Roughly a decade ago, it felt like the future of supercars was going to be at least partially electric. Rimac had the astonishing quad-motor Concept_One, Mercedes-Benz had recently produced a 740-horsepower quad-motor electric SLS AMG, and a variety of startups were showing off electric supercar concepts at places like Pebble Beach and Geneva. Fast forward to 2025, and things have changed with electric supercars. Just this week, Autocar reported that Maserati has canceled the in-development electric MC20 Folgore supercar, citing insufficient demand.
Initially slated to receive a tri-motor all-wheel-drive setup with more than 700 horsepower, the Maserati MC20 Folgore was supposed to help bring its makers into the all-electric era. Now, though, not only is Maserati in trouble and offering five-figure discounts on regular MC20 models, the whole all-electric era is in question, especially in this echelon. In a statement to Motor1, Maserati wrote:
Market studies for the super sports car segment and especially for MC20 customers has demonstrated that they are very keen on driving powerful ICE engines like the Maserati Nettuno V-6, which incorporates F1-derived technologies, but are not ready to switch to BEVs for the foreseeable future.
There’s a similar lull going on in the hypercar space, where several electric models already exist. Pininfarina has resorted to a Wayne Enterprises tie-in for its Battista electric hypercar, while Mate Rimac of Rimac-Bugatti told Autocar last year that the future of Rimac beyond the Nevera might not be all-EV. In the CEO’s words, “Rimac isn’t exclusively electric; it’s doing whatever is most exciting at the time.”
Part of the problem is that electric cars don’t need to look like supercars to be incredibly quick. A Porsche Taycan Turbo GT will sprint from zero-to-60 mph in less than two seconds, and it has space for more than just one passenger. For the actual use case of a road vehicle, acceleration is the most frequently experienced measure of performance. On track, electric vehicles usually don’t have the stamina to go for more than one session at a trackday, with even the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N targeting 20-minutes of hot lapping before 20-ish minutes of charging is desired. This would be great if more tracks had on-site 350 kW DC fast chargers, but that’s a piece of equipment you certainly won’t find at every amateur motorsports venue in North America.
So, if raw acceleration figures are no longer exclusive and closed-course usage is often met with limitations, electric supercars will have to trade on emotional appeal, and there’s where things get a bit difficult. The bar for the segment set by combustion-powered models is already so engaging, so symphonic, so captivating. The 740 horsepower of a McLaren 750S may not be that special anymore, but we’re also talking about a car that weighs less than 3,100 pounds, features hydraulic power steering acclaimed for its feedback, and drives only the rear wheels. That’s a formula you can’t really replicate today in say, a sedan.
More importantly, if the old 720S is anything to go by, the 750S should feel special even at low speeds. The predecessor to McLaren’s current middleweight supercar was still an experience around town, with a constant impression of great power behind the seats. Even though the twin-turbocharged V8 didn’t offer the same unhinged wail as the V10 in a Lamborghini Huracan, it still felt like a force of nature. Sure, an electric powertrain would be more refined, but people aren’t buying supercars based on which one’s the quietest.
This whole concept of experience is nicely boiled down by something Rimac said to Autocar last year: “An Apple Watch can do everything better. It can do 1000 more things, it’s a lot more precise, it can measure your heart rate. But nobody would pay $200,000 for an Apple Watch.” Is there a market for electric supercars? Sure. Is there a market to sustain a future program by any manufacturer? That’s questionable.
The fact of the matter is that there’s joy in mechanical complexity. We’re human, most of us think in physical parts, it’s only natural that we’re drawn to the imperfections of internal combustion. Electric vehicles are great at certain things. They’re quiet and low-maintenance to the point of luxury, and the instant torque of electric motors have made some mainstream cars and crossovers hilariously quick. The problem is, once electric power became everywhere, the technology was no longer special, and supercars are meant to be special. What does this mean for Ferrari’s incoming EV? I guess we’ll just have to see, won’t we?
Top graphic credit: Maserati
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Quick answer: No.
Longer answer: absolutely not. Try thinking of a poster worthy EV, I can’t think of any at this point. Maybe the Hyundai N Vision 74.
The correct answer: EV GT cars, such as the Rolls Royce Spectre, Cadillac Sollei. This is where the tech should be going, even though there’s absolutely no market for personal luxury coupes.
