Maserati’s Tridente: full electric water toy at €2.5 million

It’s beautifully designed, as you might expect from an iconic Italian brand, but this one is rather meant to ‘fly’ on the water than on wheels: the Maserati Tridente. It’s a fully electric, 10.5-meter speedboat with 447 kWh or 600 hp of power and a top speed of 40 knots (74 km). But with a price tag of 2.5 million euros, this one-off doesn’t come cheap for the time being.

The Tridente—Italian for Neptune’s trident, Maserati’s logo—has seating for eight passengers and a driver in a cockpit that can be configured for dining or acceleration. Passengers can also relax on a sundeck alongside a bathing area with a shower and ladder for swimming. An enclosed cabin forward includes a day berth and toilet.

Superyacht tender specialist

The Italian carmaker partnered with Vita Power from Southampton (UK) to develop this boat’s marine tech. Vita Power develops high-performance electric powertrains for commercial and recreational marine applications. The carbon fiber boat itself was built by Hodgdon Yachts, a Maine US boatbuilder specializing in superyacht tenders.

Vita Power delivers single- and twin-drive configurations for all kinds of boats, and it is compatible with stern drive, jet, and shaft drive. Power output ranges from 126 kW (170 hp) to 492 kW
(660 hp) and can be combined with a Li-ion battery pack of 63 kW to 252 kW that can be DC-charged from 10%-90% in one hour.

Vita Power’s CEO is Clive Johnson, once the founder and CEO of Tacktick Ltd, which designed and manufactured the world’s first solar-powered instruments for dinghies and yachts, a company sold to marine electronics specialist Raymarine in 2011.

43 nautical miles of range

The Maserati Tridente has a 447 kW propulsion system and a 252 kWh battery, enabling a cruising speed of 25 knots and 43 nautical miles (80 km) of range on a single charge. It’s intended for luxury cruising on lakes like Italian Lago Maggiore.

Maserati’s global head of design, Klaus Busse, is clearly pleased with his team’s results. “Maserati and Vita Power share the same vision on electrification, and both build the vehicles of the future based on reduced environmental impact, improved customer experience, advanced technology, and high-quality and sophisticated materials.”

“The Maserati Folgore car is the standard bearer of our full electric production, and we are proud to extend our new course to the sea, collaborating with a company synonymous with passion, excellence, and luxury in the new electric era.”

New luxury fashion

Apparently, it is a ‘new fashion’ for luxury car brands to create their own electric water toy and show them off on Italian lakes. Maserati got preceding examples from Lamborghini, Ferrari, BMW, and Porsche, among others. The latter presented the €561 700 ‘modestly priced’ Frauscher x Porsche 850 eFantom Air in October 2023 to a select public on Lake Garda in Italy.