With new GranTurismo, Maserati updates the Stellantis brand's essence

The GranTurismo is to Maserati what the 911 is to Porsche and the Wrangler is to Jeep: it embodies the essence of the brand, the luxury automaker's head of design, Klaus Busse, said.

The new GranTurismo not only succeeds a model first launched in 2007, but it also continues a long line of coupes that Maserati started in 1947 with the A6 1500.

The main pillars of the new GranTurismo are supercar performance combined with enough roominess to allow four adults -- and their luggage -- to have a weekend getaway, Busse said at a test drive event this month in Rome.

Because of the shape of the car's rear window, an adult who is roughly six feet (about 1.8 meters) tall can sit in the back -- provided the driver does not require too much legroom.

The latest GranTurismo is underpinned by an all-new platform that the Stellantis subsidiary started work on in 2017. The coupe's body makes extensive use of lightweight materials such as high-performance steel, magnesium and aluminum, with the latter accounting for more than 65 percent of the total.

One engine, two power outputs

At first, the GranTurismo will be available in two trim lines: Modena and Trofeo. Both are powered by the same 3.0-liter, V-6 twin-turbo gasoline Nettuno engine that first appeared in the Maserati MC20 roadster.

The engine, which is produced at Maserati's plant in Modena, Italy, features a pre-chamber combustion technology derived from Formula One and also uses cylinder deactivation to reduce consumption.

The 542-hp Trofeo accelerates from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in 3.5 seconds and has a top speed is 320 kph.

The 483-hp Modena reaches 100 kph in 3.9 seconds and has a top speed of 302 kph. Both cars have eight-speed automatic transmissions and all-wheel drive.

The GranTurismo family starts at 181,200 euros in Italy for the Modena while the Trofeo's base price is 226,200 euros.

The V-6 versions of the coupe will be joined in late 2023 by the Folgore battery-electric variant, the first all-electric Maserati. The average price of the Folgore variant in Europe will be about 260,000 euros, Maserati said.

Maserati product planning boss Mirco Geraci said the GranTurismo's largest markets will be Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East. He said China, where SUVs are preferred, will play a smaller role.

Geraci expects that gasoline-powered versions of the coupe will account for more than half of the model family's sales over the vehicles planned eight-year life cycle, but he expects the full-electric Folgore variant to gain share steadily as more markets move away from combustion cars.

Electric transformation

Maserati's product range will undergo a near-complete renewal in the coming years.

It will be followed this year by the battery-powered version of the Grecale midsize SUV and in early 2024 by the GranCabrio Folgore convertible.

The battery-electric Grecale will be unveiled at the Shanghai auto show in April, Maserati CEO Davide Grasso told Italian newspaper La Repubblica on Monday.

The runout phase for the combustion-only Quattroporte large sedan, Ghibli midsize sedan and Levante large SUV starts this year 2023, Geraci said.

The successor of the Quattroporte will be all-electric and will be launched in early 2025, Grasso said in the interview. The Levante's successor will also be electric, he added.

The Ghibli will not be replaced because of the prevailing market preference for SUVs.

By the end of 2025, a battery-electric version of the MC20 roadster will also be available.

Grasso said the Maserati product range will be electric-only by 2030.