Maserati F136 (4.2 / 4.7 V8)

The naturally aspirated V8 Ferrari built for Maserati — 4.2 and 4.7 litres, in the 4200, Quattroporte, GranTurismo and the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. A flat-plane crankshaft, a very high redline, and the noise that is most of why the cars were bought.

The variator rattle is the fault to know, because it is loud, alarming and normal in its early stages. The camshaft variators — the cam phasers — chatter for a few seconds on a cold start as oil pressure builds. A brief rattle that clears is characteristic; one that persists or grows means the variators are worn, and replacing them is a substantial engine-in-car job on a car whose labour rates are not modest.

Which sump it has changes the servicing entirely. The 4200 and Quattroporte are wet-sump; the GranTurismo and 8C are dry-sump with a separate tank and different oil quantities and level-checking procedure. Checking a dry-sump car's oil the way you would a wet-sump one gives a wrong reading, and on this engine that is not a trivial mistake.

Beyond those, the recurring items are the exhaust manifolds, which crack, and the variable-length intake system's actuators. It is a Ferrari engine sold in a saloon: the parts prices follow the former rather than the latter.