Maserati could be preparing to revisit one of the most important ingredients from its past: the V8 engine.
The Italian manufacturer has not sold a V8-powered model since the previous-generation Quattroporte bowed out in 2024, but its engineering team has now confirmed that the possibility of bringing an eight-cylinder engine back has been investigated.
Nothing has been approved for production just yet, but importantly, Maserati believes its current vehicle platforms could accommodate such an engine.
Maserati Sees A Business Case For A New V8
Maserati head of engineering Davide Danesin has indicated that there is still enough demand among customers for a limited-production V8 model to make sense.
The volumes would likely be small, particularly compared with Maserati’s mainstream models, but that could actually play into the exclusivity expected from an eight-cylinder Maserati.
Danesin believes that if the company produced the right V8-powered car, there would be buyers waiting for it.
For Maserati, however, proving there is customer demand is only part of the equation. The engineering costs involved in developing an entirely new engine could ultimately determine whether the project gets the green light.
GranTurismo And GranCabrio Are The Obvious Candidates
Should Maserati decide to move forward, the GranTurismo and GranCabrio appear to be the most logical homes for the new engine.
Both currently rely on Maserati’s 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged Nettuno V6, an engine family that has already demonstrated just how much performance can be extracted from six cylinders.
In its most potent applications, the Nettuno produces as much as 621 hp (463 kW). The same basic engine architecture has also been used in Maserati’s mid-engined supercar range.
A V8 Would Be About More Than Power
Interestingly, outright performance does not appear to be the main motivation behind Maserati’s V8 discussions.
The Nettuno V6 is already capable of delivering the numbers expected from a modern high-performance Maserati. A V8 would instead give the company something increasingly difficult to find in the performance car market: a distinctive soundtrack, different power delivery and greater sense of occasion.
That could allow Maserati to position a V8-powered GranTurismo or GranCabrio as a more exclusive flagship rather than simply a faster version of the existing Trofeo.
With manufacturers increasingly turning towards smaller turbocharged engines and electrification, an Italian V8 could also give Maserati a useful point of difference.
Don’t Expect A Stellantis Hemi V8
Maserati has access to the wider Stellantis parts catalogue, but simply borrowing one of the group’s existing Hemi V8 engines does not appear to be a realistic solution.
Those engines are considered too physically large for Maserati’s current vehicle architectures.
Instead, the manufacturer would likely have to engineer a more compact V8 of its own. One possibility would be to use elements of the existing Nettuno architecture as a starting point, potentially allowing Maserati to retain some of the technology and engineering knowledge already developed around its modern V6.
Developing A New Maserati V8 Would Not Be Cheap
The biggest obstacle could simply be cost.
Creating a bespoke V8 for a relatively small number of vehicles would require significant development investment, and those costs would inevitably be reflected in the final price.
Maserati could therefore have to treat the project more like a limited-production halo model than a conventional addition to the GranTurismo range.
That approach could make the numbers easier to justify while also turning the V8 into something genuinely special.
Stellantis Still Needs To Give The Green Light
For now, the V8 remains a possibility rather than a confirmed future Maserati product.
Any programme would first require approval from Stellantis, and developing a new engine at a time when manufacturers are spending heavily on electrification makes the business case particularly challenging.
Still, the fact that Maserati’s engineering department has investigated the idea is significant.
After several years of V8 engines disappearing from performance cars, Maserati going in the opposite direction would certainly grab attention. And if the company can make the financial side work, a new V8-powered GranTurismo could become one of the more interesting Italian GT cars of the coming years.