MASERATI has officially axed the upcoming MC20 Folgore – due to low demand.
The iconic Italian sports car manufacturer, which has reportedly been facing concerns over its future due to poor sales, has confirmed that plans to release its electric supercar have been cancelled.
The MC20 Folgore, which translates to ‘lightning’ in Italian, was intended to be the brand’s electric alternative to the stunning MC20 sports car.
However, the company determined that consumer demand for an electric model of the MC20’s calibre was too low to justify its release.
The MC20 Folgore – which promised a power output and performance characteristics similar to the existing V6-engined MC20 – was originally planned to be one of six Maserati EVs set for launch over the next year or so.
But last week, news broke that the brand’s global automaker and parent company Stellantis had decided against throwing them a £1.3billion investment.
Stellantis chief financial officer Doug Ostermann said they had pulled the plug on Maserati projects, with claims they wanted to review the pace in which sports car owners move over to EVs.
He said: “We have to recognise the dynamics in that business, particularly in the Chinese market, and our expectations in terms of how quickly that luxury market would transition to electrification.”
Two other Maserati projects are in danger of being cancelled too; replacements for the Levante and Quattroporte, which were set to be released in 2027 and 2028 respectively.
Combined, the three models would have been Maserati’s electric line-up, adapting to the EV revolution.
With slowly waning sales and eye-watering financial losses, the lack of funding will hit the brand hard.
Indeed, according to Autocar, Maserati’s sales more than halved last year, falling to 11,300.
That meant they lost €260 million, roughly £215m, having recorded a profit of €141m (£117m) in 2023.
It’s not all bad news, as Maserati will now turn their attention to giving the long-running and wildly popular MC20 a major overhaul.
The sleek sports car, which was unveiled back in 2020 and went into production in 2021, is powered by a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 engine producing 621 bhp.
It can accelerate from 0-62 mph in just 2.9 seconds, while its top speed is 202 mph.
That speed was put to the test recently when the 110-year-old car marque wowed petrolheads by setting a record using an AI-driven MC20 Cielo – the model’s convertible version.
The supercar hit a whopping 197.7mph on the Kennedy Space Centre runway in Florida, US, breaking an impressive autonomous speed record in the process.
