2013 Maserati Grantourism Sport Coupe**navi**skyhook Trans**paltrona Leather** on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Maserati MCXtrema revealed as a track-only limited-production 'toy' at The Quail

The Maserati MCXtrema just had its sheet pulled off at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. It’s yet another race car variation of the MC20, following in the footsteps of the Maserati GT2. Unlike the GT2, though, the MCXtrema is not designed to be used in any official racing series. Instead, itÂ’s a race car built without boundaries for maximum performance. And of course, because itÂ’s a race car, itÂ’s not street-legal either.  What is it for then? Maserati claims the MCXtrema is meant for “purist collectors and for the loyal customers of the brand, who wish to add a new ‘toyÂ’ to their garage that can swallow up the curbs of the most exciting tracks during private tests.” Basically, just think of it as a millionaireÂ’s toy to take out on the occasional weekend track day. ItÂ’s just for fun, not for any serious competition use. Since itÂ’s not regulated by any specific racing series, Maserati pumped output all the way up to 730 horsepower from the twin-turbo Nettuno V6 engine. ThatÂ’s 109 horsepower more than the road car and the GT2. Maserati didnÂ’t go into detail about the aero and suspension package, but it sure does look as extreme as the name of the car makes it out to be. Only 62 MCXtremas will be built, and from what we can tell, theyÂ’re already spoken for. WeÂ’re not sure how much one will cost either, but youÂ’ll be able to see it in person at The Quail on the Monterey Peninsula today. Related video:

Maserati preparing electric Quattroporte for 2028

Maserati's range will look a lot different in 2030 than it did in 2020. The brand has already confirmed that the Quattroporte and the Levante will both be replaced by electric models, and it told us when we'll see both models while shedding light on the other cars in the pipeline. The final Quattroporte rolled off the Turin, Italy, assembly line in December 2023. The smaller Ghibli and Maserati's V8 engine died at that time as well, and they're not coming back. Instead, the brand will remain without a sedan in its lineup until 2028, when it plans to release an electric follow-up to the Quattroporte. It's too early to provide concrete details about the model, but Maserati released one interesting tidbit of information: While the EV will carry the historic Quattroporte nameplate into the 2030s, it will be closer to the Ghibli in terms of size. When it lands, the next Quattroporte will join a battery-powered SUV described as an E-segment model that sounds a lot like the Levante's electric replacement. Production of the Levante continues, even without a V8 option, and we don't know when the big SUV will retire yet. As of writing, it sounds like both models will be only offered with an electric drivetrain. Until then, Maserati will continue to offer gasoline- and battery-powered versions of the cars in its range. We've seen and driven the GranTurismo Folgore, and the coupe will spawn a convertible called GranCabrio later in 2024 that will also be available with either a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 or three electric motors. Even the MC20 supercar will be offered with electric power: The Folgore model previewed in 2020 will reach production by the end of 2025. Note that these EVs won't replace the gasoline-burning variants: "We're going to let buyers decide [whether they prefer the V6 or the EV]," Maserati told me. Maserati stresses that all of these electric models will be designed, developed, and manufactured in Italy. It notably invested a significant amount of money into modernizing the research and development center it operates deep within its decades-old headquarters in Modena. Related video:

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.