Maserati has long seemed an odd fit in the "motor valley" of Modena. Where its neighbours Ferrari, Pagani and Lamborghini have focused on outrageous supercars, Maserati has been much more conservative, courting a luxury-focused customer base that feels like it's grown out of the flashy stuff.
The result, though, has been a street car lineup that compares well against something like the Jaguar range, but looks ... well, if we're honest, a bit dull and buttoned-down when you put it next to the other Italians. A proper Maserati supercar has been conspicuous in its absence since 2004's MC12, and even that limited edition was more of a coachbuilding exercise on top of a Ferrari Enzo chassis.
So the factory is surely tap-dancing with excitement at the prospect of building its own red-blooded dream machine in the form of the upcoming MC20. Set for a global debut this September, the MC20 is well into the testing phase, and Maserati has been drip-feeding the press with cheeky "spy" shots of the car in various states of camouflage for several months now.
Now, we know what the engine's going to be, and it's not going to be a Ferrari motor. Indeed, the Nettuni will be the first in-house engine Maserati has built in decades, and the factory has set up a new production line for it, complete with dynos, emissions test equipment and all the bells and whistles. The intention is for this to form the heart of a new family of Maserati engines going forward.
It's a 3-liter, twin side-mounted turbo, dry-sump, 90-degree V6 with a cylinder bore of 88 mm and a stroke of 82 mm. The compression ratio is 11:1, and it'll produce 621 horsepower at 7,500 rpm, with 730 Nm (538 lb-ft) of torque from 3,000 rpm. Redline is 8,000 rpm.
Using twin-spark plugs and a pre-chamber combustion system derived from Formula One racing, this motor makes an impressive specific power of 207 hp per liter, a figure that would be competitive in the modern superbike field. A second, regular spark plug off to the side of each chamber assists to maintain complete combustion when the engine's running low and slow, and Maserati says a dual direct/port injection system running at 350 bar of pressure reduces noise, emissions and fuel consumption low in the rev range. It'll meet Euro 6D emissions standards.
This will not just be a show pony; Maserati is clear that "the MC20 will take Maserati back to the world of racing." We'll learn more when the car launches on the 9th of September in Modena, but we're happy to see the storied Trident logo on something a little more daring than the current Maserati range. Check out a video below.
Source: Maserati