Owned by Fiat since 1993 when Alejandro De Tomaso sold his 51-percent stake in the company, Maserati hasn’t been too profitable for the Italian overlord in these past decades. Even under the leadership of the Stellantis group, the House of the Trident is struggling to find a way to turn a profit.
The renaissance started with the MC20, a supercar that combines a twin-turbo V6 with the transaxle dual-clutch transmission of the Corvette Stingray. Seriously, it’s the same cog swapper as you get in a $60,000 sports car. Speaking of which, the Nettuno as Maserati calls the all-new V6 has been overshadowed by the free-breathing V8 engine of the Corvette Z06.
Maserati also intends to launch a D-segment crossover in the guise of the Grecale, which is nothing more than a Stelvio with different badges and snazzier design traits. Going forward, the Italians prepare to redesign the GranTurismo from the ground up in the form of a sporty grand tourer.
Scheduled to launch next year for the 2023 model year, the GranTurismo has been recently spotted with camouflaged everything and four exhaust pipes. The featured video further offers a soundcheck, which I believe to be the 3.0-liter engine of the MC20 with the 8HP torque-converter box.
Let’s pretend I’m wrong and Maserati is actually rocking a V8 under the hood. The question is, what eight-cylinder mill would be suitable for this application? The Ferrari-based 3.8 matches the Nettuno in torque but falls a little short in terms of horsepower, which defeats the purpose of a V8 in the GranTurismo. What’s more, do remember that Maserati prepares for an electrified future with a full-electric powertrain for the all-new GranTurismo.
The battery-electric powertrain will be marketed under the Folgore moniker and feature an 800-volt system that enables 300-kW charging. According to hearsay, the upcoming three-motor setup will be capable of 650-odd ponies and zero to 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) in 2.5 seconds.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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