacino would in The Godfather II, with open palms and a shrug of the shoulder. Fol-goreh. It’s Italian for lightning. But it’s also how Maserati is branding its bold initiative to go all-electric by 2028.
The Trident car maker has already revealed its electric Grecale Folgore mid-size SUV, along with its gorgeous GranTurismo Folgore two-door coupe. There’s talk too of a Folgore electric version of its MC20 supercar sometime next year. Watts not to love about that?
But for me, the most exciting and most electrifying of its newest Folgore offerings is the quite-spectacular GranCabrio Folgore convertible, unveiled a few weeks back.
That’s right, an electric drop-top. When it arrives early next year, with a price tag expected to kick off at a non-trivial $220,000, it’ll be the world’s one-and-only luxury electric roadster.
Just look at the thing. It has more curves than a Tuscan backroad, a front end that pouts like a moody six-year-old, and a windshield more raked than an Aspen ski slope.
See it on the street, preferably Via Condotti in central Roma, and it would cause grown men to be induced to palpitations and floods of tears.
It’s brimming with lovely detailing too. Like the aero-style diamond-cut wheels, and all the badging painted in rich, dark copper. I love too the trademark Folgore paint color, which is this stunning shade called Rose Gold Liquid Metal. I’m curious, however, to see a similar pinky shade you can get, called Powder Nude.
That styling alone would be enough to deplete your eldest’s college fund to acquire the keys. But this is an EV GranCabrio, powered by a trio of electric motors delivering up to an astonishing 818 horsepower. Yes, I said that correctly, 818 galloping, wheel-spinning horseys.
Stomp on the right pedal from standstill and you’ll hit 60 mph in a mere 2.7 seconds, 0-to-120 in 9.1. Flat out we’re talking a computer-limited 180 mph, even with the top down. Hold on to your Fedora.
And while you’d think that this new GranCabrio Folgore would be a scion of silence, having no gas motor under the hood, you’d be wrong. Maserati has given the car a muted, synthesized soundtrack that replicates the rumble of one of its old-school V-8s.
If there’s a potential shortcoming of all this electric motivation, it’s range. Or, to be precise, a lack of it. There are no official EPA figures yet, but Maserati quotes 280 miles. Expect closer to 250 in real world driving. Not bad, but not great either.
The car’s 800-volt architecture though, means that it can fast-charge at up to 270 kWs. That’s enough to add 60 miles of range every five minutes, or go from 20 to 80 per cent charge in just 18 minutes. Just long enough to sip a Starbucks.
For me, electric power will be the icing on the torta for this oh-so-sexy Italian stallion. It’ll give Tesla Plaid-style, rock-out-of-a-catapult acceleration, coupled with on-rails cornering. And all enjoyed, top down, with wind in the hair.
Talking of top down, the GranCabrio’s top can drop in just 14 seconds, and at speeds up to 31 mph. There’s a choice of fabric top colors too, from black, blue, gray and red.
Inside, there are seats for four in a typical Maserati-luxurious interior. While leather is available, the standard upholstery is something called EcoNyl which, as the name suggests, is created from recycled nylon, mostly old fishing nets and plastic scraps, with laser-etched perforations to give it texture.
Of course, if you’re not quite ready for an electric GranCabrio, Maserati will gladly sell you one with its fabulous 542 hp Nettuno 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 similar to the powerplant in the MC20 supercar. It’s not quite as zippy off the line as the Folgore electric version, but it’ll run 0-to-60 in 3.4 seconds. It’s less pricy too at $203,000.
But for the sheer uniqueness, and awesome bragging rights of driving the very first luxury EV convertible, it has be a Folgore. It’s the future. Capisce?
