A unique electric Maserati marks a long-standing partnership with a legendary winery

This is the one-off Maserati GranCabrio Folgore Tignanello Edition, a celebration of Maserati’s bespoke Fuoriserie programme and the company’s long association with the Marchesi Antinori winery, and Tignanello, one of the most influential red wines of recent times. The car marks the 50th anniversary of the wine in 2021, and the arrival of this vintage to market in 2024.

Maserati GranCabrio Folgore Tignanello

We spoke to Maserati’s head of design Klaus Busse about the collaboration and how it emphasises key elements of the GranCabrio Folgore, the fully electrified version of Maserati’s four-seater range topper. ‘We have a long-standing partnership,’ Busse explains. ‘It’s based on respect and shared values – the vineyard supplies wine to our events, for example. But we wanted to take it to another level and the GranCabrio was the perfect car – what other machine would you want to drive through the rolling hills of Tuscany?’

Resplendent in a specially developed Terra di Tignanello paint, ‘inspired by the vineyard’s soil’, the GranCabrio Folgore is finished in a coppery burgundy hue that Busse likens to the hills of Tuscany at sunset. Key details – wheels, soft-top, brake callipers – are all finished in black. ‘We have a good understanding of what makes the landscape of wine so special,’ Busse says. ‘Our headquarters are in the country of Barolo, for example. I love going to these places and driving through them.’

The exterior colour has also been mixed with a metallic element that adds a subtle shimmer. ‘When you approach the car, there is a red wine element that shines through in bright sunlight,’ the designer says.

The interior of the GranCabrio draws distinct parallels with the aesthetics and culture of Marchesi Antinori. ‘When we visited the vineyard, what struck us visually was their wooden barrels, braced by metal straps and with distinctive red-painted sections that are stained by the wine itself,’ the designer says. To evoke this, the GranCabrio’s seats have been trimmed in a distinctive mix of tan leather and Vegea, a synthetic fabric made from grape waste.’

This is the first time Vegea has been used in a Maserati, and the perforated material is finished with vertical stripes – evoking the silver metal bracing on the barrels, as well as the rows of vines on a hillside – over a dark burgundy weave. ‘We always try to tell a story through colours,’ says Busse. ‘Our cars can be a canvas.’

The trim is dark briar wood with laser-etched patterns and text from the bottle label, while the headrests are adorned with an embroidered symbol that blends the Maserati Trident with the stylised sun symbol of Tignanello, which is also repeated on the centre console.

Fuoriserie is the company’s bespoke programme, available in two distinct steps. The first is a number of curated recommendations and specifications, usually available in a limited edition like the recent Maserati MC20 Leggenda and Icon models. ‘The second is a more individual journey that I am directly involved with,’ Busse explains. ‘It can take up to a year to explore the various aspects of the design.’

This unique GranCabrio Folgore will ultimately be auctioned for charity at Festival Napa Valley’s 2024 Arts for All Gala. ‘We’re doing this for a family-owned business, so it was about how we can reflect their hard work over generations, and the soul of the land,’ says Busse. ‘It means a lot to be partnering with a brand like Maserati,’ says a spokesperson for Marchesi Antinori. ‘It’s an extraordinary synergy between an icon in luxury Italian sports cars and an icon in high-quality Italian wines.’

This unique partnership has given each company the chance to explore new ways of doing things, while doubling down on their core values. As Piero Antinori says, each is undergoing a ‘never-ending challenge, the obsession to improve and constantly question ourselves, to find higher and higher quality margins. [The car has] a great identity and recognisability, just like our wine.’

Visit Maserati's website for Fuoriserie details and more information on the Maserati GranCabrio, @Maserati

Marchese Antinori, Antinori.it, @AntinoriChiantiClassico

Festival Napa Valley, FestivalNapaValley.org, @Napafest