The arrival of a new Maserati GranTurismo is very much not an everyday occasion. The last one debuted in 2007, and stayed on sale with relatively few changes until the 2019 model year. Its carcharhiniform design and soul-stirring V8 song have become staples of glamorous, moneyed locales over the last 16 years, the choice of everyone from naturally aspiration-preferring cognoscenti to gold chain-clad retirees who wanted a Maserati ever since Joe Walsh told them it would do 185.
Still, once a car is old enough to legally drive itself, it’s probably time for a replacement — especially if, like Maserati, you’re a company that’s aiming for something of a renaissance. The brand has broken away from Ferrari-based powertrains to design its own motors, crafted a new design language, and even gifted itself with a range-topping supercar in the form of the MC20.
But given that no car has been more representative of the brand for the last couple decades than their two-seat grand tourer, it’s the new GranTurismo that arguably has to demonstrate what the brand values for the next decade. So, to find out whether it fulfills or flops at that mission, I zipped over to Maserati’s homeland of Italy to spend a few hours behind the wheel of a couple versions of the new GranTurismo.
It’s every bit as good-looking as an Italian gran turismo should be
The outgoing GranTurismo managed to endure as long as it did in large part because it was so damn good-looking. It looked just as fresh in the waning days of the Trump presidency as it did in the sunset of the Dubya years…which, in turn, set a remarkably high bar for the subsequent version to clear. Simply put, Maserati had to nail the styling of the new generation if the car was to have any chance of survival.
Well, nail it they did. In person, the GranTurismo is even more alluring than it is in images — a remarkable blend of sleek curves and long, low lines that exudes sex appeal in a way most new cars only wish they could. It evokes great Italian GT cars of the past — the Lamborghini 350 GT, the Ferrari 456 — without seeing derivative. If there’s any slight that could be made against it, it’s that, from some angles, it’s a bit too reminiscent of its predecessor — but given that car’s enduring good looks, you really have to be hunting to consider that a flaw.
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It offers a choice between gasoline and full-electric powertrains
Electric vehicle fanatics will likely be salivating over the availability of the new GranTurismo’s Folgore version — an all-electric variant that, which largely identical to the internal-combustion trims as far as the eye can see, replaces the engine, gearbox and driveshaft with a big chunk of lithium-ion power storage. (Folgore, which means “thunderbolt” in Italian, is set to be Maserati’s line of EV variants going forwards as the company pushes towards the inevitable electrified future.)
The combination of a trio of electric motors and a 80.3-kWh (usable capacity) battery pack mean the GranTurismo Folgore spits out an impressive 749 horsepower. (And that’s likely just the beginning; each of the motors actually can crank out a shade over 400 horses, in theory, if they had sufficient power heading their way.) Using launch control, Maserati claims it’ll crack off 2.7-second 0-62-mph dashes — and not just once or twice as a party trick the way some EVs do, but repeatedly. And, unusually for an EV, top speed doesn’t pay much penalty versus ICE cars: the GranTurismo Folgore will hit 198 mph.
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Sadly, like all the journalists brought out to Italy to give it a whirl, my time with the Folgore was limited to a handful of laps in pre-production prototype around the fabled Vallelunga race track with a Maserati driver sitting shotgun. Still, that was enough time to learn, for example, that the torque vectoring power of having separate motors in the rear make it a surprisingly playful machine in the turns, at least in the most aggressive drive mode of Corsa. It was also time enough to (repeatedly, and gleefully) punch the accelerator to confirm that it feels very much as though it packs the stated power — although the added mass compared with the internal-combustion version (it’s almost exactly 1,000 pounds heavier, tipping the scales at a hair under 5,000 pounds) means it’s not as explosive as you might expect.
The handful of laps also wasn’t enough time to assess the car’s potential range; all I can vouch for firsthand there is that the battery went from 84 to 71 percent in about 15 minutes of 8/10ths track driving. Maserati claims the car will be capable of 280 miles on the generous WLTP testing circuit, but some very general back-of-the-napkin conversions suggest that will likely wind up being somewhere around 230 miles on the EPA cycle. All-wheel-drive notwithstanding, the Folgore will not be the EV you choose for those long cold-weather drives. (That said, its 800-volt architecture means it can charge at up to 270 kW, enabling it to jump from 20 to 80 percent power in less time than it takes to watch a Seinfeld on Netflix.)
You don’t need the most expensive version to have a good time
The rest of my time was spent with the GranTurismo Modena model, the less-powerful of the two gas-powered versions. Less does not mean not, however: the Modena uses the same 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 (which Maserati calls “Nettuno,” after a resort town south of Rome) as its Trofeo brother, and is only down a few ponies by comparison — 483 to the Trofeo’s 542, and 443 lb-ft versus the Trofeo’s 479.
You’re not liable to notice much of a difference, however, unless you have a habit of drag-racing fellow Maserati owners from stoplights. Both versions come standard with an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel-drive, the latter of which makes exploiting all that power a cinch. That all-wheel-drive, however, is rear-biased; the front axle is rated to take up to 30 percent of the power, so most of the torque will always flow to the rear.
