Maserati GranCabrio Folgore debuts as a sleek electric droptop, promises 806 bhp

Maserati has uncovered a new convertible and it is purely electric. Christened as Maserati GranCabrio Folgore, it is one of the few all-electric drop-tops in the market. The EV comes as an open-air alternative to the existing Maserati GranTurismo Folgore. The two cars share the same powertrain and most of the other components as well.

While the sleek and suave design inspires awe, the powertrain of the Maserati GranCabrio Folgore comes packing a T-shaped lithium battery pack, located between and behind the passengers. The T-shaped design claims to have helped the car to achieve its classic proportions, which would have likely been spoiled by a thick floor-mounted battery, which the majority of the other electric cars use. Maserati claimed that the new EV gets a 92.5 kWh battery pack, but only 83 kWh of it is used, which means that the Italian luxury car marque has limited the maximum charge. voltage and possibly the minimum discharge voltage of each cell, in an attempt to extend the life of the entire battery pack. The battery pack promises to offer 448 kilometres of range on a single charge.

Even if the Maserati GranCabrio Folgore comes sharing its powertrain with the GranTurismo Folgore, the basics are tantalizing. It gets three radial-flux permanent-magnet motors, each with its silicon carbide inverter. Two motors are located at the rear and one is at the front. Each of these motors can support up to 300 kW of power, which means the EV comes with 900 kW peak power output, which translates to 1,190 bhp. However, the battery is unable to provide this amount of power, not even in a short burst. The OEM claims a peak output of 806 bhp in MaxBoost mode, while during standard operations, it churns out 740 bhp peak power.

The electric droptop comes with regenerative braking, which allows the battery pack to absorb an impressive 400 kW for a short time. In terms of continuous charging, it can top up 20 to 80 per cent in just 18 minutes, claims Maserati. Among other interesting powertrain tricks, the car gets paddles to adjust the vehicle's level of regen and a system to tell the driver when to regen and when to coast in order to maximize the car's available range.