Maserati joining EV party

Italian supercars have not been at the forefront of electric vehicle (EV) technology.

Memories still linger of Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo’s statements in the past that the carmaker has no intention of manufacturing vehicles without  gas engines.

Jon Fingas writes in Car and Driver article ‘Maserati’s first electric car won’t be a Tesla rival’ that the LaFerrari hybrid is about as close as the carmaker gets to EVs but that should change in the medium-term.

He reports that Ferrari’s sibling brand Maserati is working on an EV that should be unveiled before 2020.

“And unlike other luxury car brands, Maserati doesn’t plan on eating Tesla’s lunch,” he reports.

Fingas elaborates that Maserati’s Roberto Fedeli, renowned for his involvement in the engineering of Ferrari cars and recent limited production LaFerrari gas-electric hybrid supercar, says that the carmaker has to produce something very different for it to stand out – like a GranTurismo coupe rather than another upscale sedan.

Fedeli highlights the challenge of making a green machine exciting to drive in the article, citing breakneck acceleration as being the only electrifying aspect of EVs for the time being.

He also points to the weightiness of lithium-ion batteries as detractors from the sheer exhilaration of driving on twisty roads that the carmaker would have to see to as well as the challenge of giving a Maserati character without a roaring gas engine under its hood.

The article concludes by saying that Maserati’s 2020 goal is “realistic as it may not have much choice but to wait for battery technology to catch up to its ambitions”.