MASERATI

Maserati GranCabrio Folgore: ‘made in thunder’

A Maserati ‘made in thunder’. With these words, the Italian brand anticipated the GranCabrio Folgore, its first 100% electric convertible that focuses heavily on performance. In fact, it has an 800 V architecture and was developed with technical solutions derived from Formula E.

Like its GranTurismo coupé sibling, the GranCabrio Folgore offers four seats and there is extensive use of lightweight materials such as aluminum and magnesium, along with high-performance steel. The style was also developed in conjunction with the coupé version, to better interpret the transition from a rigid roof to a retractable one.

Exterior...For the GranCabrio, it was decided to maintain the design of the previous generation, much appreciated by customers, and the classic proportions of the brand's cars were preserved. The renewed details are the vertical headlights and the grille, which includes the iconic 3D trident logo. At the back, on the other hand, are the headlights debuted by GranTurismo, with Full LED technology.

One of the most characteristic elements of the GranCabrio is the canvas roof, available in five colors (Nero, Blue Marine, Grigio Titan, Greige, Granata) and which can be activated when traveling at a maximum speed of 50 km/h, and can be open in 14 and be closed in 16 seconds.

For traveling outdoors, even when temperatures are low, there are hot air vents as standard for the back of the head and neck, while an optional extra is the deflector that reduces turbulence inside.

The new Maserati GranCabrio Folgore arrives with a staggered wheel configuration, with the rear wheels being larger (21 inches with 295/30 tires) than the front ones (20 inches with 265/35 tires). There are six designs to choose from. On the other hand, the brake calipers are available in two different colors for the Trofeo version: black and dark anodized copper.

Interior...The GranCabrio's cabin echoes the style of the MC20, Cielo, Grecale and, of course, the GranTurismo. It has the Maserati Intelligent Assistant (MIA) multimedia system, a Comfort screen that brings together the main functions in an integrated touch interface, a digital clock and the Head-up Display (available as an option).

The seats are sporty with integrated headrests and offer 18 adjustment possibilities, managed through levers located on the bottom of the seats and some functions can be controlled from the central screen. It is worth noting that the GranCabrio Folgore offers the use of sustainable materials such as Econyl, a regenerated nylon produced from the recovery of waste.

From competition to the road...As mentioned before, for the GranCabrio the Maserati development team started with an electric motor from Formula E. The supercar is powered by three motors, one at the front and two at the rear (driven by inverters silicon carbide derivatives of Formula E).

Torque vectoring adjusts the car's level of force when accelerating and also when releasing the pedal and braking. The braking system available on the GranCabrio is closely derived from the MC20; Therefore, the front and rear fixed calipers are available in aluminum, cast in one piece. Additionally, there is a double-cast rotor with a bell-shaped aluminum housing.

The battery, produced at the Mirafiori Battery Hub plant in Turin, has a nominal capacity of 92.5 kWh. For their part, the engines can deliver 761 hp to all four wheels, a figure that increases to 829 hp with the MaxBoost function.

Finally, the sound experience is guaranteed by the work of the Maserati Innovation Lab engineers, who reproduced the typical sound of the house's V8 engine, an experience completed by the Sonus faber 3D immersive audio system.

In the Folgore version, the GranCabrio has four different driving modes: Max Range, GT, Sport and Corsa.

Autonews