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The Maserati MC20's new Nettuno V6 is a high-tech showpiece

It's been more than two decades since Maserati was in the business of developing an in-house 90-degree V6 engine, and the last one it had traced its genealogy back 30 years. That story started in 1968, when Citroen took a controlling stake in Maserati, and the French requested that the Italians create an engine for the 1970 Citroen SM. Famed Maserati engineer Giulio Alfieri designed a 2.7-liter V6 producing 170 horsepower that could be built using Maserati's existing V8 tooling, hence the 90-degree angle. Alfieri then revised that V6 and bored it out to three liters, upping output to 187 hp, for use in the 1972 Maserati Merak. A decade later, Maserati – now owned by Alejandro de Tomaso, who had fired Alfieri — started with Alfieri's V6 philosophy when developing a mill for a new sports car. The resulting V6 unit, in 2.0-, 2.5-, and 2.8-liter displacements, was the first twin-turbocharged motor put into a production car. That car? The hot, gorgeous mess known as the 1984 Maserati BiTurbo. Almost 10 years on, the 1992 Maserati Ghibli II would get a 2.0-liter version of this 90-degree V6 making 306 horsepower. The 1995 Ghibli Cup turned that mill up to 330 hp, crowning the 2.0-liter V6 as the most power-dense engine in a production car, surpassing 1990s icons like the Jaguar XJ220 and original Bugatti EB110 (both 155 horsepower per liter). When the Ghibli exited production in 1998, Maserati ceded engine development duties to Ferrari by order of Fiat, which owned both automakers. 2022 Maserati MC20 View 47 Photos Nettuno, the new beating heart of Maserati Now we have the Nettuno, a 90-degree 3.0-liter V6 created to power Maserati's renaissance and making its debut in the chunky, aerodynamic form known as the MC20. At 630 horsepower and 538 lb-ft of torque, the engine almost picks up where the Ghibli Cup left off: with 210 horsepower/liter, the Nettuno is one of the most power-dense in the world. The Bugatti Chiron, Ford GT, and McLaren 756LT don't crack 200 hp/l. The only production cars in the ballpark are Euro specials like the Mercedes-AMG A45 (208.4 hp/l). Beyond it are seven-figure hypercars like the SSC Tuatara (229 hp/l) and Koenigsegg Jesko (256 hp/l on gas, 320 hp/l on E85). The word we're looking for in Italian is bentornato. Welcome back, Maserati.

Maserati will field a Formula E team in 2023

Some Italian flair is coming to the Formula E grid. Maserati plans to field a team in the electric motor racing series in 2023, becoming the first brand from the country to do so. The automaker is returning to single-seater competition for the first time in more than six decades. Maserati ran a successful Formula 1 team in the 1950s and its two-seater MC12 took 14 titles in the FIA GT sports car series between 2004 and 2010. Maserati plans to take what it learns on Formula E tracks and feed that back into its Folgore EV lineup. “Beyond this piece of history, Maserati Formula E will be our technological laboratory to accelerate the development of high-efficiency electrified powertrains and intelligent software for our road sports cars," Stellantis Motorsport senior VP Jean-Marc Finot said. The automaker will enter Formula E as the series shifts to the Gen3 car, its lightest and fastest vehicle to date. Formula E and the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) said the Gen3 will be the planet's most efficient race car. They claim the EV will produce at least 40 percent of energy used in a race via regenerative braking.  

Maserati details the new, 630-hp V6 that will power its mid-engined MC20 coupe

Maserati is done leaning on former sister company Ferrari for technical support. It has unveiled the six-cylinder engine it designed and will build in-house to power the MC20 supercar that's scheduled to make its debut later in 2020. Ferrari's willingness to develop and/or build engines for Maserati shrank significantly when it split from former parent company Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) in early 2016 and became independent. Insiders knew the division would be spun off, so they began designing Maserati's new engine (which is called Nettuno) in 2015 and accelerated the process in 2017. It's a 90-degree, 3.0-liter V6 with a dry sump and a twin-spark, pre-chamber ignition system rooted in racing. In this application, it's twin-turbocharged (the turbos are mounted on the outside of the engine rather than in the middle of it) and it's equipped with both direct and indirect fuel injection.  All told, the 485-pound Nettuno engine develops 630 horsepower at 7,500 rpm and 538 pound-feet of torque between 3,000 and 5,500 rpm. It continues revving to a redline of 8,000 rpm.  Matteo Valentini, Maserati's chief engineer, explained the Nettuno engine will ultimately power the company's entire range of vehicles, though he stopped short of naming the specific models that will use it after the MC20. He added the six-cylinder will "bring Maserati back into the world of racing," meaning its output will likely grow in the not-too-distant future. We'll learn more about the engine when the MC20 makes its debut September 9. What remains to be seen is whether Maserati will replace the V8 available in the Levante and the Quattroporte, or if it will surf the downsizing wave sweeping across the industry. Developed jointly with Ferrari in the early 2010s, that engine makes 590 horsepower when it's bolted in the Levante Trofeo's bay, meaning its output is eclipsed by the Nettuno V6's. Both engines are built around a 90-degree architecture, so the 3.0-liter V6 could turn into a 4.0-liter V8 if it's modular enough to gain a pair of cylinders — and if Maserati sees a market for another eight-cylinder. Featured Gallery Maserati Nettuno 3.0-liter V6 engine Maserati Coupe Performance