On April 8, Maserati posted a message on the official Twitter: "GranTurismo Folgore will participate in the 2022 Rome E-Prix, which will take place from April 9 to 10. At the same time, it announced a partnership with ROKiT Venturi Racing for next season's FIA Formula E World Championships. The new car will debut this year and will be officially launched in 2023.
Previously, on March 18, Maserati officially announced the "Folgore Electrification Strategy" and its pure electric model listing plan, and made an official interpretation of the trident brand's operating performance in 2021. As the only ultra-luxury brand within the Stellantis Group, Maserati delivered a good answer sheet in 2021 – the global market share increased to 2.4%, of which North America and China accounted for 2.9% and 2.7% respectively; total sales increased significantly, with a total of 24,269 units delivered to global owners, a significant increase of 41% year-on-year; adjusted operating margin of 5.1%, net revenue of 2.021 billion euros.
In line with the megatrend of electrification, Maserati plans to add electric identity to the entire range in 2025, including the MC20 supercar, the new Quattroporte sports sedan and the new Levante SUV. The GranTurismo Folgore became Maserati's first pure electric model, produced at the Mirafiori plant in Italy. This is a crucial milestone for Maserati and an account given to a wide range of fans by Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.
Why? It was because Tavares had been very close to some of Toyoda's ideas, and he was skeptical of a forced transition to electric vehicles in Europe. In his view, the rapid development of pure electric models will be very expensive for both the economy and the environment. But at the same time, he confidently announced that he had prepared for "green" all of Stellantis' brands. This pie is not very similar to the feeling of Akio Toyoda releasing 15 all-electric concept cars at the end of last year.
A few days ago, foreign media filmed Tavares driving GranTurismo Folgore to the venue of the Formula E race in Rome, and Maserati will be the first Italian brand to participate in FIA Formula E in 2023. Since 1926, the first car built by the four Maserati brothers, the Tipo 26, has been a racing car. Subsequently, until 1954, Maserati won many times in the Grand Prix (F1 predecessor), the Indian 500th race, and the F1 race, and then chose to retreat after having no opponents. Subsequently, in 2004, Maserati took the MC12 to the World Supercar Championship. By 2009, MC12 had won 12 titles. It is no exaggeration to say that Maserati's speed gene has long been deeply rooted in the bones.
For maserati's return to the field, formula e championship founder and chairman Alejandro Mr. Alejandro Agag said: "We are very honoured to welcome the Maserati brand to its new home in world-class motorsport. The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship represents the pinnacle of electric vehicle racing. It provides the perfect stage for the most dynamic and innovative high-performance car brands to showcase their technical capabilities and competitive ambitions. "
In terms of the most anticipated powertrain, the GranTurismo Folgore is expected to be the most powerful Maserati model ever built, with a power output of more than 1,200 horsepower. This will make it faster than the fuel version of granTurismo, which will feature 3 e-motor motors, zero hundred acceleration in just 2 seconds, and a top speed of more than 300 km/h. And Maserati officially revealed that GranTurismo Folgore will have an ultra-high-speed DC DC fast charging configuration, using an 800-volt high-voltage battery system.
It is worth mentioning that Davide Grasso, CEO of Maserati, has said that "performance is the soul of Maserati." He emphasized that the performance is not only the powerful acceleration that any car brand can achieve through the electric drive in the era of electrification, but also the passion, elegant driving feeling that belongs to Maserati, and even on pure electric models, it will inherit the "Maserati" style, comparable to the surging sound of the Italian tenor. In order to obtain this exclusive Maserati sound, Maserati's engineering team spent 18 months doing the work of a tuner to develop a satisfactory virtual sound wave. I'm looking forward to hearing the virtual voice of GranTurismo Folgore, who can inherit Maserati's soul.
In addition, Maserati also said that in the transition period of the next few years, it will confirm that it will not launch a Plug-in Hybrid plug-in hybrid model, and there will only be 48 volts of light oil electric Hybrid power and pure electric power in the future, and the traditional ICE internal combustion engine pure fuel power will gradually withdraw with the original factory strategy in the future. However, Maserati also mentioned that like the supercar MC20, the 630-horsepower "Neptune" 3.0-liter V6 twin-turbo new engine is not a conflict in research and development, but emphasizes the traditional internal combustion engine brand roots, and the future of pure electric power can coexist for a while at this stage, which is also a consolation for internal combustion engine fans. (Pictures are from the Internet)