Maserati Granturismo vs Rolls-Royce Spectre (bev)

What's the difference?

How much would you pay for an outstandingly beautiful grand touring coupe with supercar performance?

Costing as much as a one-bedroom inner-city flat, the new-from-the-ground-up Maserati GranTurismo possesses seductive styling. When you’re chasing the exquisite Porsche 911 Carrera 4S and Bentley Continental GT, you need every asset available, and then some.

Which brings us to the 2024 second-generation (M189) range.

Adding to a stunning back-catalogue of gorgeous Maseratis that stretches back even further than either of its opponents above, does the latest GranTurismo have the brains as well as the brawn to match its stunning beauty?

Let’s dive right in.

Ask any opinionated car enthusiast why it is that they hate electric cars, and you’re going to hear the same word revving them up - “noise”.

Sure, EVs might be fast, and even the most old-world-loving petrol head (are we going to have to come up with a new term, soon? Power crazed? Amp-head? Copper top?) will grant you that they can be fun to drive, but the argument is that you just can’t love a car as much if it doesn’t make shouty sounds.

But there is one bunch of well-heeled car lovers who will demur on this topic, and for whom the idea of switching a big, stupidly powerful V12 engine for whispering electric motors seems to be no issue at all - Rolls-Royce fans.

They have, allegedly, been knocking down the doors at Goodwood, demanding that Rolls build them an EV, and finally it has arrived, in the stunning shape of the Spectre, and the orders are pouring in. 

We flew to the Napa Valley in California to try it out.