The problem with electric supercars is that, when your chassis’ weight is dominated by a literal ton of battery and your dynamics are defined by off-the-line power, the benefits of a smaller 2-seat arrangement are negligible, especially if both vehicles are on skateboard platforms.
The performance advantage of EV’s over combustion engines is acceleration, plain and simple.
It makes way more sense to get a Lucid Air Sapphire than a Rimac Nevera, not because the Rimac isn’t faster, but because the Lucid is so close, at a fraction of the price, in a luxurious daily driver package. You could argue there are plenty of 7-800hp sedans already, that the Rimac will corner better and offer a more exciting experience than the Lucid, but if you’re looking for an experience at that price point, you’re not going to settle for anything without a V12.
Seems like a “NO”
Wait. Pininfarina make batman car? Wut
Maserati is barely selling the tremendously overpriced for performance gas MC20. It only makes sense for them to cancel the EV.
As for supercars, they’re about theatrics and excess. A pure EV doesn’t fit the bill. Especially when they can have a dedicated supercar plus a super fast EV.
Am I the only one who is reminded of Fulgore, electric claws fighter from Killer Instinct? Yes? Ok.
Yes, but but I’d rather have a McLaren P1, which can be a normal supercar or an electric supercar. Or both.
Like you say a normal Taycan has the supercar honk off the line while being a luxury sedan at the same time. So unless you already own a track…
Does Anyone Actually Want Electric Supercars?
Absolutely but at 1/10-0/50th the price.
Name checks out
I’m not wrong though.
This is similar to graphics cards. You don’t *really* need anything special to play. If you feel like flexing on how much money you spent on a EV hypercar, sure go for it, but I can still play the same game at a fraction of the cost.
Can you flip it a week after you bought it for twice the price?
Ha. I wish!
While I certainly buy the argument here, I think the other key factor is Maserati as a brand. Ferrari will probably still be fine, and still sell some EVs, due to their image.
I reckon they’ll sell EV’s to people who are looking for their 20th Ferrari and might as well buy the EV since they already have 11 V8’s and 8 V12’s.
Reading between the lines gas turbine hybercar? They haven’t figured out how to make an EV car a visceral experience yet. It’s just instant torque and now super quiet the motors used to make neat noises.
I don’t see that happening. Small gas turbines are less efficient and more expensive than their piston brethren. Here’s a somewhat relevant comparison of the two engine technologies from the small aviation sector:
https://airplaneacademy.com/piston-vs-turboprop-performance-efficiency-and-safety/
AFAIK small aircraft engines are very conservatively designed and as such are even less fuel efficient than their automotive equivalents. So the discrepancies will be even wider comparing a small gas turbine to say a LT in a Corvette.
It definitely doesn’t make sense but neither does a 700k mechanical watch. I like those zongshien rotax clones from a value proposition for GA.
As long as its at least as reliable as an actual Rotax why not?
Apparently they have been using them in China for 15 years just coming in to the US last year I think.
What the point of an EV supercar when my EV sedan is faster? A supercar needs something to really set it apart and it’s always been the radical designs and the engine. I also could not see getting this Maserati when the Corvette C8 Z06 exists and costs almost half as much.
Half the cost is for the car. The other half is for the badge.
I wear Kirkland jeans, so I am likely not the target audience.
Oooh! Fancy!
I don’t know about the future of EV supercars, but a future electric variant of an already 5 year old super car that already is being discounted by dealers by (according to the Autopian article I saw) $85,000 is not worth pursuing.
Maserati was out of their minds to try and make an EV MC20 instead of preparing to launch an MC20 replacement with an electric variant.
This. When I first heard about the Folgore I legit was thinking “I hope the demand is there”, because the normal MC20 demand has never been.
Given the ups and downs of Maserati over the years, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were pinning an MC20 successor on the hopes the Folgore would sell well.
Here’s another question on top of the EV one.
DOES ANYBODY REALLY WANT A MODERN SUPERCAR?
I think the time when flappy-paddle gearboxes came into fashion, the writing was on the wall. As soon as companies saw that joe-shmoe with a seven-figure income wanted one of their cars, but couldn’t drive stick. HAD to make sure they didn’t crack their skull they added the padding to the crib to protect baby in the form of traction control.
