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2023 Maserati MC20 Folgore planned with three-motor electric powertrain

Maserati's first new model of the 2020s, the MC20, strays from the path that's leading carmakers towards electrified and connected vehicles. The brand is nonetheless headed in this direction, and Autoblog can reveal it's planning to release a range of battery-powered cars called Folgore, a name which means "lightning" in Italian. Developed in-house, the 800-volt Folgore powertrain consists of one electric motor mounted over the front axle, and two electric motors installed over the rear axle. Sandro Bernardini, the man responsible for the second-generation GranTurismo, told us this configuration is not going to be reserved for high-performance, high-end cars. It will be the norm. And, although the rear motors are bolted into a single unit that's about the size of a modern four-cylinder engine, there is no mechanical connection between them, meaning Maserati's electric models will benefit from true torque vectoring. Ditching gasoline isn't an excuse to stop chasing performance. As we've previously reported, Maserati's first series-produced battery-powered model will be the next GranTurismo, which is tentatively due out in 2021. Motorists who don't want or need an electric car will be able to order the coupe with a version of the 3.0-liter Nettuno V6 engine that powers the recently-unveiled MC20. Speaking of, the mid-engined coupe will become a mid-motored, zero-emissions coupe a little bit later in its production run. It was developed with both electricity and gasoline in mind from the get-go. Bernardini couldn't share concrete technical specifications, but he noted his team is designing the powertrain to achieve maximum range. Engineers notably went to significant lengths to make the motors smaller, lighter, and more efficient, we're told, and the technology will be compatible with 300-kilowatt fast-charging. While performance details are also under wraps, Autoblog learned the electric version of the MC20 will "absolutely be more powerful" than its 621-horsepower gasoline-burning counterpart. It will be heavier, too, but the power hike will more than make up for the weight gain, and its handling won't be adversely affected. Chassis mock-ups confirm the MC20 Folgore will share its basic underpinnings (including its carbon fiber tub and its subframes) with the gasoline-powered model. Its front motor will occupy the space normally reserved for the frunk, while its rear motor will slot neatly between the two wheels.

The Maserati Bora turns 50. It was 'the thinking man's exotic'

The Maserati Bora made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1971, meaning the V8-powered supercar from Modena has just turned 50 years old. It arrived at a time when the Italian sports car manufacturers were undergoing a paradigm shift to the mid-engined layout that defines the modern supercar. The Bora (not to be confused with the VW sedan we knew as the fourth-generation Jetta) was named after a winter wind that blows from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea. Though it holds the distinction of being the first Maserati to employ the mid-engine configuration, it was a bit of a latecomer, following on the heels of Lamborghini's 1966 Miura, De Tomaso's 1964 Vallelunga and Ferrari's 1967 Dino 206 GT. However, it was a dramatic departure from the curvaceous designs of the 1960s. Skinned in an avant-garde wedge penned by legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign, the Bora was like a concept car come to life. Its most distinguishing characteristic, the unpainted A-pillars and roof, were polished stainless steel, a preview of Giugiaro's DeLorean that would not arrive for another decade. Any resemblance to De Tomaso's Mangusta was probably a coincidence (or the fact that it too was a Giugiaro design). The Bora's massive rear glass area showed off its aluminum twin-cam V8, nestled in a racecar-like steel-tube subframe. Motors came as either a high-revving 4.7-liter unit good for 310 horsepower and 325 pound-feet, or a torquier 4.9-liter producing 320 hp and 355 lb-ft. Delivered through a smooth-shifting ZF five-speed, it carried the car from 0-60 in a reported 6.6 seconds, and onward to a top speed of 174 mph. The Bora modernized Maserati, offering a four-wheel independent suspension for the first time behind the Trident badge. The Bora was considered more liveable than a Countach, thanks to features like double-paned glass between the cabin and engine compartment, a carpeted engine cover, and adjustable pedal box. Though overshadowed by its contemporaries from Maranello and Sant'Agata Bolognese, the Bora was considered the thinking man's exotic. As evidence of its decidedly un-basic following it was even cited in 1984's The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, describing the evil Dr. Emilio Lizardo's escape from imprisonment: "Last night he kills a guard, breaks out of Trenton Home for the Criminally Insane. Ten minutes later, he cops a Maserati Bora.

Maserati Project24 is a custom, limited-edition, track-day special

Maserati joins the parade of limited-run, track-only cars designed to a set of specs instead of a set of established racing regulations. The entry is known by the codename Project24 at the moment, and Maserati says it will build just 62 examples. We don't know the significance of 24 nor of the production run. When the automaker launched the MC20, it said it planned to get return to heritage values founded at Formula 1 and sports car tracks around the world. While we wait on an MC20 developed for FIA GT racing, Project24 will be automaker's second outlet for racing aspirations, the Italians planning on entering Formula E next season. It's possible the Project24 is an offshoot of Maserati's reportedly dead GT3 program for the MC20. In December 2020, Daily Sports Car reported that a GT3 challenger "was said to be under development" when Maserati debuted the MC20, but perhaps due to ramifications of Covid, the circuit version was "shelved for the time being." The automaker hasn't divulged performance targets for the Project24, only a weight target: Below 1,250 kilograms, or 2,756 pounds. If achieved, the racer would be 552 pounds less than Maserati's claimed weight for the MC20. Part of the weight loss comes courtesy of carbon fiber bodywork that's two inches wider than on the MC20, Lexan windows, and making the passenger's seat optional. The gains should be felt everywhere around a track, especially because Project24's 3.0-liter V6 engine sports a larger pair of turbos that boost output by 119 horsepower, to 740 hp. The road car's eight-speed automatic is replaced by a six-speed sequential auto with paddle shifters, from there sending power to the rear wheels through a mechanical limited slip differential instead of the electric LSD in the MC20. Brembo CCMR racing brakes hang off a double wishbone suspension with anti-roll bars front and rear and adjustable dampers, just behind custom, forged 18-spoke center lock wheels on racing slicks. An adjustable front splitter and rear wing fine tune aero performance, on-board air jacks help pit crews put in the best performance.   The cabin offers an adjustable, multifunction carbon fiber steering wheel and pedal box. The wheel contains a digital display working alongside a dash and data acquisition system, but a driving performance optimization display is extra.