Review: The Maserati GranTurismo Folgore is a fast, electric super coupe – but can it justify the crazy price tag?

Folgore means lightning. Which tells you that this new Maserati GranTurismo Folgore coupe is both electric and fast – and that is not false advertising.

In fact, this hopelessly gorgeous 2+2 grand touring coupe looks as good as a Hollywood hearththrob dipped in Galaxy chocolate. Normally, the GranTurismo would come with a howling V6 turbo engine, so can this battery version make you feel all the usual Italian fast-car tingles when there’s no noise? And can it justify a seriously lofty nigh-£200,000 price tag?

First off, the battery gets you a supposed range of 270 miles. That’s enough to get you to Paris in one lunge, in theory, but of course electric cars rarely if ever manage to meet their claimed ranges. Still, with 270kW charging, you can be topped up and on your way again, pretty quick.

Speaking of quick… the Folgore has no fewer than three electric motors; one at the front and two at the back, and each one has 340hp. Now, that doesn’t mean you get 1,020hp, because the car’s electronics won’t let that happen. However, you do get 761hp, which is still… lots. And more than you get from the V6 turbo model, as it happens.

There are various driving modes, including the all-important Corsa, which turns everything up to 11; 60mph comes up in as little as 2.7 seconds according to Maserati, and we managed to do it in 2.9 seconds on our test. Thankfully the brakes are up to reigning all that in, too.

The Folgore’s interior is gorgeous, with acres of leather and carbon fibre. All of the main controls are on a pair of touchscreens which sit on the dashboard like an open hardback book. There aren’t many physical buttons (boo!) but the air conditioning controls at least get their own dedicated section on the lower screen (huzzah!). The screen is sometimes unresponsive though (boo again!).

There are at least physical buttons on the steering wheel, and gorgeous alloy paddle shifts which change the regenerative braking and activate the launch control mode (there’s no one-pedal drive though).

You do get a great driving position and exceptionally comfy front seats. The rear seats are tight, no surprise, but you can fit actual adults back there for at least a short journey. It’s roomier than a Porsche 911 in the back, though.

The battery eats into boot space, leaving the Folgore with just 270 litres of luggage room. A Mini hatch does better than that and the Maserati doesn’t even have a front boot like some other electric cars.

The Folgore is exceptionally quiet inside, but that does highlight any little squeaks and tapping noises, which is annoying. The Maserati is smooth to drive around town, and has good visibility, aside from the hefty windscreen pillars. The turning circle’s a bit massive too.

On a twisty road, you’ll expect the massive kerb weight to spoil your fun, but actually the Folgore is really good fun. It’s not quite as smooth over bumps as you might want, and the three-motor traction absolutely fires you out of corners. On the way into corners, the steering is super-accurate, although it needs more feel. Even the fake engine noise is pretty good and the way the power builds up gradually is more enjoyable than the instantly-everything nature of some other electric performance models.

However, there’s that price. At almost £200,000 the Folgore costs silly money, and that lofty sticker number isn’t helped by the depreciation as both Maseratis and electric cars tumble fast and hard in values. Imagine what happens when you put those two hands together… However, the Folgore just about makes sense as a company car (for a company director, we assume) as it’ll cost just £1,800 a year in BIK tax.

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