- Maserati’s fast two-row SUV, the Grecale Folgore, now comes with an all-electric drivetrain, making it the third type of drivetrain available for the car.
- It brings Maserati one step closer to its goal of running on electricity alone by 2028.
- The Grecale Folgore will cost more than $100,000 and will come in July.
There was lightning in Modena
Maserati says that by 2025, all of its models will be offered in fully electric form, and by 2028, all of Maserati’s cars will be powered by electricity alone. With the new, fast, and fuel-efficient Grecale Folgore SUV and the Gran Turismo Folgore, it is getting closer to that goal. The name “Folgore” comes from the Italian word for “thunderbolt,” which means “lightning.” This is a good name for an electric sports SUV.
“Grecale,” on the other hand, refers to the name of the northeastern wind and, in Italian, means “Greece.” Greece is a country northeast of Italy. If you start in Syracuse on the island of Sicily, look up and to the right on your map. Maserati is famous for giving its cars awkward names. The Ghibli, Bora, Karif, Khamsin, and Shamal are just a few examples.
The thunderbolt powers the Grecale’s front and back electric motors through a 105-kWh (96.7 usable) battery under the floor. Maserati says that the motors’ 550 horsepower and 605 lb-ft of torque would boost the speed to 137 mph, and the time it takes to go from 0 to 62 mph is 4.1 seconds.
The Folgore, which can carry five people, has an all-electric range of 311 miles, which is a bit longer than the Grecales’ fuel- or hybrid-engined range. Tires that use less gas would let it go farther, but Maserati wants this to be a sports SUV, not a big Fiat 500e.
Tires called Pirelli P-Zeros have 255/40 tires up front and 295/35 tires in the back and are placed on 21-inch wheels, powering the sleek beast. The P-Zero type called “ELECT” has a “C” shape that looks like an electric plug. This means that performance and economy are well balanced.
In the same way, electric motors can be very quiet, but Maserati made their electric SUV sound like a sports car. Because of this, three speakers outside the car make a noise that can’t be turned off. Some outside sounds are needed by law, but Maserati thought it was important always to have some sounds to make driving more enjoyable. The head of Maserati’s engineering car line, Andrea Zizak, said, “There was a discussion inside Maserati.”
Maserati E-Mobility Expert Carlo Lazzaroni said, “At first, I wasn’t sure about this sound, but after driving a lot, I started to believe in it.” “We want each Maserati to make the Folgore sound.” It will also be a sound that defines future Maserati cars. It was exactly the same as it had been in the past.
Lazzaroni said that the needed sound might be changed in the future so that customers can turn it off. Even though the tones weren’t too loud, sometimes you want to be left alone.
The gas and hybrid cars are used to power the Grecale Folgore, but looking at the exposed chassis in front of us made us think it was a custom platform. The main part of the platform is a big, rectangular metal frame that holds the big battery. The big motors are housed in separate subframes that are attached to the front and back of the frame.
Each corner has air shocks, and there are four different drive modes: GT (which is the normal mode for everyday driving), Sport, Offroad, and Max Range.
This is still a Maserati, so the ride felt rough, even in the softest GT mode
After driving on two-lane roads in Italy for hundreds of kilometers around the heel of the boot, the Grecale looked like a great car to drive. The big SUV would likely feel very sporty because it has more curves than we could find that day.
It’s a little more sporty than the Audi Q8 e-tron and the BMW iX, for example, and it’s definitely more sporty on a curve than the Mercedes EQS SUV and the Tesla Model X, but all of these cars are good in some situations.
Most owners cannot use the bike off-road, but some may do it. I tested it off-road for a short distance—just a flat dirt path around the heel of the boot—and it held up great. The “Offroad” mode, which is 1.4 inches higher than the “GT” mode, has the most comfortable ride height. “Sport” takes away a little more than half an inch from GT.
The ride is rough, even in the softest GT mode. It might be too rough for most people, but this is still a Maserati. There are many more luxury SUVs to choose from. The Tesla Model X, BMW iX, Audi Q8 e-tron, Mercedes EQS SUV, and Rivian R1S are just a few that fall in this price range and are about the same size. If price and comfort are important to you, the Cadillac Lyriq and Lexus RZ are both luxury crossover electric cars of about the same size.
During our test drive, it needed to be clarified how much the Maserati Grecale Folgore would cost, but I was told it would be more than $100,000 when it comes out in July. Compared to its rivals, it’s a good middle ground that leans toward the sporty.
Some things needed to be fixed with mine. The tracking system was slow to respond for most of the day and crashed several times while I was driving. It was dark for a minute, and then the “Tom Tom” brand name came up briefly.
It worked perfectly for the rest of the day after the experts fixed it. However, if you need NAV, hire some full-time Maserati techs to go with you; they’re a great company, and they will be fun conversations.
Yes, I could live without the show’s sound, no matter how soft it is. It would have been nice if the electric power steering had talked a little more. Also, even though it costs six figures, the brand in question has been fighting directly with Ferrari for at least fifty years.
When I get a chance to drive one, I’ll let you know how the Ferrari Purosangue stacks up against the Grecale Folgore. The Purosangue, on the other hand, costs four times as much. For now, this is a fun and helpful way to get started in an area that is growing quickly.
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