Maserati’s GT Drops Its Top
3 min
The 2024 Maserati GranCabrio, the company’s new convertible and a complement to the GranTurismo coupe introduced in 2022, is available with either V6 power (the Trofeo model) or batteries (the Folgore).
That means the buyer has a big choice to make. The cars look quite a bit alike, but they’re radically different under the hood. They’re not far apart in price, though: The Trofeo is US$192,000 and the Folgore around US$205,000 (plus US$2,000 in destination charges for each).
The electric is unique in the marketplace as a four-place electric convertible supercar. Maserati also says it’s the fastest 100% electric convertible, but there isn’t much competition. Performance is fully competitive with the existing Folgore GT coupe. The convertible can hit 62 miles per hour in 2.8 seconds, with 277 miles of range (in the lenient European WLTP rating). The top speed is 180 mph.
The GranCabrio has no less than three 300-kilowatt electric motors (one in the front, two in the rear), which work with inverters derived from the Formula E electric racing series to give the car a total of 750 horsepower at the wheels. The battery, at the bottom of the car, is rated at 92.5 kilowatt-hours.
Maserati did its convertible upright. The top is beautifully finished and easy to put down, in 14 seconds, at speeds of up to 31 mph (though the on-screen control is a little confusing to use). A neck warmer allows the car to be used even in fairly inclement weather, and there’s a wind stopper that can go behind the front seats. Having to fit a top in the trunk area doesn’t seriously compromise rear-seat legroom, which is generous for this class of car. The trunk isn’t huge, but if the top is up a flap can be moved to increase luggage space.
Buyers of the Folgore can choose an interior special to the car, with soft-touch seat sections made from Econyl, a recycled nylon product made from (among other sources) used fishing nets, as well as remnants via fabric and carpet manufacturers. Reprogrammable laser edging means that customers can choose custom patterns for their seats.
Buyers of the internal-combustion model get a Trofeo powered by a three-liter, 542-horsepower twin-turbo V6 Nettuno motor derived from the high-performance powerplant on the MC20 supercar. The gas version of the convertible is a bit slower to accelerate than the EV, with zero to 62 taking 3.6 seconds. The top speed is higher, though, 196 mph. Seeing the four purposeful exhaust exits on the Trofeo, you might expect a mighty roar, but in fact both GranCabrios are pretty quiet. They’re proper Maseratis that don’t disturb the neighbors.
Both Trofeo and Folgore use 20-inch wheels up front and 21-inch in back, with multiple designs.
Roberto Cusano, responsible for GT and GranTurismo product planning, says the car offers a unique combination of performance and comfort, while also being “a real and authentic four-seater car that can carry friends and family.”
But it’s also good for thrills, according to Maserati chief designer Klaus Busse. “This is only the second generation of the GT,” Busse says. “And if you want to drive from Italy to Hamburg, you’d pick a stylish and comfortable car that could also work in a side trip to the [German racing track] Nürburgring for a hot lap without looking silly. That’s the Maserati GranTurismo.”
The second generation of the GT has obvious antecedents to the first, something Busse says was intentional. The company still uses old-world methods in shaping body panels and fenders that have some legacy with Maserati road cars such as the 3500 GT, first shown in Geneva circa 1957, he says.
“We wanted to make sure the convertible looked good open or closed, so the silhouette of the convertible with the top up is very similar to the coupe,” Busse says. There are minor differences in the appearance of the two versions of GranCabrio, and slightly different wheels. The EV obviously loses the intercooler and exhaust pipes.
A Multimillion-Dollar Electric Boat
Maserati appears all-in on using electric power for its vehicles, on land or at sea.
The introduction of the GranTurismo on the shores of Lago Maggiore also gave Maserati a chance to show off its €2.5 million (US$2.67 million) Tridente electric boat. The unique example floating at the dock had pearlescent (and copper) finish that changed color depending on the light hitting it.
Built at the Hodgdon Yachts shipyard in Maine from a design jointly developed by Maserati and Britain-based electric boat company Vita Power, the Tridente, with 600 horsepower from twin electric motors, cruises at 25 knots and has a top speed of 40 knots. To keep weight down, the Tridente has a carbon-fiber superstructure and a fiberglass hull. The single-layer battery pack is rated at 250 kilowatt-hours, and delivers a cruising range of 31 to 43 miles.
