2024 Maserati GranTurismo: Packed with surprises, delights

Maserati's second-generation GranTurismo sports coupe is launching with full-electric and gasoline engine versions.

The latest GranTurismo remains a classic Maserati coupe, the first of which was the A6 1500 in 1947, but it will compete in a dwindling supercar market as wealthy buyers switch to premium SUVs or four-door cars such as the Porsche Panamera from coupes. The GranTurismo's rivals include the Ferrari Roma and the Aston Martin DB11 coupe.

The full-electric version of the GranTurismo supercar, badged as the Folgore, marks the Stellantis luxury brand's first full-electric car, a historic shift for a brand famed for powerful internal-combustion engines.

A battery-electric variant of the GranCabrio, the convertible version of the GranTurismo, is set to debut by the end of 2023, along with a full-electric Grecale midsize SUV.

The GranTurismo's gasoline engine variants, Trofeo and Modena, feature Maserati's Nettuno 3.0-liter V-6 engine, which replaces the V-8 made by Ferrari that equipped the previous GranTurismo. The Nettuno engine was introduced in 2021 on the MC20 sports car. It was developed by Maserati and is built at the brand's home of Modena, Italy.

The V-6-powered GranTurismo weighs nearly 3,957 pounds, which Maserati said makes it the lightest four-seater coupe.

The Folgore EV variant is propelled by three identical e-motors, one on the front axle and two hitched at the rear, each controlled by a silicon-carbide inverter and slotted into an 800-volt electrical architecture. With a total output of more than 1,200 hp, it has a top speed of more than 200 mph and will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds.

Journalists recently had a chance to drive the GranTurismo and its variants in Italy and we've collected some early reviews.

"'Life's Been Good' should be the motto of anyone flush enough for a GranTurismo, whether in the Folgore's all-electric tri-motor, 750-horsepower, 995 pound-foot guise, or as a Trofeo with a vintage petrol whiff of the masterly Nettuno V-6 engine.

"Waltzing the electric GT Folgore around the Vallelunga circuit near Rome, and the twin-turbo, 542-hp GT Trofeo across the countryside, I discover a Maserati – really two Maseratis – full of surprises. The bar may well be as low as the GT's Trident-adorned snout, but this is the best, most fully realized Maserati yet. In style and performance, this GranTurismo flows like rare Barolo. Both the hybrid and electric powertrains are winners, and unlike any Aston Martin or Bentley.

"Most unexpected, from a brand backed by EV laggard Stellantis, the Folgore stakes a shocking claim: This is the new champion for steering feel in an EV. Most EVs are bunched along a spectrum of 'numb,' with the Porsche Taycan at least verging on 'normal.' For the Folgore — the name is Italian for 'lightning' — track laps and critical back-to-backs with gas-fired versions showed an alertness, lightness and natural loading that will warm every driver's heart and hands. Or it's not so surprising: The Maserati is an expensive Italian car that feels like one. The (relatively) live-wire steering bodes well for electric Alfa Romeos coming from Maserati's cugino in the Stellantis famiglia."

— Lawrence Ulrich, Road & Track

"Overall, Maserati's new GranTurismo feels as confidently relaxed and capable as you want a continent-crushing grand tourer to be. It loafs along at 100 mph in eighth gear, the Nettuno V-6 turning just 2,300 rpm. On light throttle, one cylinder bank will shut down to help the car achieve what Maserati says is best-in-class fuel efficiency.

"Left to its own devices in the default GT drive mode, the eight-speed transmission's kickdown response feels just a tad leisurely, but once it's dropped a few gears and the tach needle is above 4,000 rpm, the Maserati lunges forward with a bellow. The GranTurismo is also happy mooching around at low speeds on light throttle, though under these conditions the Nettuno V-6 sounds decidedly grumbly, more that it does in a Grecale Trofeo SUV or MC20 supercar driven the same way.

"The ride quality, at least over the rough and tumble roads on our test drive route outside of Rome, doesn't have the oily sheen of an Aston Martin DB11 V8. The vertical motions are sharper, even in GT mode, and the body motions are not quite as cleverly controlled. There was also noticeable impact harshness from the tires on occasion, though we must note all the testers were shod with Pirelli P Zero Winter tires, which have a different construction and tread pattern to the summer tires for which the GranTurismo's suspension has been tuned.

"The Trofeo's Corsa mode definitely allows you to have fun with the throttle, but it's best left for roads you know and where you have room to play. It doesn't take much ambition to get a twitch from the rear axle when you go to power, but the chassis telegraphs its punches well. It has all-wheel drive, but the GranTurismo feels like a classic rear driver. And that's a good thing."

— Angus MacKenzie, Motor Trend

"Slowing things down a bit, the Folgore swiftly navigates the twisty hillside roads north of Rome. The steering is always on the lighter side of the spectrum, and cool January weather and winter tires prevented us from pressing the limits. There's a fair amount of rattle from the multi-link front and rear suspension, but admittedly, Maserati says it has a few months to fine-tune the ride quality. Stopping power comes from brakes shared with the gas-powered GranTurismo. Up front, six-piston calipers clamp 15.0-inch cross-drilled rotors, while 13.8-inch cross-drilled rear rotors are pinched by four-pot calipers. The pedal is light on feel, and the added mass in the Folgore works the brakes hard. That's a bit concerning, considering the Folgore's top speed is a claimed 202 mph, making it one of the fastest EVs on the road.

