Maserati MC20 Supercar’s Engine Boasts a Patented Pre-Chamber Combustion System

When Maserati debuts its low-slung, mid-engine MC20 super sports car in September the zoomy styling will surely turn heads. But the car’s coolest feature will be buried deep inside its 621-horsepower, 538-lb. ft., twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 engine, which is dubbed “Nettuno.”

"Without any doubt the core of the engine is the innovative and patented twin spark prechamber combustion system coupled with both port and other injection,” stated Chief Engineer Matteo Valentini in a video released by Maserati.  “This innovative system fully designed and developed by Maserati engineers and skilled technicians is able to meet the requirements of combustion stability, noise, drivability for passenger cars, providing at the same time an amazing improvement of efficiency and specific power”

Nettuno is the first of an entirely new family of home-grown engines that will power the company's entire line, as the company moves away from the Ferrari-supplied engines it has used since it last built its own engines two decades ago. When parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles spun off Ferrari as a stand-alone company, Maserati’s Italian neighbor became a competitor rather than a corporate sibling, leaving the Modenese company to secure its own supply of engines.

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A camouflaged preview of the upcoming Nettuno-powered MC20 sports car. Image source: Maserati