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Why Maserati won't share the Nettuno V6 with its siblings

Maserati spent a great deal of time and resources developing a twin-turbocharged, 3.0-liter V6 called Nettuno. It made its debut in 2020 in the MC20, and it will be available in the Grecale Trofeo in 2022, but Autoblog learned that the six won't travel outside of the trident family. "We want to keep the Nettuno engine as a signature for the brand. It was developed with the aim of being uniquely associated with the Maserati brand, so it was designed and engineered specifically for Maserati. It's technically feasible to apply it to other cars [in the Stellantis group], but we want to keep it proprietary. We have it in the MC20 and now in the Grecale; there will be other uses for it in the future, but always in Maserati cars," Federico De Medio, Maserati's head of vehicle validation, told Autoblog on the sidelines of the Grecale launch. While he stopped short of providing details about the other uses, De Medio hinted that Nettuno will gradually replace the Ferrari-derived V8 that Maserati has used for many years. He explained that the project's goal was to design a six-cylinder engine with V8-like power. Does that mean that a V8 with V10-like power is on its way? Nope, it sounds like the eight-cylinder's days are numbered in the Maserati line-up. Asked how long the V8 had left to live, De Medio replied that "it depends on the life of the product itself, so the response will be provided by the market and by regulations." And, how about a new V8 designed in-house? "Never say never, but for now we just launched Nettuno so let's enjoy the V6," he answered. What's certain is that the Levante and the Quattroporte won't need a V8 for much longer: they're going electric in the coming years. We know the Ghibli is on its way out, so that leaves the next-generation Gran Turismo as the only candidate for a V8. Nothing is official, but our crystal ball tells us it's more realistic to expect that the coupe will make its debut with a V6 than with a V8. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Stellantis and LG launch joint venture for North American battery plant

Stellantis has struck a preliminary deal with battery maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) to produce battery cells and modules for North America, as the world's No. 4 automaker rolls out its 30 billion euro ($35 billion) electrification plan. Global automakers are investing billions of euros to accelerate a transition to low-emission mobility and prepare for a progressive phase-out of internal combustion engines. Stellantis and LGES's joint venture will produce battery cells and modules at a new facility with an annual capacity of 40 gigawatt hours (GWh), the two firms said on Monday. No financial details of the deal were provided. The plant is scheduled to start production by the first quarter of 2024, with groundbreaking expected in the second quarter of 2022, the companies said in their statement. Its location is under review and will be announced later. Stellantis, formed in January from the merger of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA, has said it wants to secure more than 130 GWh of global battery capacity by 2025 and more than 260 GWh by 2030. The batteries produced under the deal will supply Stellantis' U.S., Canadian and Mexican assembly plants for installation in hybrid and fully electric vehicles, supporting its goal of e-vehicles making up more than 40% of its U.S. sales by 2030. The company, whose brands include Peugeot, Fiat, Opel and U.S. best-sellers Jeep and Ram, earlier this year announced it would invest more than 30 billion euros through 2025 on electrifying its vehicle lineup. Stellantis has said it would build three battery plants in Europe and two in North America, including at least one in the United States. Intesa Sanpaolo analyst Monica Bosio said the deal was positive, and a further step ahead in Stellantis' electrification process. It comes weeks after Stellantis and its partner TotalEnergies agreed to open up their battery cell joint venture ACC to Daimler, to expand their European sourcing of battery cells. Stellantis is also targeting more than 70% of sales in Europe to be of low-emission vehicles by 2030, and aims to make the total cost of owning an EV equal to that of a gasoline-powered model by 2026. Related video: Green Plants/Manufacturing Alfa Romeo Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Citroen Lancia Opel Peugeot Vauxhall Electric Hybrid EV batteries LG

Maserati to recall Quattroporte and Ghibli over shifter

On Thursday, documents on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website revealed that Maserati is preparing to recall 13,092 2014 Quattroporte and Ghibli sedans because of a "counter-intuitive" gear shift lever. The shifter may lead drivers to believe the car is in park while it's actually in reverse, potentially causing the car to roll away. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Maserati's parent company, has recalled 1.1 million vehicles worldwide for this same issue. The affected vehicles span several model years and all share a ZF-designed eight-speed automatic transmission. The shifter design in these vehicles is similar to but not exactly like the one in the two Maseratis. Currently, 41 injuries have been attributed to this issue. There seems to be no indication of hardware failure for any of these incidents. In the United States, the 2012-14 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 and 2014-15 Jeep Grand Cherokee were named in this first recall. Actor Anton Yelchin's recent death, caused when he was crushed by his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, may be related. As of the current model year, the Charger, 300, and Grand Cherokee have an updated shifter design. According to the documents, FCA is currently working on a software update that will remedy the issue. Because the solution must be tested and verified, the company doesn't expect it to be ready for another few months. Both recalls were brought about after a NHTSA investigation. In May, NHTSA suggested Maserati issue a recall and on June 1 the company agreed with the group's assessment, though Maserati did tell NHTSA that they have had no complaints of vehicles rolling away. We're currently waiting on comment from Maserati North America and will update the story when more information is available. Related Video: Recalls Maserati Luxury Sedan maserati ghibli