Maserati’s Folgore Day event showcases its commitment to electrification, just not 100%

To celebrate over 100 years in business while looking ahead to another century filled with electrification, Maserati held a “Folgore Day” event in Italy. At this event, it showcased its lineup of BEVs, including the GranTurismo Folgore and Grecale Folgore SUV, ahead of the official launch of its GranCabrio Folgore convertible this evening.

Today’s event celebrates Maserati S.p.A’s 110 year run to date, having been founded in Bologna, Italy, and now operating out of Modena under the Stellantis umbrella. Four years ago, the “Trident” brand vowed to embrace electrification with plans to offer BEV versions of each of its current vehicles by 2028.

So far, we’ve seen Maserati deliver the flagship GranTurismo Folgore, which is followed by the Grecale Folgore SUV, which we had the opportunity to test drive around Southern Italy in March. Other BEVs in the pipeline included a Folgore version of the GranCabrio convertible, which we’ve only seen camouflaged so far, as well as an all-electric Quattroporte.

However, plans for the latter have been shelved as Maserati focuses on its current and upcoming BEV models, which will now include a different Folgore by 2025 instead, the MC20. We were on the scene in Rimini, Italy, today, attending Maserati’s Folgore Day, where we got up close looks at some of the BEVs mentioned above as we await the official debut of the GranCabrio Folgore.

Maserati’s first Folgore Day celebrates past and future

In addition to celebrating 110 years in the Italian automotive space, Maserati’s Folgore event saw the debut of its new all-electric campaign, “It Turns You On.” You can see the 90-second campaign film below. The world premiere of the campaign kicks off Maserati’s next chapter in innovation and electrification. Per Maserati:

Folgore Day is the starting point of a new journey for Maserati and for luxury consumers to whom the Trident’s electric offering is entirely aimed and dedicated to, via products that guarantee the distinctive essence of the brand–made up of cars that have always been synonymous with cutting-edge technology, refined elegance, sophisticated and original craftsmanship, impeccable and distinctive performance–and can become new symbols on the move of the profound transformation underway in the market.

Today, several critical components of the Maserati Grecale Folgore and GranTurismo Folgore, including the former’s all-electric rolling chassis, were explained in detail in front of the crowd in Rimini. What was interesting was the sly maneuvering of Maserati CEO Davide Grasso, who, when asked, would not verbally commit to Maserati becoming an electric-only brand by any given point.

Grasso said that as a luxury brand, Maserati wants to continue to give its customers a choice between ICE and BEV variants, at least through 2028, as the CEO said different markets are embracing all-electric vehicles at different rates, dependent on a number of factors. Some to consider are culture, legislation, subsidies, infrastructure, etc.

Although it was not on display, Maserati also used today’s event to announce another venture in electric mobility. Through a collaboration with Vita Power, Maserati has developed the TRIDENTE, a 10.5-meter carbon fiber day boat that can cruise at 25 knots, reach a top speed of 40 knots, and fully recharge in under an hour on a DC charger.

Last but not least, today promises the official launch of the Maserati GranCabrio Folgore in Rimini later tonight. We are on location and will report back with the first images and specs as they come in. In the meantime, here’s that 90-second Maserati campaign video:

Electrek’s take

Those were interesting comments from Grasso, considering the entire presentation leading up to the Q&A with media was touting Maserati’s transition into the future with the Folgore name. I suppose that Maserati’s electric future still includes gas cars… at least for now.

Sorry, Maserati, but despite your new ad, that lack of commitment to BEVs actually Turns Me Off.