On the flowing, largely empty country roads an hour or so north of Rome, the Modena felt exceptionally at home tearing up and down curves and straightaways. The gearbox is happy to make its own choices, but the massive metal shift paddles behind the wheel beg to be used, and it’s far more fun to do so — especially when executing the random passing maneuvers Italian drivers seem to love. I never once felt as though I was missing out on the Trofeo’s added power; the Modena feels like an ideal power level for this sort of car.
The steering is typical Italian: light, quick and communicative, at least as much as a modern such system can be in an all-wheel-drive car. The added grip of the front wheels gives a bit of added confidence in fast turns without ever detracting from the spirited, rear-happy nature of the car, while the suspension manages to supply a delightful dose of comfort against the rough nature of under-maintained roads without ever leaving the car feeling at sea.
It’s damn luxurious
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A true grand tourer should be something of an contradiction: capable of crossing continents at great speed with style and stability, but also boast an interior so nice, you wouldn’t mind the trip taking twice as long — because odds are good wherever you’re going next won’t be nearly so pleasant.
The GranTurismo fulfills this brief to near-perfection (the near part being something I’ll touch on in a moment). The supple seats feel all-day comfortable, but they also look it — clad in elegant arcs of stitching that seem to exist mostly to wow the eye. The dashboard’s design is unexpectedly entrancing; in fact, nearly every piece of the interior feels as though the designers went the extra mile to make it worth studying. It’s a level of attention to detail that’s refreshing in this day and age where automotive bean-counters are trying to stretch pennies wherever possible to save up for the pivot to electrification.
And, as a true grand tourer should, the GranTurismo even has decent accomodations in back. Getting back there might take a moment, but once in the stern section, the chairs are scalloped, cosseting and comfortable… at least, assuming none of the occupants are north of six feet tall.
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What’s Not Ideal About the 2024 Maserati GranTurismo?
The infotainment system could be more usable
There is a weak spot in that luxurious interior, however, and it’s found in the center of the dashboard: the infotainment system.
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Physical buttons are few and far between here; Maserati has chosen to wed everything from climate controls to radio volume to even driving-centric features like the stop-start, ESP and the car’s lift function to zones of the touch panel. (Luckily, stereo volume and tuning have physical switches on the back of the steering wheel, something I remain shocked that more carmakers haven’t copied from Stellantis.)
As such, it’s hard to operate many of the car’s features when moving unless you take your eyes off the road. Many touchscreen systems in modern cars suffer from this to some degree, but the GranTurismo’s layout feels particularly ill-suited to actual use, what with its array of tightly-packed touchscreen buttons.
The only actual physical controls in play in the center console area are the P / R / N / D buttons for the gearbox, and they feel far more plastic-y and cheap than all the other elegant surfaces your fingers will encounter in the car. Even more unfortunately, they’re hard to find in a hurry; there’s little differentiation between each button, they’re only backlit when selected, and they tend to blur into the piano black background.
It’s swinging for the fences with pricing
The new GranTurismo’s improvements don’t come free. The entry-level Modena starts at $174,000, while the peppier Trofeo starts at $205,000 — roughly in line with the Porsche 911 Turbo and Turbo S, respectively. (The Folgore’s price hasn’t yet been announced, but Maserati says to expect something a bit north of the Trofeo.) The 2019 model, by contrast, started at just over $130K.
That wouldn’t be an issue if Maserati, like Jaguar, was planning on charging upmarket. Thing is, the company is trying to expand in both directions at once. The GranTurismo may be the co-headliner on the marquee, but the new Grecale compact crossover is meant to be the big profit driver for the company, and it starts at $63,500 — $20,000 cheaper than the previous least-expensive Maser, the Ghibli GT sedan.
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That price range means the new Maser is stacking up against at some seriously impressive competitors. The BMW M8 Competition coupe starts at $134,100, a full $39,900 less than the Modena, but it overpowers even the Trofeo by nearly 100 horses. If you’re willing to go $40K higher, there’s the stellar Bentley Continental GT, which starts at around $240,000 and is arguably among the greatest examples . And don’t forget the aforementioned 911 Turbo siblings — which, in spite of their redonkulous performance and rear-engined layout, are also great grand tourers, especially if you don’t plan on sticking people in the back seat for more than 30 minutes at a spell.
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The 2024 Maserati GranTurismo: The Verdict
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As a line item on the yearly sales sheet, the GranTurismo is not destined to carry the brand. The carmaker’s executives repeatedly defined their brand as “sports car-and-SUV” company during my time in Italy, and SUVs are sure to be the financial backbone of that going forward. (As for the Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans, don’t fret — the brand says they’ll stick around too.)
But to be Maserati — to represent what makes the brand valuable to those SUV buyers — the sports cars are key, too. They’re a statement of what Maserati was, is and will be — not just any old car company, but one that purveys special, sexy metal. The GranTurismo has never sold in big numbers — the company moved around 4,000 per year on average with the previous model — but that’s not its primary purpose; it’s to represent the soul of the brand, and convince Levante or Grecale buyers that their crossover has a bit of that dramatic, outrageous soul, as well. The Maserati GranTurismo is every bit what a great Italian grand tourer should be…all the way down to the price tag.
