Maserati Nettuno

Maserati's 3.0 twin-turbo V6 — the Nettuno — in the MC20, GranTurismo and Grecale Trofeo.

⚑ It is Maserati's first engine of its own in twenty years, which is the framing that matters here: the F136, F154 and F160 beside it in this catalogue are Ferrari engines, and the assumption that a Maserati V6 is a Ferrari one stops being true with this.

Its distinguishing feature is pre-chamber combustion, taken from Formula One: a small chamber above the main one, with its own spark plug, fires a jet of flame into the cylinder. There are two spark plugs per cylinder and one of them is not where anybody expects it, and a misfire diagnosis that assumes a conventional head is working from the wrong parts list.

It is a very high specific output engine — over 200 horsepower per litre — and the ordinary consequences follow sharply: oil grade and interval are not routine advice, and the turbochargers' life tracks oil condition rather than mileage.

Independent experience is essentially nonexistent and the factory procedure is the only reliable reference.