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Maserati teases all-electric 2022 GranTurismo prototype

Maserati trotted out an early prototype of the 2022 GranTurismo this week, teasing the all-electric replacement for its long-running luxury coupe. The spy-style photographs were shot around the streets of Modena, near the automaker's Innovation Lab, Maserati said in the announcement accompanying the shots. The previous-generation GranTurismo was in production for 12 years before finally retiring in 2019.  The new GranTurismo and its drop-top counterpart, the GranCabrio, have been in development since 2019, but it wasn't until more recently that Maserati confirmed that the next-gen two-doors would spearhead (trident-head?) the company's electrification push. We expect it to borrow from Maserati's upcoming Folgore powertrain which can be configured with up to three electric motors for both all-wheel drive and torque vectoring.  "Going electric is the next logical step. We are trying to avoid unnecessary air openings and air outlets, in contrast to some of our competitors that seem to depend on them to convey a message," explained Maserati head of design Klaus Busse in a previous interview with Autoblog. "In our case, it's about the purity of the body. We can further purify the car by reducing the amount of air intakes and air outlets, which will help us tell the design story even better." We expect to learn details of the all-electric GranTurismo later this year.  Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2023 Maserati MC20 Folgore planned with three-motor electric powertrain

Maserati's first new model of the 2020s, the MC20, strays from the path that's leading carmakers towards electrified and connected vehicles. The brand is nonetheless headed in this direction, and Autoblog can reveal it's planning to release a range of battery-powered cars called Folgore, a name which means "lightning" in Italian. Developed in-house, the 800-volt Folgore powertrain consists of one electric motor mounted over the front axle, and two electric motors installed over the rear axle. Sandro Bernardini, the man responsible for the second-generation GranTurismo, told us this configuration is not going to be reserved for high-performance, high-end cars. It will be the norm. And, although the rear motors are bolted into a single unit that's about the size of a modern four-cylinder engine, there is no mechanical connection between them, meaning Maserati's electric models will benefit from true torque vectoring. Ditching gasoline isn't an excuse to stop chasing performance. As we've previously reported, Maserati's first series-produced battery-powered model will be the next GranTurismo, which is tentatively due out in 2021. Motorists who don't want or need an electric car will be able to order the coupe with a version of the 3.0-liter Nettuno V6 engine that powers the recently-unveiled MC20. Speaking of, the mid-engined coupe will become a mid-motored, zero-emissions coupe a little bit later in its production run. It was developed with both electricity and gasoline in mind from the get-go. Bernardini couldn't share concrete technical specifications, but he noted his team is designing the powertrain to achieve maximum range. Engineers notably went to significant lengths to make the motors smaller, lighter, and more efficient, we're told, and the technology will be compatible with 300-kilowatt fast-charging. While performance details are also under wraps, Autoblog learned the electric version of the MC20 will "absolutely be more powerful" than its 621-horsepower gasoline-burning counterpart. It will be heavier, too, but the power hike will more than make up for the weight gain, and its handling won't be adversely affected. Chassis mock-ups confirm the MC20 Folgore will share its basic underpinnings (including its carbon fiber tub and its subframes) with the gasoline-powered model. Its front motor will occupy the space normally reserved for the frunk, while its rear motor will slot neatly between the two wheels.

Maserati orders explode, 22,500 through September

Last year when Maserati revealed a plan to sell 50,000 units globally by 2015, it seemed like a pretty steep goal for an automaker that had sold just 6,300 units for the entire year. It turns out that goal may be a little on the conservative side. Through September, Automotive News Europe says the Italian automaker has already racked up 22,500 orders mainly on the backs of the redesigned Quattroporte and the all-new Ghibli, and there are still more new products in the pipeline.
Back in August, we heard that demand in China was playing a strong role in Maserati's big numbers in 2013, and this doesn't even include the upcoming Levante SUV, which Maserati CEO Harald Wester expects to add as many as 25,000 units to the mix when it goes on sale in 2015. According to the ANE report, the Quattroporte is still the most popular model with almost 10,000 orders so far this year, while the smaller and more affordable Ghibli is performing quite well with almost 8,000 orders; the aging, but soon-to-be-replaced, GranTurismo models have about 5,000 orders.