THEN They added the convertible, because what’s the point of driving a car that costs 200K, if you can’t see ME driving it.
There is a reason people spend stupid money on Diablos, Countaches, F40s ETC. Because the REAL supercars are the ones that takes talent to drive. It is now the new “Old Money vs New Money Realm”
Nobody gives a rats-ass you have a Modern McLaren, IF you have an F1 you are REALLY Somebody, even if your Rowan Atkinson.
I’m not even 30 and I don’t see the appeal in the new Lamborghinis besides crypto-shills using it as a prop to signal to other cryptobros.
A Countach had looks and performance. You wanted one for the looks and fun. Now they’re not even fun.
Fully agree. I used to love supercars, including the newest thing, but haven’t been interested in decades, basically since manuals went away and the performance went so beyond accessible (not that I’d own one), but the biggest thing is the uninspired and predictable styling. A Countach (the real one, not that recent abomination) or a Miura still drops jaws. Who even GAF if it’s slower or isn’t stable enough over 200 mph due to aero compromises for design if it looks fantastic, sounds incredible, and is engaging? Lime green insect-appendaged [insert vaguely bull-related name] Lamborghini or another ugly Ferrari not designed by Pininfarina in Rosso Prevedibile? Shrug—whoa, look at that old Saab!
I mean a Tesla Model Plaid can pretty much smoke anything from the 90s, Why are prices so high?
Because it requires skill to use it.
Lets look at it this in another way: You could train and figure out how to use a single shot rifle or an over/under shotgun to hunt ducks. OR you can use your smartphone X-Box controller to fly cheap, 10 dollar drone with the equivelent of two rounds of bird shot into a floating gaggle of floating ducks and just detonate before they even know.
Yeah, I realized a long time ago that it’s about the experience, interaction, involvement, and feel. There’s also a satisfaction to getting better at something after having to work for it that no cheat code software BS can come close to. I’d rather drive my old ’83 Subaru sedan than these new supercars.
Numbers have become the be all end all and there is simply no soul in math
I’d argue that supercar styling is as predictable and dull as the garden-variety family SUV. Just with more ‘wedge.’
I wouldn’t argue against that at all. There’s a line from some old episode of Beavis and Butthead that pops into my head frequently when a new supercar is introduced (and other things, but we’re talking about supercars). They’re watching some generic ’90s video and Butthead says something like, “Yup, that’s pretty much what I expected to see.”
Why are restomod cars like Singer coming back? THAT IS WHY.
Can’t say I really want a modern supercar, but there aren’t many not modern ones I would want either. But to the larger point, I expect the folks around here are about the driving experience. Personally, I wouldn’t chase the prestige and attention of a supercar if I could afford one (I can’t). It’s not my personality. You have to go to a private track to get close to the limits on a supercar made now (and many less exclusive performance vehicles). I wouldn’t find it fun to not even be able to drive a car I had at 2/5 potential without breaking traffic laws.
I don’t know whether this is widespread, but Summit Point Motorsports Park (nee Summit Point Raceway) in WV doesn’t allow BEVs of hybrids on track. Speculation is that this is because they don’t know how to put out a burning battery, or perhaps because of the shock hazard to rescue workers. This apparently led to cancellation of a Ferrari track day last year, has affected BMW CCA events, and certainly would prevent your bringing your Rimac or MC20 Folgore for a few fun sessions.
They need additional equipment and training for a battery fire. They also ban road legal EVs because they do not comply with racing safety requirements because of the electric door handles and other concerns. There are also some autocross events that banned EVs because they were dominating them.
Super cars should be internal combustion. They’re hobby cars, like a horse. Save the electric and hybrid for the daily drivers and work vehicles.
Lets be honest, they could cancel all of Maserati due to insufficient demand.
Yeah, I’d sooner call this cherry-picking because we’ve long covered that Maserati, as a brand, isn’t doing too hot.
Not that I have any idea about the current or future potential of electric supercars broadly, but yeah, even if I were in the market I’d be wary of a Maserati, even electric, if I wanted to actually use it a lot or keep it long-term.
