Oh, how delicious choice can be. The all-new 2024 Maserati GranTurismo will hit dealerships next year with two very tasty options: One, a conventional GT with a powerful Formula 1-inspired V-6 engine, the other, an even more powerful Folgore pure electric vehicle with three motors. Both power systems fit in the same sinuous, two-door coupe that seats four and holds all their luggage.

The new grand touring coupe brings back the GranTurismo nameplate that’s been on hiatus since the 2019 model year. Coming first, in early 2023, is the 2024 GranTurismo with the internal combustion engine, followed by the Folgore (Italian for “lightning” and Maserati’s new EV sub-brand) battery electric version in the second half of the year.

At launch there will be a PrimaSerie 75th Anniversary Launch Edition, a limited series with some exclusive content. For droptop motoring, the GranCabrio, offered in the same trims, will be introduced next year and follow the coupe to market.

You might be thinking, well, if the GranTurismo uses a new architecture, created from scratch and designed to accommodate both internal-combustion engines (ICE) and electric power and incorporating a lot of aluminum and other lightweight materials, this coupe must use the new STLA Large platform.

Nope. The coupe does not use STLA Large, the new shared flexible architecture for Stellantis (Maserati, Chrysler, Dodge, and other) vehicles going forward and that is famously designed to support both ICE and electric power. Why? Because work on the GranTurismo started four years ago, when the automaker was still known as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the late Sergio Marchionne was CEO.

Maserati also has its own engine, the twin-turbocharged Nettuno V-6 with a combustion system borrowed from F1 racecars. The 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 debuted in the Maserati MC20 coupe, then went into the Maserati Grecale Trofeo compact performance SUV, and now is found in the GranTurismo. The engine was engineered by Maserati, is built by Maserati, and is for the exclusive use of Maserati, the only luxury brand under the Stellantis umbrella.

The V-6 has cylinder deactivation to save some fuel yet puts out 490 horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque in the lower Modena trim; the top-end Trofeo has a higher output of 550 hp and 479 lb-ft. Maserati has also left room for higher-performance versions. Until then, the spiciest Trofeo should not disappoint with an estimated  zero-to-60-mph time of under 3.5 seconds and a top speed of about 200 mph.

Maserati mounts the compact engine nearly amidships, behind the centerline of the front wheels. The engine is so far back in the nose, the front differential—unlike its predecessor, the GranTurismo is all-wheel-drive—that the front driveshafts must angle forward to reach the front wheels. With the transmission, all-wheel-drive bits, and that engine nestled up by the cowl, we’re told a V-8 would have been too large to fit.

And yet a V-8 isn’t necessary, as the real performance is found in the all-electric GranTurismo Folgore, with three motors (all 300 kW—one in front, two in back) combining for 760 hp and a zero-to-60-mph time of about 2.7 seconds. Range is estimated at about 450 km (280 miles) on the typically optimistic European WLTP test cycle, which means that figure will be substantially less as tested by the EPA here in America.

Maserati executives say to expect just 100 to 200 miles of total range when the certified figures come out, but insist the automaker had no illusions the GranTurismo Folgore would be best in class because the focus was on performance.

The battery pack is T-bone shaped, running down the center of the car and snaking out to the sides, which lowers the car’s H-point and allows the coupe to sit lower than other EVs that spread their battery cells out flat in the floor. Often, such a “skateboard”-style arrangement makes the vehicle’s floor (and, by extension, the entire car) too high and heavy. The 92.5-kWh battery runs at 800 volts, and can discharge up to 400 volts to a single rear wheel and has a discharge rate of up to 610 kW.

All versions have air suspension, four drive modes via a rotary dial on the steering wheel, launch control, and four driver-selectable levels of brake regeneration.

No Folgore will, of course, have an engine producing Maserati’s classic Italian noise, so to keep that tradition alive, the EV engineers have taken the natural acoustics of the motors being driven by the inverters and digitally integrated them with the sound of a V-8 to produce a unique note. The sound was created using software, synthesizers and speakers both inside and out the car. Sounding like something, we think, is better than sounding like quiet whirring, so we’re excited to hear this setup in action.

The GranTurismo was previewed—long ago—by the drop-dead Alfieri concept car. When that show car was shown at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show (yes, 2014!), the plan was to get it into production around 2016. We say, better late than never, and that wait has also seen the compact Alfieri’s look stretched to great effect to fit the GranTurismo’s larger footprint. Per Klaus Busse, head of Maserati design, the GT was designed to be a collector’s car.

In person the GranTurismo seems incredibly long, low, and decidedly classic in appearance. The coupe is undeniably attractive, with a low mouth and hood, long sinewy body sides, and powerful rear haunches.

The hood cutline has been relocated to the sides of the fenders, creating a massive clamshell hood with seamless, jaw-dropping fender peaks that flow into the vertical lights—a new signature—and frame a contoured center hood section that recalls the noses of Maserati’s midcentury Formula 1 race cars. At seemingly ankle height is the iconic Maserati grille, with vertical slats and a three-dimensional trident badge.

There are four different wheel configurations, and the wheels are larger in the rear (21 inches) than the front (20s). The Folgore has a grille with glossy black inserts. The car is 70 percent aluminum.

Inside, the 12.2-inch digital gauge cluster is borrowed from the MC20 and moves lower and curls around the steering wheel to afford the driver a better view. The wheel is flanked by massive paddle shifters. The center screen has a central display and separate comfort display ahead of the passenger. And yes, there are some physical buttons for controls. But the famous Maserati dashboard clock is now digital, adding such features as a compass, stopwatch, and G-force meter. It also lights up as visual confirmation the car has received a voice command.

A Sonus Faber sound system with 19 speakers is standard. The Trofeo is distinguishable for its use of 3D carbon fiber trim, while the Folgore recycles nylon from nets plastics into a new material for the seats with their built-in headrests and a laser-etched pattern. The interior has space for four adults—really, we sat back there at a preview earlier this year—and has a large cargo area with a pass-through to accommodate skis.

Maserati has not been known for technology in the past, but is working to overcome that. The GranTurismo has SAE Level 2 driver assistance systems including lane-centering and adaptive cruise control.

The 2024 Maserati GranTurismo will start about $170,000 for the Modena trim and about $210,000 for Trofeo. Expect to pay even more for a Folgore. The coupes will be built at the Mirafiori manufacturing complex in Italy and Maserati wants to make about 10,000 a year.

The luxury brand plans to have a totally new, fully electric product lineup by 2025 and stop offering vehicles with combustion engines by 2030. The GranTurismo coupe and GranCabrio convertible will be the brand’s first full BEV models, even though they’ll be sold alongside their gas-fed counterparts for some time.