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Maserati Tridente by Vita Power First, Um, Cruise Review: Today on Aquablog

LAKE MAGGIORE, Italy — MaseratiÂ’s Trident logo gets three-pronged inspiration from the famous fountain of Neptune in Bologna, where the automaker got its start in 1914 before packing up and moving to Modena. And a symbol that denotes mastery over the water is appropriate for the all-electric motorboat that floats us in style around ItalyÂ’s Lake Maggiore. Beckoning dockside, the Tridente is a 10.5-meter superyacht tender, the boat that takes you to a bigger boat. But itÂ’s also fine for swanky solo cruises on lakes or ocean coasts, with a roughly 50- to 70-kilometer range (31 to 43 miles). The design collaboration between Maserati and Vita Power, a marine tech company founded in 2017, features a fast DC charging system that Vita claims as an industry first. To make that practical, Vita has been creating charging infrastructure in key locales, including along the French Riviera, San Francisco Bay, New York and a plug here in Lake Maggiore, about an hour north of Milan. We hop aboard the Tridente, the aforementioned logo emblazoned on a bow deck formed from ribbed composite. The molto bene motorboat features a carbon-fiber hull that helps hold a total weight around 5 tons. As with automobiles, thatÂ’s decisively more mass than a comparable ICE-powered boat, thanks to a 250-kilowatt-hour battery pack thatÂ’s big enough to make a Hummer EV blush. We depart the dock and head for Isola Bella, an island that floats a 17th-century palazzo — a summer home for the aristocratic House of Borromeo, which produced several cardinals and one pope — and a baroque Italian garden of over-the-top splendor. I take a spot on a wide, comfy daybed near the stern, and experience the key talking point of any electric watercraft: A welcome lack of diesel or gasoline stink wafting over passengers — notoriously amplified should one experience seasickness — and the ability to hold a conversation without shouting over an ear-rending marine ICE powertrain. Of course, that also means no rainbow petroleum slicks floating in your wake and despoiling the marine environment. Our pilot makes sure IÂ’m hanging on before he punches the throttle, backed by a pair of generous screens that display everything from nav charts to Netflix. Despite its weight, the Tridente proves a punchy beast. A twin-prop arrangement and proprietary control software allows anywhere from 100 to 600 horsepower.

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 dedicates MC20 prototype to Stirling Moss

Maserati is paying tribute to Stirling Moss, the British race car driver who died on April 12, by wrapping one of its MC20 test mules in commemorative camouflage. The mid-engined sports car is due out in September 2020. It's a fitting homage, because Moss logged thousands of miles behind the wheel of Maserati race cars like the 250F (which he called one of his favorites), the 300S, and the famous Tipo 61 Birdcage. It's difficult to add retro-inspired styling cues to the camouflage applied to a prototype, but Maserati pulled it off well. It added simple, eye-catching red graphics of the racer's name to the MC20's rear end and over its wheel arches. The rest of the car is plastered in a Maserati-branded black and white wrap, though there's a red trident emblem on the roof. On a secondary and more lasting level, the images published by Maserati give us a better look at the MC20 — a name that likely won't be retained for production — than previous spy shots. The four round taillights fitted to earlier prototypes have been replaced by a pair of seemingly production-bound horizontal units. We can see the outline of its rear window, and the vents that let hot air escape the engine compartment. The rear panel is held down by four pins. Its front end remains relatively well hidden, though we spot a grille that's low and wide. "Sir Stirling Moss would certainly have liked the new MC20," Maserati summed up. It also reaffirmed its commitment to returning to "a leading role" on the racing circuits, meaning we'll likely see the MC20 driving flat-out on some of the world's greatest tracks shortly after it makes its debut. It was scheduled to break cover in May, but its unveiling was pushed back until September due to the coronavirus lockdown measures. When it arrives, the MC20 will inaugurate a twin-turbocharged V6 engine developed in-house and allegedly tuned to deliver over 600 horsepower. Unverified rumors indicate a hybrid model will join the lineup a little later in the production run with at least 700 horsepower on tap. It will be the first in a long line of new Maserati models, including the next-generation GranTurismo (which will again spawn a convertible) that will be available with an electric powertrain. The coupe will arrive in 2021, while the roadster should appear by the end of 2022. Related Video:     Featured Gallery Maserati MC20 Stirling Moss Spy Photos Maserati Luxury Performance stirling moss