Maserati made its competition debut in 1926 at the Targa Florio with the Modena marque’s Tipo 26. Piloted by none other than Alfieri Maserati, the Type 26 would ultimately finish first in its class. Fast forward 96 years later to today, and the Trident firm is now marking another pivotal first in the brand’s history with the unveiling of its inaugural ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race car.
Formed from Venturi Racing, the Maserati Monaco Sports Group Racing (or Maserati MSG Racing) marks the first Italian automaker to set its sights on Formula E competition. Competing in the 9th Formula E season will be Maserati MSG Racing’s newly-unveiled Tipo Folgore Gen3 race car — which will be the fastest, more technologically-advanced, and most efficient Formula E car to date, with its front and rear powertrains delivering 600kW of regenerative power and 95% power efficiency, which enables it to provide more than 40% of the energy used within a race to come solely from regenerative braking.
And while Maserati will be campaigning the same Gen3 platform as every other team in Formula E, the Italian outfit has treated the battery-powered track weapon to its own unique race livery. First revealed in Maserati’s home town of Modena, Italy, the Tipo Folgore’s livery is inspired by the blue color of Maserati’s iconic trident, with a deep royal blue base complemented via exposed carbon fiber, classic Italian tricolor striping, and white Maserati logos and a white trident logo on the car’s nose cone.
After it completes pre-season testing in Spain, the Maserati Tipo Folgore Formula E race car will hit the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico City on January 14, kicking off the 17-race calendar season.
