Open, closed, rwd and fewer electric motors
With a fully electric version, a Modena and a Trofeo, there is already a lot to choose from with the new Maserati GranTurismo, but the range will be expanded considerably in the future.
The new second-generation Maserati GranTurismo was presented in October. We were recently able to go on the road with it and if you are reading this, you will find a video elsewhere on the site with our first experiences. During that product presentation, we spoke in Italy with Davide Danesin, the development chief of, among other things, the GranTurismo model series. Logically, Danesin is not yet revealing all the plans for the future with his brand new brainchild, but he is not afraid to lift some tips of the proverbial veil.
One of the most striking features of the new GranTurismo is that it is a four-wheel drive. This applies to both the petrol models (Modena and Trofeo) and the electric Folgore. When asked, Danesin indicates that the market is asking for this and that all-wheel drive for the current line-up turned out to be ‘simply the best choice’. But that doesn’t rule out rear-wheel drive GranTurismos in the future, he adds immediately. It therefore seems likely that there will be a sporty (petrol) top version that does send all the power to the rear, in the spirit of the Maserati MC Stradale of yesteryear.
Family expansion is also waiting for the electric variant. Danesin emphatically calls the current Folgore ‘the top model of the range’, opening the door to new, less powerful electric GranTurismos. The current Folgore gets 750 hp from three electric motor towers and blasts from 0 to 100 in 2.7 seconds, something less smooth does not seem to us to be a problem immediately. Here too, rear-wheel drive is not inconceivable, although a four-wheel drive configuration with two instead of three electric motors is perhaps more obvious for the EV.
Convertible
What we already knew is that there will be another GranCabrio from the closed GranTurismo. Extra special is the fully electric GranCabrio Folgore, which seems to be the first real electric convertible upon its introduction. That alone makes it extremely interesting, as the dense GranTurismo Folgore is actually the first of its kind.
More models on this base
The family expansion at Maserati is not limited to the GranTurismo, it appears in Italy. With the MC20, the Grecale and the new GT, the line-up is partly up to date, but the Ghibli and Quattroporte in particular are crying out for replacement. Maserati is not yet making any concrete statements about this, but does report that more models are on the way on the platform of the GranTurismo. That platform is known internally as Giorgio Sport, because it shares some features with the Giorgio platform of Alfa Romeo’s Giulia and Stelvio. It therefore seems likely that the successor to the two sedans, which is said to be one car, will be on this basis. Of course, an electric Folgore of this car will appear, which will play an increasingly important role at Maserati in the future.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl