Behind the Wheel
Let’s Marvel At Maserati’s Newest Engine — The Nettuno
Maserati has begun developing and building their own engines. This is a big deal for the Italian sportscar maker as they’ve been relying on Ferrari for engines for far too long. Having that said, having the Prancing Horse powering your cars isn’t a bad thing. Yet, the move towards becoming independent has begun and with it comes Maserati’s very own, Nettuno.
The Nettuno is a 3.0-litre twin-turbo with six cylinders arranged in a V-angle of 90-degrees and gets lubrication from a dry sump. Maserati proudly proclaims its twin-spark plugs featured in the pre-chamber combustion system is derived from Formula 1.
The engine produces 630cv at 7,500rpm and 730Nm from 3,000rpm, which lets the Nettuno have a specific power output of 210cv/litre. Nettuno has three main features that make it a standout engine — the pre-chamber, the lateral spark plug and a twin injection system.
The pre-chamber sits between the central electrode and the combustion chamber. Fuel is ignited in here instead of the traditional combustion chamber. Maserati claims that this will not only enable more efficient combustion but also eliminate knock.
In times when the engine does not require the services of the pre-chamber, the lateral spark plug comes to play. When this happens, Nettuno operates as how a standard engine would.
A direct and indirect fuel injection, also called a twin injection system, channels fuel to the chamber at a pressure of 350bar. This reduces noise low down on the rev range, lowers emissions and improves consumption.
Maserati’s engine will come to exist in all of the company’s vehicles in various tunes and outputs. But before that happens, the Nettuno will power the MC20 and together be unveiled sometime in September.
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