After twenty years, Maserati has once again taken on the challenge of returning to its Modena HQ with the development and production of a new, highly-technological, high-performance engine - MC20.
The new engine that adopts F1 technology for a road car, will make its world premiere in September. At the launch, new models will be revealed, which will go into production in the coming years, and innovative propulsion systems as well as ambitious programmes developed by the Casa del Tridente will be announced. The new power unit is a V90° architecture, with a 3-litre, 6-cylinder twin-turbo, and features a dry sump (a classic solution on super sports cars). It delivers 630CV (USA 621 hp) at 7500rpm and 730 Nm (USA 538 pound feet) of torque from 3000rpm with a specific power output of 210CV/litre. The compression ratio is 11:1, the stroke is 82 mm and the bore 88 mm.
The soul of the engine is the innovative pre-chamber combustion system featuring twin-spark plugs. This technology is derived from Formula 1 and is now available, for the first time, on an engine destined for the road.
Engine Specs
Engine Architecture V6 90°
Total displacement 3.0 l
Bore / Stroke 88 x 82 mm
Compression Ratio 11: 1
Firing Order 1-6-3-4-2-5
Max Power 630CV @ 7500 rpm (USA 621 hp)
Max Torque 730 Nm @ 3000 – 5500 rpm (USA 538 pound feet)
Engine Max Revs 8000 rpm
Turbochargers Twin Side Turbo with electronic actuated Waste Gate
Ignition System Twin Spark with passive prechamber
Lubrication pump Fully variable oil pump
Lubrication system Dry sump with scavenge pumps & external oil tank
Fuel System PDI (Direct Injection 350bar + Port Injection 6bar)
(USA 5076 psi + Port Injection 87 psi)
Valvetrain & Timing Double Over Head Camshaft with variable valve timing
Engine Width 1000 mm
Engine Height 650 mm
Engine Length 600 mm
Engine Mass (as per DIN GZ) <220 kg (USA 485 lbs)
Emission Level EU6D/China 6B/Ulev 70
Features
The pre-chamber: a combustion chamber is set between the central electrode and the traditional combustion chamber and connected by a series of specially-designed holes.
Lateral sparkplug: a traditional sparkplug acts as a support to ensure constant combustion when the engine is operating at a level that doesn’t need the pre-chamber to kick in.
Twin injection system – direct and indirect: linked to the fuel supply pressure at 350bar, (USA 5076 psi), the system reduces noise low down on the rev range, lowering emissions and improving consumption. (MT)
Marelli's Zone Control Unit Named Engineering Product of the Year
- By MT Bureau
- March 13, 2026
Tier 1 automotive supplier Marelli has received the ‘Commendable’ honour in the ‘Engineering Product of the Year’ category at the Digital Engineering Awards 2026. The ceremony, hosted by L&T Technology Services in association with ISG and CNBC-TV18, was held in Boston, USA, on 12 March 2026.
The award recognises the role of Marelli’s Zone Control Unit (ZCU) in the transition towards software-defined vehicles.
The ZCU is designed to replace traditional domain-based architectures with a platform that delivers cross-domain control through a single Electronic Control Unit (ECU). This system simplifies vehicle electrical and electronic (E/E) layouts and enables communication across vehicle zones. By reducing the number of dedicated ECUs and streamlining wiring, the ZCU reduces wiring harness weight by 30 per cent compared to existing systems.
It is built on the EliteZone platform and supports ethernet capabilities, hardware accelerators, and remote-control protocols. It features processing performance up to 6 KDMIPS, two-port Gigabit Ethernet, and more than 20 CAN and LIN interfaces. The unit also includes an integrated hypervisor and data routing engine, supporting functional safety up to ASIL D standards.
For power management, the ZCU accommodates 48V system requirements with dedicated power input and efuse-protected output. The hardware uses a service-oriented architecture (SOA), which decouples software development from hardware. This approach allows modules to subscribe to services exposed by the ECU, supporting feature updates throughout the vehicle lifecycle and shortening development cycles for manufacturers.
Ravi Tallapragada, President, Marelli’s Electronics business, stated, “This recognition for our Zone Control Unit makes me and all of us at Marelli truly proud. It reflects the impact of our work on supporting the industry’s transition toward software-defined vehicles. By bringing cross-domain control into a single, scalable platform, our ZCU enables vehicle makers to innovate at speed. I want to congratulate our global engineering teams, whose dedication and expertise made this achievement possible.”
drivebuddyAI Receives Patent For Vehicle Facial Recognition System
- By MT Bureau
- March 12, 2026
drivebuddyAI has been awarded a patent for a facial recognition system designed for vehicle environments. The technology identifies drivers in moving vehicles to monitor duty hours and manage fatigue.
The system uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to recognise faces under varying lighting conditions and when drivers wear accessories such as caps or mufflers. This replaces manual or key-based identification methods to track driving time for wage calculations and safety compliance.
The patented technology is integrated into several areas of the company's product suite:
- Driver Profiling: Used in the 'CARDs' scoring method.
- Alert Systems: Provision of language-specific alerts based on driver identification.
- Performance Monitoring: Real-time tracking of duty time and driver behaviour.