The highly aerodynamic 34-foot day boat (or superyacht tender) can recharge in as little as an hour. It has eight-passenger seating, and an enclosed cabin under the front deck that includes a bed and toilet. Only this one has been built to date, but given nine months another one could be commissioned, says James Essex, an electric systems engineer with Vita Power.
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At least for people who carry the APOE4 genetic variant, a juicy steak could keep the brain healthy.
3 min
Must even steak be politicised? The American Heart Association recently recommended eating more “plant-based” protein in a move to counter the Health and Human Services Department’s new guidelines calling for more red meat.
Few would argue that eating a Big Mac a day is good for you.
On the other hand, growing evidence, including a study last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that eating more meat—particularly unprocessed red meat—can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s in the quarter or so of people with a particular genetic predisposition.
The APOE4 gene variant is one of the biggest risk factors for Alzheimer’s.
You inherit one copy of the APOE gene from each parent. The most common variant is APOE3; the least is APOE2.
The latter carries a lower risk of Alzheimer’s, while the former is neutral. A quarter of people carry one copy of the APOE4 variant, and about 2% carry two.
APOE4 is more common among people with Northern European and African ancestry. In Europe the variant increases with latitude, and is present in as many as 27% of people in northern countries versus 4% in southern ones. God smiled on the Italians and Greeks.
For unknown reasons, the APOE4 variant increases the risk of Alzheimer’s far more for women than men.
Women’s risk multiplies roughly fourfold if they have one copy and tenfold if they have two. Men with a single copy show little if any higher risk, while those with two face four times the risk.
What makes APOE4 so pernicious? Scientists don’t know exactly, but the variant is also associated with higher cholesterol levels—even among thin people who eat healthily.
Scientists have found that cholesterol builds up in brain cells of APOE4 carriers, which can disrupt communications between neurons and generate amyloid plaque, an Alzheimer’s hallmark.
The Heart Association’s recommendation to eat less red meat may be sound advice for people with high cholesterol caused by indulgent diets.
But a diet high in red meat may be better for the brains of APOE4 carriers.
In the JAMA study, researchers at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute examined how diet, particularly meat consumption, affects dementia risk among seniors with the different APOE variants.
Higher consumption of meat, especially unprocessed red meat, was associated with significantly lower dementia risk for APOE4 carriers.
APOE4 carriers who consumed the most meat—the equivalent of 4.5 ounces a day—were no more likely to develop dementia than noncarriers. (
The study controlled for other variables that are known to affect Alzheimer’s risk including sex, age, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and education.)
APOE4 carriers who ate the most unprocessed meat were at significantly lower risk of dying over the study’s 15-year period and had lower cholesterol than carriers who ate less. Go figure. Noncarriers, however, didn’tenjoy similar benefits from eating more red meat.
The study’s findings are consistent with two large U.K. studies.
One found that each additional 50 grams of red meat (equivalent to half a hamburger patty) that an APOE4 carrier consumed each day was associated with a 36% reduced risk of dementia.
The other found that older women who carried the APOE4 variant and consumed at least one serving a day of unprocessed red meat had a cognitive advantage over carriers who ate less than half a serving, and that this advantage was of roughly equal magnitude to the cognitive disadvantage observed among APOE4 carriers in general.
In all three studies, eating more red meat appeared to negate the increased genetic risk of APOE4.
Perhaps one reason men with the variant are at lower Alzheimer’s risk than women is that men eat more red meat.
These findings might cause chagrin to women who rag their husbands about ordering the rib-eye instead of the heart-healthy salmon.
But remember, the cognitive benefits of eating more red meat appear isolated to APOE4 carriers.
Nutrition is complicated, and categorical recommendations—other than perhaps to avoid nutritionally devoid foods—would best be avoided by governments and health bodies.
Readers can order an at-home test from any number of companies to screen for the APOE4 variant.
The Swedish researchers hypothesize that APOE4 carriers may be evolutionarily adapted to carnivorous diets, since the variant is believed to have emerged between one million and six million years ago during a “hypercarnivorous” period in human history.
The other two APOE variants originated more recently, during eras when humans ate more plants.
APOE4 carriers may absorb more nutrients from meat than plants, the researchers surmise. Vitamin B12—low levels have been associated with cognitive decline—isn’t naturally present in plant-based foods but is abundant in red meat.
Foods high in phytates (such as grains and beans) can interfere with absorption of zinc and iron (also high in red meat), which naturally declines with age. So maybe don’t chuck your steak yet.
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