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Maserati MC12 GT1 looks, sounds great storming VIR

Maserati has been celebrating its 100th anniversary all year, but recent visitors to Virginia International Raceway might have gotten to see one of the coolest highlights of the whole centenary. The brand took its already amazing MC12 GT1 racer and painted it up to commemorate its 100th birthday, dubbing the model Maserati MC12 GT1 Centenario. That would be neat enough, but the spectators at VIR actually got to watch and listen to this special edition racecar lap the track with its spectacular exhaust note singing a fantastic tune.
It's rather rare to see these beastly V12 racers on track in the US these days, but they were quite successful in FIA GT1 competition in Europe several years ago. The sound that they make perfectly matches those purposeful, low-slung looks. Switch this video into HD and turn up the speakers to experience a look at this fantastic racecar.

Electric Maserati GranTurismo Folgore will have over 1,200 horsepower

Maserati is in the midst of a renaissance. It released the MC20 in 2020, it's preparing to unveil the Grecale, and it confirmed that its first electric model will be an evolution of the next-generation GranTurismo with over 1,200 horsepower from three individual motors. Speaking during a press conference, company boss Davide Grosso shared official details about the second-generation coupe due out in 2023. The electric model called Folgore in Maserati-speak will offer "way over 1,200 horsepower" from three electric motors linked to what the carmaker calls a "bone" battery pack. We're guessing that means the unit will feature internal structure similar to bone, or be centrally mounted along the transmission tunnel, and not that it will be made with actual bones. Regardless, an 800-volt charging system and Formula E-sourced technology will be on board as well. Maserati also published additional images of the second-generation GranTurismo. It's still covered in camouflage, but we can tell that the front end borrows a handful of styling cues from the MC20 while the overall proportions haven't significantly changed. It's still a big coupe with sporty lines characterized by a long hood and a short decklid. The GranCabrio convertible is scheduled to make a comeback as well. The electric Folgore model will be positioned at the top of the line-up, but it won't be the only version available at launch. Maserati revealed that at least one V6-powered variant will be offered as well, a comment which hints (but doesn't confirm) that there will be no V8. "The market for a gasoline-powered version is still there. It's absolutely still there. What we want to do with Folgore is to give customers a choice: V6, or electric? In five or 10 years we likely wouldn't have developed it, but customers still enjoy these cars today," said Francesco Tonon, the firm's global head of product planning, during a conference call. He stopped short of providing details about the V6, though it's not terribly far-fetched to assume that it will be at least related to the excellent twin-turbocharged Nettuno unit that powers the MC20. Numerous other electric cars will join the Maserati line-up in the coming years, and the firm's full range will run on batteries by 2030. EV variants of the Grecale and the next-generation GranCabrio are scheduled to make their debut in 2023, and they'll be joined by an electric version of the MC20 in 2025.

FCA inline-six rumored to be real, headed for Jeep Wagoneer

In September, Allpar reported that that clues being dropped at Fiat- Chrysler headquarters, in the carmaker's factories, and on engineer resumes pointed to the development of an inline six-cylinder engine. The site has just proclaimed the rumor is reality, writing that the straight-six, "turbocharged to meet or beat 5.7 Hemi power ratings, with a smoother torque curve, is on the way." The motor's first outing is expected to be either the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, debuting perhaps next year, or the Jeep Wagoneer, debuting in 2020 or 2021. "Tornado" is the purported codename for the power plant said to be just under three liters in displacement, expanding the family begun with the Global Medium Engine 2.0-liter turbo codenamed Hurricane. Engine bay constraints and a long use horizon mean engineers won't simply add two more cylinders to the GME, however. Allpar says the brief is to keep the Tornado GME-T6 — the alphanumeric for "turbocharged six" — no more than three inches longer than the Tigershark 2.4-liter four-cylinder. That means "major design changes" that could include a space-saving head, more closely spaced cylinders, and no cylinder liners. An FCA division called Comau could be called on for its "SmartSpray" plasma lining technology. Allpar muses that the standard version of the engine for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram could get a single twin-scroll turbocharger. Performance trims for Alfa Romeo and Maserati could get different heads and maybe twin turbos, an SRT version might also get both those tweaks. History shows that the Italian versions would make changes to the block, as well. Even so, the Tornado would be less expensive than any Ferrari-supplied V6. A straight-six would put FCA in company with current adopters BMW and Mercedes-Benz, future users like Jaguar, and perhaps Aston Martin. The engine would span the widest range of use cases in the U.S. carmaker's portfolio, though. Potential applications include being a base engine for Ram trucks, serving double duty as a base engine and 5.7-liter Hemi replacement for the Dodge Charger and Challenger, working in the high-end Jeeps, and as a properly hot trim — with Ferrari-designed heads — in the luxury Italian sports cars. The Alfa Romeo Giulia begs for just such motivation to fill the gap between the 280-hp, $42,695 Ti Sport RWD and the 505-hp, $73,700 Giulia Quadrifoglio RWD. And a twin-turbo inline-six in a Maserati Alfieri would stack up nicely with the Germans.