From Ballermann to silent lightning

Until now, contempt was not Maserati’s business. Anyone who strolls along the Swiss lake promenade on a sunny weekend will – willingly or not – witness the self-image of the Italian sports car brand. As V8 sports cars drive from traffic lights to traffic lights, all background noise is silenced by the loud, screaming roar of high-performance internal combustion engines. But from April on, everything will probably become quieter on our boulevards: that’s when the completely new, second generation of the four-seater sports car will be launched. Gran Turismo – The beginning of a new era for Maserati.

The Italians continue to offer their sports coupes with a true high-performance engine: the twin-charged V6 engine developed by Maserati in Modena drives the super sports car launched in 2021. MC20 horse. Here, the three-litre power pack delivers a maximum of 630 hp to the rear wheels and accelerates the flounder to 100 km/h in 2.9 seconds – with a roar. bale fanfareunderstood.

Maserati can also do noise protection

new Gran Turismo will it perform nettuno The (Neptune) engine, however, has been throttled in favor of the longevity achieved in the top version loot but still an impressive 550 hp. However, as important as pure power for the brand with trident in its logo, it is the sound that allows the outside world to participate in the combustion of the fuel in the combustion chambers. But we can reveal too much: overspread ball orgies prospective Gran Turismo a thing of the past – even sports car manufacturers have to comply with official regulations these days stricter-than-ever noise protection regulations envisaged to hold.

loot crazy grab

The new one is working GT working with a voluminous sound carpet. But it’s no longer the hellish high-speed saw of its predecessor. There’s also a synthetically applied sound from the internal speakers, which mimics a V8 and bothered us at the beginning of the test drive. However, we got used to the additional volume from the boxes so quickly that we soon focused entirely on the vehicle’s driving characteristics. GT can concentrate.

And it’s worth it: loot Not only is it insanely gripping (0-100 km/h in 3.5 s, top speed of 320 km/h), it can also be steered so precisely and harmoniously in the Roman hinterland that we often forget we are at a seat of 4.97 meters. . long luxury cruiser. 253,000 francs expensive Gran Turismo loot The (cheaper, 490 hp Modena will follow later) offers the perfect mix of comfortable sedan and rough sports car and lives up to its name.

lightning is coming

But the answer is why GT As we usher in a new era for Maserati, we find it on the racetrack Vallelunga near Rome. Here’s the model – which is not yet a curfew – whose name will be gradually added to all Maseratis in the coming years: followers. followers Means flash in Italian – and says Gran Turismo It is the first Italian model that works only with electric motors. While “driven” is a rather understatement, what we mean by the 4.1 kilometer route Circuit will experience later.

But first the theory: Three electric motors, one on the front axle and one on the rear wheels, together provide 1200 hp and 1350 Nm of torque. Power is limited to the T-shaped battery currently installed under the fuselage, delivering 761 hp (560 kW) continuously. overload Up to 829 hp (610 kW) – allowed. As even more powerful batteries hit the market in the coming years, the full power of e-machines can be called. Maserati has already planned the future with its future model.

Top of the electric league

However, it behaves followers It’s like lightning, even with limited power: It moves so fast that the 100 km/h barrier is destroyed in just 2.7 seconds! But it doesn’t end there: After 8.8 seconds, it should already reach 200 km/h and only reach the top at 325 km/h. he drives like this followers at the forefront of the electro-sports league. But almost surprised at more fines handling Thanks to the lightning-fast power distribution between the rear wheels, torque vectoring arrow is called GT he takes such a confident turn around corners that even hard steering or sudden hits on the electric pedal hardly surprise him (click here for a detailed driving report).

Of course it is a bit Funny if that’s almost a 2.3 ton Maserati so to speak runs silently along the round. It’s not completely silent though: it’s accompanied by an electrosphere well from synthetically produced grumble From speakers distributed throughout the beautifully finished interior, which are intended to resemble a V8 engine and are much more consistent than the exaggerated hollow sound of some rivals. Speaking of competition: As an electric two-door car with a super sports car goes live, Gran Turismo followers flow quite a few Alone so far away – from a million dollars hypercar Rimac Nevera except that one.

In the fast lane thanks to electricity

The irony of Maserati’s fate can hardly be spoken of. Electric GT suddenly at the forefront of the electric sports car quartet. If the cost is 202,000 francs followers With local dealers in the second half of 2023, it won’t be just years before Maserati’s neighbors Lamborghini and Ferrari have competitive electric vehicles in their starting blocks. Maserati is so quietly and secretly becoming a technology leader, and not just in Italy – who would have thought a few years ago?

CEO David Grasso It’s been a long time since we’ve sailed into the electric future: If all goes as planned, every model in the portfolio will be available with an electric drive by 2025, faster than any other brand in Europe. By 2030, internal combustion engines must be completely phased out. “Maybe sooner” she says Grasso. For die-hard Maserati fans, this must sound harsh, but the road has long been taken: it has become a reality collected in Modena.

Source: Blick