On the occasion of the presentation of its new GranTurismo, GranCabrio, and Grecale lineup, Maserati didn’t just unveil an evolution of its models. The Italian brand also sent a very clear message about its future in terms of powertrains: the Nettuno V6 engine will remain at the heart of the Trident’s strategy for many years to come. And even though sales continue to decline and electric vehicles are struggling to win over some customers, Maserati now appears to be making the Nettuno engine one of its main selling points.
«I'm personally in love with this engine»
The statements made by executives during the unveiling of the 2027 models leave little room for doubt. Santo Ficili, COO of Maserati and CEO of Alfa Romeo, was particularly blunt: «I am personally in love with this engine.» Launched in 2020 with the MC20, the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 “Nettuno” was Maserati’s first engine developed entirely in-house in over twenty years (an evolution of the Alfa Romeo 2.9L V6, to be transparent). Six years later, it now powers the MCPura, the GranTurismo, the GranCabrio, and even the Grecale SUV.
«Today, we have one of the best V6 engines in the world, if not the best. It’s our Nettuno. The team is working on developing this engine, with an evolution that we also envision in a hybrid configuration. […] «I’m personally in love with this engine. It can deliver power ranging from 390 ch in the Grecale to over 700 ch in the MCXtrema.»
Santo Ficili, COO of Maserati
And above all, it continues to evolve. The new GranTurismo and GranCabrio Trofeo now deliver 590 ch, while the MCPura produces 630 ch. As for the radical MCXtrema, designed exclusively for the track, it pushes the V6 to 740 ch.
Hybridization for Improved Performance
Maserati has now confirmed that it is working on an electrified version of the Nettuno. Cristiano Fiorio, the brand’s marketing director, explains that hybridization will deliver «a new level of performance» while providing added value to customers.
The brand emphasizes one point, however: this will not be a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Maserati believes that customers who want to drive electric vehicles already have the Folgore models to choose from. Future Maserati hybrids are therefore expected to adopt a lightweight solution, featuring either a 48-volt hybrid system or a more compact high-voltage system. The goal is twofold: to improve performance while meeting future emissions standards without the weight and complexity constraints of plug-in systems.
«The big advantage of this technology is that we’ll still be able to meet future emissions standards without losing power. Many other engines tend to lose power when they’re updated to meet new standards. With the Nettuno, we can maintain the same level of performance—or even improve it. […] We see a hybrid future for the Nettuno, because it represents another level of performance we can achieve, while delivering additional value to the customer.»
Davide Danesin, Chief Technical Officer at Maserati
The best V6 on the market?
Internally, Maserati seems particularly confident about its engine. It must be said that the Nettuno remains a very unique powerplant with its pre-chamber combustion system. Compared to the competition, the Italian V6 holds its own exceptionally well. The 3.0-liter engine in the Ferrari 296 produces 663 ch without electric assistance and 700 ch in the Speciale version. The McLaren Artura’s V6 produces 585 ch without a hybrid system. Even the spectacular 1.6-liter V6 derived from the Mercedes-AMG One’s Formula 1 engine produces 575 ch.
Only the Ferrari F80 operates in a different league. Its hybrid V6 alone already produces 900 ch, while the system’s total output reaches 1,200 ch thanks to the electric motors. Setting the Ferrari F80 aside, the Maserati MCXtrema’s 740 ch already make the Nettuno one of the most powerful V6s ever produced by an Italian automaker.
A future Maserati with more than 700 ch?
Although Maserati has not released any figures, the planned strategy strongly resembles Ferrari’s approach with the F80: an extremely high-performance internal combustion engine paired with a compact electric motor designed primarily to boost performance.
Such a solution could enable a future hybrid MCPura to exceed 700 ch, while the Trofeo versions of the GranTurismo and Grecale could also reach new heights. It remains to be seen whether this will be enough to sufficiently reduce CO2 emissions…
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The problem with Maserati is that they have the best V6 in the world… but no sedan to put it in! 🤔
It's clear that the two best on the market are the Nettuno and the 2.9, but I'm crying 😭 because the third one—which is Japanese—disappeared along with the NSX...