Maserati has an illustrious motorsport history that spans both Formula One and top-level endurance racing, but the marque has largely been absent from the racetrack for more than a decade.
That changes in 2023 when an electric Maserati lines up on the grid for the opening race of Season 9 of the Formula E World Championship. The season will also see Formula E introduce a new Gen3 race car that will be lighter and more powerful than the car it replaces.
Maserati made the announcement on Tuesday but didn't say whether it will form a new team or partner with an existing one. Formula E currently has 11 teams, though Mercedes-Benz is set to quit at the end of the current season. Automakers still involved in Formula E include Porsche, Nissan, Nio, Jaguar, and Maserati sister company DS.
Maserati MC20
Maserati doesn't sell any electric cars but that will change in the coming years as the automaker adds battery power to every vehicle in its lineup, under the Folgore label, which in Italian means “lightning.” The first Maserati to get the Folgore treatment will be the redesigned GranTurismo coupe due out later this year. Electric versions of the recently launched MC20 supercar and upcoming Grecale small crossover will follow in short order, Maserati has confirmed.
“We are very proud to be back where we belong as protagonists in the world of racing,” Davide Grasso, Maserati's CEO, said in a statement. “In the race for more performance, luxury, and innovation, Folgore is irresistible and it is the purest expression of Maserati.”
We could see Maserati enter additional racing series. Maserati has hinted that it might go racing with the MC20, with the initials in the name signifying Maserati Corse, Italian for “Maserati Racing.” Maserati has also described the MC20 as the spiritual successor to the MC12 supercar that raced in the FIA GT series from 2004 to 2010. A possible avenue for the MC20 is the GT classes of the IMSA SportsCar Championship or FIA World Endurance Championship.
