Maserati’s GT Drops Its Top
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Maserati’s GT Drops Its Top

By Jim Motavalli
Sun, Jun 30, 2024 7:00amGrey Clock 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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Lamborghini Debuts Its First Hybrid Super-SUV
By JOHN SCOTT LEWINSKI
Sun, Nov 3, 2024 4 min

Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann  has made it clear the company, which makes some of the fastest cars in the world, would not speed into the era of electrification.

“Our first steps in that (electrification) direction will be plug-in hybrids throughout the lineup,” he said in a 2022 interview with Penta. “This is all very easily welcomed at Lamborghini. The equations are easy. We always promise more performance than the generation before for all our cars, and we will do so while maintaining sustainability. By 2025, we will be able to cut our overall emissions by 50% with all of the hybrid models added.”

Proving Lamborghini and Winkelmann are as good as their collective word, the time of watts and volts arrived in Bologna, Italy, with the debut of the 2025 Lamborghini Urus SE. The first hybrid super-SUV from the proud Italian firm, which starts at $275,000 marries the familiar internal combustion specs of its growling engines with battery power looking not so much to save the planet as to propel vehicles across it with more alacrity.

The Urus SE is the first hybrid plug-in version of Lamborghini’s SUV, and it’s aimed to outperform its all-internal combustion rivals, such as the Aston Martin DBX707 and the Bentley Bentayga. The PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) Urus SE relies on an 800 CV hybrid powertrain, surpassing any previous Lamborghini SUV model in torque and power numbers.

As for external styling on the Urus, Lamborghini takes after its competition at Aston Martin or Ferrari by trying to make an SUV that looks as little like an SUV as possible.
Courtesy of Lamborghini

The machine’s twin-turbo 4.0-litre V-8 engine is reengineered and partnered with an electric powertrain to produce 620 CV. For the uninitiated, CV is the abbreviation of Chevaux-Vapeur and is similar to horsepower. Usually, HP converts to just a little less than CV—at least allowing the automotive enthusiasts from the U.S. and Europe to get a traditional sense of vehicle power for gas-powered or hybrid vehicles without needing a conversion calculator.

To make a long engineering story as quick as the Urus SE, if you add together the internal contrition power plant and the e-motor, the final output is 800 CV. The result is a Lamborghini that cuts its emissions by 80% without sacrificing performance, comfort, or driving excitement.

The thinking process on when and how to release this plug-in hybrid began before the company’s 2021 pledge to cut CO2 emissions, says Stefano Cossalter, the Urus model line director.

Courtesy of Lamborghini

“This plan gave momentum to a profound and constant research of opportunities and challenges involved in the transition to electrification,” Cossalter says. “The plan started in 2023 with the launch of the Revuelto [sold out into 2026], our first HPEV (high performance electrified vehicle), and continues with the launch of the hybrid version of our Super SUV Urus SE.”

Cossalter lays out that the slow and steady march to electrification will continue next year with the release of the Temerario, described by Lamborghini as the successor to the popular Huracan and “the first super sports car in the history of the … brand to be equipped with a V-8 twin-turbo engine paired with three electric motors.” Then, the automaker will look to the horizon for its introduction of the Lanzador, the company’s first BEV (battery electric vehicle) in 2028.

The hybrid version offers improved performance over the 100% gas Urus. A magnet synchronous electric motor located inside the SE’s eight-speed automatic transmission tied into the four-wheel-drive system can boost the V-8 engine, offering additional acceleration. Meanwhile, that motor can provide enough power to transform the Urus SE into a totally electric vehicle with a range of about 35 miles in EV mode.

With the new drive system noted, Lamborghini’s engineers could turn to performance specs. They built in a new, centrally located longitudinal electric torque vectoring system with an electro-hydraulic multi-plate clutch. That’s a lot of fancy tech talk to say the vehicle can throw power and grip back and forth between the front and rear axles wherever the onboard system senses it’s needed. A new electronic limited-slip differential on the rear axle helps give the Urus SE oversteering when needed. The end result is an SUV that packs the feel of a Huracan on the road.

That supercar feel in an SUV is the experience Lamborghini refuses to abandon in the Urus SE, Cossalter says.

“We didn’t come to compromises in the hybridisation process,” he says. “We wanted the Urus SE to preserve the DNA of the original project and enhance the experience for the driver. For those reasons, we decided not to downsize. We kept a V-8 engine with its strong character and voice, and then added some spice to the dynamic behavior by changing the all-wheel-drive architecture. The result is we have more power, more torque, more speed, more fun.”

As for external styling on the Urus, Lamborghini takes after its competition at Aston Martin or Ferrari by trying to make an SUV that looks as little like an SUV as possible. The profile is lowered, and the lines sweeping and tapering from nose to tail, as though Lambo’s in-house designers want to hide the size and functionality of an SUV inside the shape of the familiar Lamborghini supercars of the past.

However, driving the Urus does not feel much like a traditional Lamborghini supercar simply because the driving position is higher and more upright compared to, say, an Avantador that puts the driver’s backside close to pavement. Regardless of where one sits, the acceleration, noise, and tight handling lives in a Urus as happily as it does in any other Lambo.

As its first volume consumer step into the hybrid world, the Urus SE tells Italian supercar enthusiasts to keep the faith.

“The Urus SE points to the future with electrification while keeping its heritage intact,” Cossalter says.

MOST POPULAR
11 ACRES ROAD, KELLYVILLE, NSW

This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan

35 North Street Windsor

Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.

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