Maserati GranCabrio Folgore review: Powerful, and very expensive

I tried my first all-electric Maserati not long ago and, considering it was an SUV, the Grecale Folgore was impressive. Now, the automaker has released the GranCabrio Folgore, a sporty EV. Maserati was quick to get this car out before the competition, with only the MG Cyberster being the current and most obvious rival.Thankfully, the GranCabrio Folgore is impressive on almost all levels.

The downside? Well, there’s no throaty combustion engine to provide a cacophonous audio backdrop — though Maserati offers an ICE variant in the form of the GranCabrio Trofeo. That boasts the same twin-turbo V6 found in Maserati’s awesome MC20. In a dream scenario, I’d advise buying one of each. In fact, Maserati also has a luxury speedboat in the shape of the $2.6 million Tridente if you’re looking to complete the set.

Joking aside, the GranCabrio Folgore is a stunning car with a design that is everything you’d expect from the brand. The EV comes with a beefy battery and three electric motors. It also features four seats and a drop-top that can be lowered in just 14 seconds at speeds of up to 31mph. Add in six color options and this EV is complete package.

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Maserati GranCabrio Folgore

The Maserati GranCabrio Folgore provides plenty of thrills. It looks great and offers oodles of performance, particularly when it comes to acceleration. A lack of engine noise, with only the thrum of its large tires and some synthesized background tuning, is a compromise of sorts, but this is more than made up for by the great driving position and comfortable interior. Just don’t expect to enjoy the same effect if you’re relegated to the rear seats.

Pros

• Powerful electric motors
• Superb design
• Great selection of exterior and interior colors

Cons

• Small rear seats
• Even smaller trunk
• Lacks the audio soundtrack of gas version

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Price, specs, and availability

Even if you’re not after one of the extravagantly expensive wild paint jobs, the Maserati GranCabrio Folgore boasts an eye-watering price. The model I tested starts at £185,610. That equates to nearly $237,000 for the US market.

Design and build

Stunning curves in all the right places

I think Maserati’s designers did an excellent job styling the GranCabrio. It has all the typical nuances I like see with the company’s other cars. The effect is most dramatic when you view the GranCabrio from the front, with an imposing grille, vertical headlights and a huge expanse of hood and fenders to enjoy first, but the grin factor got better as I moved along the sides and around the back.

This isn’t too radical a car. In fact, I like the way Maserati kept things fairly conventional, and I think it makes sense; the company has a customer base that wants to dip its toe into the world of EVs, but probably doesn’t want anything too revolutionary in the looks department.

However, what makes the GranCabrio even more noticeable is the range of colors that Maserati offers, though expect to pay almost $30K for the most expensive of those finishes. The car is topped off with a folding fabric roof, which looks quite elegant when it’s up. I found though, especially under blue skies, that this was best stowed away quickly, allowing the sun to bring out the best of the car’s striking interior.

The interior lowdown

Stunning finishes but cramped in the back

Alongside its dramatic exterior lines, the best thing about the GranCabrio Folgore is its interior. What I like most is the way there’s a clever blend of classic and modern styling touches. Naturally, there’s an ornate clock sitting in the center of the dash, but look immediately below that and past the rich trim color and there’s a touchscreen display. Far from clashing, the combination of components works really well.

I was also expecting comfort and the excellent front seats did not disappoint, which offer no fewer than eighteen different adjustment options. The feel of the material is top-notch too and Maserati has continued with its use of quality materials while also incorporating plenty of sustainable finishes, including Econyl. I first encountered this in the Grecale Folgore and, considering there’s a dependence on regenerated nylon, the interior doesn’t feel recycled.

The front seats are quite bulky, which means the rear interior is less impressive. In the back of the car, there’s a styling flow that works beautifully. The drawback is the limited amount of legroom. Inside the trunk, storage space is sparse. I only just got my backpack to fit. If you’ve got golf clubs, then forget about taking the GranCabrio Folgore to your local course.

The technology breakdown

A perfect blend of classic and modern

Although there’s no gas-powered engine in the GranCabrio Folgore, there’s still plenty to get excited about. Maserati has created a fabulous multi-function leather steering wheel that’s fun to get to grips with, while the dials in front of that indicate that the driver is in for a treat. It’s topped off with shiny pedals in the footwell.

The digital cockpit is brilliantly executed, with a 12.3-inch central display and 8.8-inch comfort display to supplement it. Considering I might need to adjust the climate controls quite quickly if I’m driving with the top down in sunny winter weather, access to these is wonderfully simple. There are gesture controls too, which make commands even more straightforward to carry out. Meanwhile, basics like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are present and work well. Another neat touch is the way the dash graphics changed dynamically depending on the drive mode I selected.

Another upside is the awesome built-in Sonus Faber audio system. There are thirteen speakers in all with a good mix of sound offered both front and rear. Audio buffs can option the system with up to 16 speakers if they wish. Either way, the 815 watts on tap lets people know you’re coming.

Battery, range, and performance

A big battery means plenty of range

The powertrain setup is a three-motor layout with two in the rear and one mounted in the front. This is supplemented by a t-shaped layout of the 83kWh battery pack. The GranCabrio Folgore weighs around 2.5 tonnes. It’s also over two meters wide, so while it sits on the road firmly enough, it proved challenging as I worked my way through tiny villages.

Mind you, I think the all-electric powertrain encourages more laid back driving, especially if you’re lucky enough to be driving this car around Lake Maggiore with its congested lake view roads offering little opportunity for stabbing the throttle. Things got a little more exciting up in the mountain road areas though, but those long Italian road tunnels aren’t quite as exciting to go through unless you’ve got the benefit of the V6 version.

The Maserati GranCabrio Folgore drives brilliantly though. Four drive modes are tailored to suit every scenario, with Max Range, GT, Sport and Corsa all on offer. I flipped between them all during my drive, and it’s a neat, well-rounded selection. GT and Sport make sensible settings for everyday driving, while Corsa let me pull out all the stops and get the car to really fly on a relatively brief highway driving segment.

That said, I enjoyed the GranCabrio Folgore most when I was simply cruising around, probably because of the comfort, the open-top, blue skies and sunshine. Effortless. I liked the feel of the wind blowing around the cockpit, but Maserati has incorporated air-conditioned seats, a neck warmer in the headrest area and a windstopper-type contraption that sits over the back seats to reduce drafts if you’re not so keen.

A bonus to be had when it comes to charging time is that the Maserati GranCabrio Folgore features an 800V architecture. This is an express-lane way of charging, just as long as a superfast charger is on hand. They’re limited in number at the moment, but a 350kW unit could get 100 miles into the battery in around 5 minutes. Maserati also claims a range of up to 280 miles tops and anything over 200 is fine in my book.

Verdict

The Maserati GranCabrio Folgore is a wonderful thing. It goes like a rocket, but weirdly manages to get up to speed in style, without the need for any brash exhaust tones. I think it works. There’s certainly nothing too shouty about it, although pick one of the wilder colors in the palette, match that with a similarly ostentatious bright red interior like the one seen here, and you’ve still got a genuine head-turning car.

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Maserati GranCabrio Folgore