Here’s the correct way to do electric supercars:
-something Miata-sized or smaller, with as few features as possible
-no touch screens, minimal driver aids. This needs to provide an ANALOGUE driving experience
-aerodynamically slippery to enable good range on a small/light battery (no fake vents, no massive grills/wheels, no plastic cladding, no extraneous styling creases, ect. It needs to be a no-bullshit design that eschews everything trendy, all in the name of maximum aero slipperiness. In that context, make it smooth, understated, and sexy, taking cues from the Matra Djet, Jaguar D-Type, Ferrari 250 GTO, Shelby Daytona Coupe, Lotus Elite, ect.)
-produce as many as possible to get the price down, but in case it ends up being low volume and six-figures in cost, make sure its power to weight ratio is close to that of a TVR Speed 12 so that it provides great value for the money no matter the price. If enough can later be produced and sold to get the cost Miata-like, retain this stupid amount of performance and keep making them cheaper. This ideally should be a car average people can eventually aspire to have.
-Keep finished vehicle weight under 2,500 lbs
-Mid-motor, rear-drive
If you take the screen out, you make it nigh-useless on public roads, though. How am I supposed to navigate, printed-out pages of MapQuest? Fumbling around with those was far more dangerous than using GPS has ever been for me.
“Mid-engine”? How is that relevant here if it’s electric?
Separately, I wonder how big/heavy the electric motors themselves are. I think it’d be cool to have a motor for each wheel with a knob to change between FWD, AWD, and RWD.
LOL
I navigate with that semi-solid aqueous thing between my ears. No maps, no screens.
I meant with that “mid-motor” comment a motor directly coupled to the rear end, with the weight distribution of the battery/motor mostly behind the driver so that it handles like a mid-engined ICE car. Ideally, with a 49F/51R weight distribution.
Modern electric motors are light. The best mass-produced ones from Tesla/Lucid, you can get 400 peak horsepower and 150 continuous horsepower out of 100 lbs. Koenigsegg has something much better up its sleeve: 800 peak horsepower out of 80 lbs.
Make it manual. manual super cars of days gone by hold there value very well. Give those people something new with a manual.
The problem with this is the torque produced by the modern power plants necessitates clutches requiring high leg force to operate. That limits the drivability.
Somebody could/maybe should invent some sort of assisted clutch technology (like power steering) to provide the necessary boosting, to bring the input forces back into manageable levels, but at that point you’re just introducing complexity (and another failure point). Also, I’m sure it will result in a lot of complaints about it feeling too numb and not communicative enough.
And at the end of the day, all of that for results that are easily outperformed by an automatic.
Can only answer for myself, and that’s a no thanks.
I think the inflection point is that people want something interesting, and craftsmanship has always been a piece of that. EVs inherently lose a lot of the craftsmanship, in the same way that nobody is really impressed by some guy’s new $1,000 Garmin MegaRunner XLT+ Solar Sapphire Amethyst Edition watch…but an interesting Fossil or Swatch still attracts attention.
One thing I will say is it’s a bit disappointing to see these electric supercars take the form of their ICE predecessors.
That Rimac has strakes and intakes just like a gas car, has the basic shape of a mid-engine ICE, and generally could be an anonymous supercar made anytime this millennium. The Maserati looks downright dumpy under that camo.
Batteries can be any shape! You don’t need grilles or massive intakes! Your motors can be mounted at the wheels, so you don’t need to accommodate driveshafts or transmissions! Apart from aero considerations and passenger comfort, there are almost no limitations on the shape of an electric car. So let’s see some exotic looking stuff!
Batteries and motors still need to be cooled
Not sure how you think that can be accomplished without intakes
You can cool effectively with a much smaller area than the air intake necessary for combustion, what are we even talking about here?
You brought up the Rimac
A 2000 horsepower car
Complained that it has an intake
Have you looked at the car? Does it have a giant guppy mouth? How should it cool its battery, inverters and motors without a radiator and intake?
Sounds like complaining for the sake of complaining
What then should we call the arguing you’re doing against something I didn’t say?
I complained the car looks like a generic ICE supercar. Whether or not it needs giant intakes for cooling, it need not be designed so that it looks boring and lame, especially given the freedom that an EV allows to relocate or eliminate components.
You just sound very naive about the realities of car design and engineering
You can’t eliminate intakes because we live in reality and heat needs to be removed from parts that heat up
If you’re making a high performance car you don’t want to add feet and feet of superfluous heavy tubing to put a radiator for a front motor behind the tail lights.