- Compliance: Alignment with Indian government discussions on enforcing rest periods for commercial vehicle operators.
The company holds 15 patents in AI vision, edge processing, and risk assessment. Its systems meet India's AIS-184 driver monitoring standards and the European Union's General Safety Regulation (GSR) 2144.
Nisarg Pandya, CEO, drivebuddyAI, said, “Driver fatigue remains one of the most critical yet under-addressed causes of highway accidents. Our patented technology ensures that fleets know exactly who is driving, for how long, and under what conditions. This creates a foundation for enforcing safe driving limits while also enabling continuous learning and improvement for drivers. This milestone reflects our commitment to delivering technology built from the ground up and leveraging AI to enable safer and smarter driving solutions.”
Servotech And Electra EV Secure Joint Patent For Low-Voltage EV Charging
- By MT Bureau
- March 11, 2026
Servotech Renewable Power System and Electra EV have been granted a patent by the Indian Patent Office for an ‘Electric Vehicle Charging Device’. The technology is designed to provide charging solutions for low-voltage electric vehicles (EVs).
The device addresses interoperability challenges by enabling fast DC charging for low-voltage EVs with sub-200V DC platforms. This includes vehicles based on GB/T Bharat DC 001 standards. The technology allows these vehicles to utilise widely deployed, conventional high-voltage CCS2 charging infrastructure.
The patented device incorporates power management and voltage conversion systems to facilitate energy transfer to low-voltage battery platforms. The primary focus of the technology is on vehicle segments such as small commercial EVs and pick-up vans, which are used for urban and last-mile mobility.
Key features of the technology include:
- Interoperability: Enables sub-200V DC platforms to use CCS2 fast-charging stations.
- Compatibility: Supports vehicles adhering to GB/T Bharat DC 001 standards.
- Energy Management: Advanced voltage conversion to ensure safe battery charging.
- Safety: Integrated protocols for stable energy transfer.
The joint ownership of the patent by Servotech and Electra EV is intended to accelerate the development of charging infrastructure for small commercial fleets. The demand for such flexible solutions has increased as adoption of low-voltage EVs grows within the Indian logistics and transport sectors.
Arun Handa, CTO, Servotech Renewable Power System, said, “Securing this patent is an important step in strengthening our innovation-led approach to EV charging technology. Low-voltage electric vehicles are a key part of India’s mobility ecosystem, particularly in segments like small commercial fleets. This patented device has been designed to ensure safe, efficient, and reliable charging for such vehicles, helping make EV adoption through improved charging compatibility.”
- NXP Semiconductors
- Z248
- NXP CoreRide Z248
- 48V
- Sebastien Clamagirand
- Peter Gliwa
- GLIWA
- Jochen Rein
- Vector
NXP Introduces CoreRide Z248 Zonal Reference System For 48V Architectures
- By MT Bureau
- March 11, 2026
NXP Semiconductors has launched the NXP CoreRide Z248, a zonal reference system combining 48V energy distribution with data routing. The hardware-software foundation is designed to assist OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers in transitioning to software-defined vehicle (SDV) architectures by reducing integration effort and development cycles.
The Z248 is built on NXP’s S32K5 microcontroller series, featuring on-chip Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM). This technology is intended to accelerate electronic control unit (ECU) programming during manufacturing and over-the-air (OTA) updates.
The system integrates several 48V-capable components and networking tools:
- Power Management: Includes eFuses, Power Management Integrated Circuits (PMICs), and DC-DC converters for energy conversion and protection.
- Networking: Features Ethernet PHY and CAN transceivers for data handling.
- Software Stack: A pre-validated stack managing smart data energy network (SDEN) functions such as impedance monitoring and diagnostics.
- Safety: Built-in functional safety and real-time responsiveness for zonal processing.
NXP stated it has validated the Z248 through system-level tests focusing on low-power modes and wake-up response times. The package includes a Board Support Package (BSP) with integrated software from partners including GLIWA for performance monitoring, Green Hills Software for compilers and Vector for embedded tools.
The reference system is designed for deployment across internal combustion engine (ICE), hybrid, and battery electric vehicle (BEV) platforms. It supports ECU consolidation by managing energy distribution and data protocols within a single architecture.
Sebastien Clamagirand, SVP and General Manager, Automotive Systems & Platforms, NXP Semiconductors, said, “The NXP CoreRide zonal reference system Z248 delivers a performance-optimized, scalable 48 V foundation that intelligently fuses power, data and software, while dramatically simplifying system integration, reducing time to market, and enabling OEMs to focus on vehicle differentiation and long‑term value creation.”
Peter Gliwa, CEO and Founder, GLIWA, added, “NXP understood that the eco-system, the tooling around a new platform is essential for its success. With our Analysis Suite T1 built into the NXP CoreRide Z248 zonal reference system, high efficiency, proper timing analysis and timing verification are very well addressed.”
Jochen Rein, SVP Business Unit Software Platform, Vector, stated, “The combination of the NXP CoreRide platform and Vector’s software foundation provides a robust basis for next‑generation zonal architectures. We enable our joint customers to reduce their time- to-market due to a pre-integrated and highly optimized software stack.”
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