"Overall, the GranTurismo Folgore is a hellacious coupe with ample space for four adults. And though it lacks the character of the brand's internal-combustion engines, both past and present, it certainly doesn't fall short on speed. We estimate the Folgore to start at $215,000 when it arrives this fall. Whether or not the upcharge over the gas-powered variants is worth it to the Maserati faithful remains to be seen. We think they won't care. It's all about being seen, not heard."

— David Beard, Car and Driver

"After about an hour or so driving the 542-horsepower GranTurismo Trofeo on a mix of twisty rural roads and Italian autostrada, I can say with confidence that the GranTurismo is exactly what it's supposed to be — a fast, long-legged, comfortable GT car.

"Its steering is nicely weighted and accurate, helped in no small part by the Nettuno engine sitting entirely behind the front axle. Though, it doesn't feel overly hyperactive or twitchy, like a Ferrari's steering, which is appropriate in a GT car. The GranTurismo is certainly capable of slicing up some twisty roads, and it is fun to hustle, but it's definitely more at home on long, high-speed sweepers. Its adaptive air suspension rounds out bumps beautifully and features an impressive compromise between firm sportiness and comfort. Even over some of Rome's ancient lumpy roads, the GranTurismo was planted, sorted, and supple."

— Nico DeMattia, The Drive

"The Folgore is the headline model of the all-new 2024 Maserati GranTurismo lineup, and the most interesting. The reason: It packages an electric powertrain under the same sensuous sheetmetal with the same sumptuous interior as its ICE siblings, the GranTurismo Trofeo and GranTurismo Modena that we've also just driven. Indeed, our own Frank Markus got an early drive of a Folgore on a track in Italy late last year; our Folgore drive here occurred on the road and came immediately after sampling the Trofeo and Modena editions of Maserati's all-new grand tourer over the same terrain.

"The comparison was inevitable, the conclusion less so: The Folgore is the grandest of the GranTurismos.

"As mentioned in our first drive story of the ICE Trofeo and Modena models, the new GranTurismo is a clever car, not the least because its platform is designed to accommodate either internal-combustion engine or battery-electric powertrains. Yes, at 3,957 pounds, the GranTurismo models powered by Maserati's accomplished 3.0-liter twin-turbo Nettuno V-6 are perhaps a touch heavier than they would have been if they were engineered from the get-go as a pure combustion-engine cars. But there's nothing in the way they drive to suggest they are compromise cars. They feel like proper Maseratis.

"The 2024 GranTurismo's real genius, however, is that the Folgore itself also drives like a proper Maserati. It's not an electric vehicle that's high on performance yet low on soul."

— Angus MacKenzie, Motor Trend

"Under the Trofeo's long, contoured bonnet (described by Maserati's head of design Klaus Busse as nothing less than a 'masterpiece'), the mildly de-tuned and sanitized 3.0-litre twin-turbo Nettuno V-6 and eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox are low slung and sit behind the front axle line to optimize weight distribution.

"There's no doubt about it: The low nose and extravagantly fashioned bonnet are key to the GranTurismo Trofeo's good looks, but it's the effective packaging that makes life on the inside roomier than you might expect. The new GranTurismo is a snug four-seater but a four-seater nonetheless, offering surprisingly good rear headroom.

"In the front, the relationships between the controls are somewhat Italianate, but the fundamentals work well. The driving position is ideal and the seats are more supportive than they look.

"Apart from that, the cabin is simply a gorgeous place to be, with levels of luxury to rival a Bentley Continental GT. There's a trio of screens for the digital dash, infotainment system and the climate controls, with the latter two sitting on the center console."

— David Vivian, Auto Express

"Despite all of the evident concessions to modernity, and more probably because of them, this new Maserati GranTurismo has been shaped into a very complete, very competitive super luxury sports coupe. As I drove, and the cold morning turned warmer in the dazzling Etruscan sunlight, it became clear that real sporting character hadn't been lost in the effort to build a contemporary vehicle.

"It's fair to say that the new turbo V-6 can't sing in the same choir as the naturally aspirated, 4.7-liter V-8 that powered the last GT I drove (more than a decade ago). But the engine does sound tremendously better underway than it did in the cold courtyard.

"Maserati is rightly proud of the engine, which makes 550 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque in this top-level Trofeo-trim car (483 hp and 443 lb-ft in the base Modena version). Not only does it drive the rear-biased all-wheel-drive car to 62 miles per hour in just three and a half seconds, it actually sounds downright mean (if not euphonious) while approaching its 6,500 rpm redline. My long drive route included stretches through long tunnels and along old stone walls, all of which echoed the tough exhaust note back at me in compelling ways."

— Seyth Miersma, motor1.com