The Maserati Folgore Range Plans for a Future of Italian Luxury EVs by 2025
The automotive industry at large is marching toward electrification, with many brands set to introduce completely electric vehicle lineups by the late 2020s or early 2030s. However, the niche Italian luxury brand Maserati seeks to accelerate past its competition and become the first luxury brand with a full EV lineup by 2025. Here’s a look at the Maserati Folgore range and the brand’s electrification plans.
Maserati Folgore and the brand’s future EV lineup
Maserati’s electrified lineup is dubbed “Folgore,” an apt name given folgore means “lightning” in Italian. The automaker won’t be the first to give its EV models a specific moniker — Mercedes-Benz has its EQ series, and BMW continues to use the “i” branding, for instance — but Maserati is aiming for its Folgore lineup to beat others to punch with a fully electric lineup by 2025. The brand will no longer offer internal combustion cars by the end of the decade, according to MotorTrend.
To meet its ambitious goals, Maserati has already unveiled several Folgore models it will manufacture alongside internal combustion variants of the same model. The Folgore lineup will soon receive a major charge of performance with the rebirth of the GranTurismo nameplate. The GranTurismo Folgore is expected to join Maserati’s lineup in 2024 alongside its ICE version.
The GranTurismo Folgore is designed on an 800V architecture with three 300-kW permanent magnet motors. The electric sports coupe will offer about 760 horsepower to the wheels and will be fitted with a 92.5-kWh battery pack the automaker claims will have a “T” shape to maximize interior space. It will also reportedly feature a 0-60 mph time of 2.7 seconds. A drop-top version of the GranTurismo, the GranCabrio Folgore, is also slated to be introduced.
Alongside the electric GranTurismo, Maserati will introduce the Grecale Folgore compact electric SUV in 2024, joining the gasoline-only and hybrid versions of the Grecale in Maserati’s lineup. Maserati has kept its lips sealed on many of the finer details of the Grecale Folgore. However, it has been revealed it will ride on a 400V architecture, have a 105-kWh battery capacity, and generate nearly 600 lb-ft of torque.
The full Folgore lineup is expected to debut by 2025, including electric versions of the MC20 high-performance sports car, Quattroporte sports sedan, and Levante midsize SUV.
Maserati is racing other luxury manufacturers to a full EV lineup
Maserati may achieve its goal of becoming the first luxury brand to fully electrify its lineup, but it certainly won’t be the only manufacturer with such plans.
Jaguar also plans to electrify its lineup by 2025 and is set to debut three new EV SUVs that could join the brand’s existing electric crossover, the I-Pace, according to Electrifying.
BMW could be considered an early adopter of electrification with its i3 hatchback and i8 sports car. The brand hasn’t announced a date to go fully electric, though it has said it expects at least half of its models sold to be EVs by 2030. The German luxury brand has continued building its EV lineup by introducing the i4 sedan, i7 flagship sedan, and iX SUV.
Mercedes-Benz has announced its lineup will be fully electric by 2030. Its EQ lineup has grown significantly over the last three years with the introduction of the flagship EQS Sedan and EQS SUV, the EQB compact SUV, the EQE midsize sedan, and EQE SUV.
Porsche is set to electrify its 718 lineup by 2025, which will join the Taycan electric sports sedan as a zero-emissions offering from the lauded brand, according to SCMP. However, as of now, Porsche has no plans to electrify the 911 and is investing heavily in alternative fuels.
Maserati’s fellow Italian automaker, Lamborghini, also plans to electrify its lineup, but not at the same ambitious pace. Lamborghini expects to hybridize its lineup by the mid-point of the decade and introduce its first EV in the second half of the 2020s.