Also all of this has to go 200+ mph so there are aerodynamic considerations as well.
Why does a 1200 hp Lucid Sapphire not have giant side mounted intakes?
Or a Model S Plaid?
Or a Taycan?
Surely if there are no differences between the cooling and air intake needs of an EV and an ICE car we should see those cars overheating whenever they are driven hard, right?
The Rimac is clearly designed to resemble an ICE supercar, which I think is a mistake, and you seem unwilling to admit.
It’s not me who is naive.
This is just getting tedious, talking with people who don’t actually understand these high performance EVs but act like they are all equal is so incredibly annoying.
The model S overheats on a race track and cannot do repeated drag pulls…good thing it doesn’t have big radiators
You’re comparing cars that aren’t near the rimac in terms of performance and trying to act like you’re making a good point. You aren’t.
Oi, maybe I’m assuming, but it seems obvious to me that his point isn’t about air intakes, it’s that this Rimac and all these other EVs are boring and uninspired. They have the same proportions and appearance as an ICE car that had far more restrictions on packaging, the design of which has already been largely stagnated for far too long. Nothing about these things says “EV” or “the future” or “innovation”, there’s nothing that exploits the packaging freedom of an EV and an impractical 2-seat design. They take away the noise and drama and engagement and hand you the rest of the same old damn thing back and wonder why nobody cares. “Here’s your eclair back—I took out that fattening filling and chocolate top for you.” These display all the passion and vision of an appliance car, the EVs of which can match the performance of these exotics, but in a useful package. At least make them look interesting! Who actually needs 200 mph stability (or capability at all) or cares if it apparently has to look like generic committee-approved supercar silhouette #1-3? It’s like they’re styled based on some Mad Libs-like design book where the cars are all but drawn except for blank spaces for the grille and the lighting (Mad Design: Supercar. Make it funny or make it sporty all by yourself! Fun for ages 5 and up). As I posted somewhere else in this thread, there are business reasons for much of this, but that doesn’t get me to suppress a yawn over these things and it looks like the people with the money and differently-abled consciences to actually buy them feel similarly.
I prefer NACA ducts sized no larger than required. They add an insignificant amount of drag.
For the EV cars that don’t have an ICE counterpart, a lot of it is down to meeting customer expectations. We love the different and radical designs years after the companies that took chances on them usually went out of business, as we tend not to buy enough of them when they’re new and weird. The trick is being only a little ahead of the curve, which limits the big leaps in change. It also doesn’t help when companies like Maserati are part of a massive corporation, which tend to be pretty conservative. Though, I absolutely agree that this stuff is BORING.
“Your motors can be mounted at the wheels, so you don’t need to accommodate driveshafts or transmissions!”
Why would you want all that unsprung weight? Just mount it in the center with inboard brakes.
To the question of the title: I guess pretty much no one really wants electric supercars, or the niche is small. Supercars have never really been only about the performance: even though it is important supercar is fast, it also needs the drama and character ICE has and EV lacks. EV supercars might be numerically superior (no pun intended) but big numbers won’t cut it without big emotions. I think luxury watch market is a good comparison.
Right. If I had “super car” money, I think I still want a proper ICE exhaust note or hearing the motor near the red line as you push it to the limit.
Of course I’m not sure how many of these super cars actually get driven versus stored away in a warehouse, so maybe I don’t know the super car market.
Also, that raucous ICE exhaust draws attention to you, hey, look at me, in this expensive super car.
A mostly silent/whiney car doesn’t have the same effect, even if it’s beautiful.
A tiny sub-2,500 lb RWD EV sports car with a batshit insane power-to-weight ratio(close to half a horsepower per pound of car), coming in at an attainable cost, will provide no shortage of drama. Think the electric equivalent of a TVR, except mass-produced. But no one with the means is doing that… It would be so damned glorious, and much cheaper to build than these damned obese 200+ kWh trucks.
We need a comeback of tiny overpowered cars that are outright terrifying to drive, dammit!
This, absolutely. Nobody cares that your digital/quarts Casio can hold time better than a automatic movement. It’s the effort it took to get the functionality and accuracy that matters.
EV’s should (could?) be a fraction of the price of ICE.