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The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship heads to Monte Carlo and Monaco for Round 9 of the first season of the GEN3 era, with Maserati MSG Racing on "home soil" and hoping to follow up a first top tier single seater podium for the Italian automaker since 1957 after Maximilian Guenther's heroics last time out in Berlin.
READ MORE: Maserati MSG Racing hoping to double down on Berlin breakthrough
The German finished third in his home race for what was his first podium of the season - and, in fact, his first points. The team is based in Monaco, with MSG Racing just around the bay from the circuit.
The team are looking to capitalise and generate some momentum this weekend, in their "back yard" and Maserati has decked out one of the most recognisable, glamourous locations in the world in Casino Square with its GEN3 Tipo Folgore alongside its new, and first, EV the GranTurismo Folgore, as well as its GranTurismo Trofeo.
The two GranTurismo cars will remain on show to the public until raceday on Saturday 6 May while its Tipo Folgore race car is busy fighting for silverware on the iconic streets of the Principality.
Looking back on our first glimpse of the GranTurismo Folgore
Ahead of its arrival in Formula E in Season 9, Maserati gave us a preview of what's to come on the streets of Rome with its new, all-electric GranTurismo Folgore prototype before the double-header Rome E-Prix last summer.
We were treated to a first glimpse of the final production model - what is the company's first production EV. It's a premium, zero-emission GT with a lightning-quick 0-60mph time of 2.7 seconds and a top speed nudging 200mph, the Folgore sports a tri-motor, all-wheel drive setup with close to 750bhp and some 1,350Nm of torque.
The Italian marque's flagship can cover up to 279 miles on a charge and can be topped up at charging speeds of 270kW thanks to its 800-volt electrics. On a rapid charger, that means 60 miles of range in only five minutes.
The 92.8kWh battery sits in a "T-bone" inside the car's chassis rather than in a deck, allowing the car to sit lower than other EVs - with the aim of improving the car's handling and agility. There's plenty of customisation for drivers to set the car up for the track or a cruise, too with four driving modes and four levels of regenerative braking controlled by paddles on the steering wheel.
Maserati's decided to give the Folgore all the looks of its iconic and long-running four-seat grand-touring flagship, while a cleaner interior with fewer physical switches, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay across a 12.3-inch central touchscreen and 12.2-inch driver's display and heads-up display all make the cut alongside the Folgore's signature sound played both inside and out of the cabin.
Folgore: Maserati's lightning drive to an all-electric future
Translated as ‘lightning’, the Folgore nameplate will appear on all of Maserati’s future full-electric cars, including its new Grecale SUV, which will also be available in an electric version in 2023 and is equipped with a 105-kWh battery using 400V technology.
Using its entry into Formula E to test and hone its electric car technology, Maserati's Folgore offering will extend to the MC20 supercar, a new Quattroporte sport sedan and the all-new Levante SUV by 2025, ahead of the marque going fully-electric by 2030.
Recycled materials play a part in Maserati's vision for the future, too, with nylon recovered from used fishing nets an example of where the Italian marque wants to take things in reducing its footprint in materials as well as in road-going emissions.