Who Makes Maserati Engines? The Answer Depends on Which Maserati You’re Buying

If you just Googled “who makes Maserati engines” expecting a simple answer, buckle up. In 2024 and 2025, the answer depends entirely on which Maserati sits in your driveway. Ferrari? Maserati itself? A Stellantis parts-sharing arrangement? All three are correct — just for different models. Here’s the full breakdown, no fluff attached.

The Ferrari Era Is Over (But Not Completely Gone)

For nearly two decades, Ferrari built the engines that powered Maserati. That partnership started in the early 2000s when Ferrari directly managed Maserati as a subsidiary. Even after the two brands separated under different corporate owners, Ferrari kept supplying engines because the arrangement worked for everyone.

Then came 2019. Ferrari announced it wouldn’t renew the supply contract. The agreement officially expired in December 2023.

Here’s the catch: dealer lots still carry 2024 Maserati models powered by Ferrari-built engines. Residual inventory keeps the Levante GT Ultima, Modena Ultima, and Trofeo alive with Ferrari’s F160 V6 and F154 V8 under the hood. So yes, you can still buy a new Ferrari-powered Maserati — but only until that stock runs dry.

The “Ultima” badge says it all. These are the final celebrations of that era, especially the Ghibli 334 Ultima and the Levante V8 Ultima. After they’re gone, they’re gone.

What Ferrari Actually Built for Maserati

Two engines defined this partnership:

• F154 — 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 (used in Levante Trofeo, Ghibli Trofeo, Quattroporte Trofeo)
• F160/F161 — 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 (used in Levante, Ghibli, and Quattroporte GT/Modena trims)

Ferrari’s engine sales to Maserati generated roughly €127 million in net revenues in 2023 — a number that dropped to zero for 2024 forward. Ferrari chose to redirect that production capacity toward its own vehicles.

Maserati Now Builds Its Own Flagship Engine: The Nettuno V6

This is the big story. The Nettuno engine is Maserati’s first in-house flagship engine in over 20 years, and it’s built entirely in Modena. The brand markets it under the “100% Made in Modena” banner — and it earns that label.

The Nettuno is a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 with a 90-degree bank angle. What makes it genuinely special isn’t just the displacement or the power numbers. It’s the combustion system.

The Maserati Twin Combustion System (MTC)

Maserati didn’t just design a new engine. They brought Formula 1 pre-chamber combustion technology to a road car for the first time.

Here’s how it works: A secondary combustion chamber sits between the spark plug and the main combustion chamber. The fuel-air mixture ignites in the pre-chamber first. That ignition sends high-energy jets into the main chamber, triggering a faster and more uniform burn. The result? More power, better efficiency, no need for bigger displacement.

It’s the same principle F1 teams use. Maserati just made it work on your morning commute.

Nettuno Variants and Applications

The Nettuno wasn’t designed for one model — it scales across Maserati’s lineup. The key distinction is the lubrication system.

The dry-sump version in the MC20 sits significantly lower in the chassis. No traditional oil pan means a lower center of gravity, better cornering balance, and genuine supercar dynamics. That’s the engineering logic behind the split — not just a trim-level distinction.

Where the Nettuno Gets Built

Every Nettuno rolls out of the historic Viale Ciro Menotti plant in Modena. Maserati calls this facility the Engine Hub. Starting in late 2025, GranTurismo and GranCabrio production moves back to Modena as well — centralizing the brand’s most prestigious vehicles alongside the engines that power them.

The 2.0-Liter Four-Cylinder: Stellantis Group Territory

Not every Maserati carries the Nettuno. The entry-level and mid-range Grecale trims run a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system. This engine traces its roots to the Global Medium Engine (GME) family, developed jointly across the former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles brands.

The base architecture comes from the Termoli Powertrain Plant in Italy. The same platform feeds the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Stelvio, and several Jeep models. Maserati’s version isn’t stock, though.

What Maserati Changed

The Maserati Innovation Lab in Modena reworked this engine significantly:

• Internal mechanicals: Higher-stress components handle elevated power outputs beyond what Jeep or Chrysler variants see
• e-Booster system: An electric supercharger eliminates turbo lag at low RPM by building boost before the primary turbocharger spools up — delivering the smooth, linear power delivery a luxury buyer expects
• Weight savings: The four-cylinder hybrid versions of the Ghibli and Levante weighed roughly 80 kilograms less than their diesel counterparts and offered better front-to-rear balance

In the US market, this engine powers the Grecale GT (296 hp) and Grecale Modena (325 hp).

The Folgore Electric Lineup: A Whole Different Supply Chain

Maserati’s Folgore electric models don’t have a traditional engine at all. But the “who makes it” question still applies — and the answer involves a sophisticated network of Italian suppliers.

Marelli Builds the Electric Motors

Marelli supplies the electric motors for the GranTurismo Folgore and upcoming electric Grecale. These are 800-volt permanent magnet synchronous motors, built at Marelli’s facility in Modugno, Puglia. Marelli draws on its Formula E racing experience to deliver motors that handle the thermal and performance demands of a supercar.

Two manufacturing techniques make these motors stand out:

• Cryogenic rotor assembly: The rotor shaft chills to below -200°C, shrinks for perfect insertion, then expands as it warms — creating a permanent interference-fit bond without fasteners or adhesives
• Hairpin stator windings: Solid copper hairpin conductors replace traditional wire winding, packing more copper into the same space for superior heat dissipation and continuous power output

The GranTurismo Folgore uses three of these 300-kilowatt motors for a combined 751 horsepower.

FPT Industrial Handles the eAxles

FPT Industrial — a division of the Iveco Group — co-developed the electric axles used in the GranTurismo Folgore. Production happens at FPT’s ePowertrain plant in Turin, a carbon-neutral manufacturing site.

Two axle configurations work together in the GranTurismo Folgore:

1. eAX 300-F (Front): Single-motor axle managing front drive and regenerative braking
2. eAX 600-R (Rear): Dual-motor axle with a patented design that fully decouples the two rear wheels for independent torque vectoring — the hardware behind the car’s handling precision

Battery Packs: Assembled at the Mirafiori Battery Hub

The Mirafiori Battery Hub in Turin — Italy’s largest battery technology center — assembles the high-voltage packs for all Folgore models. The GranTurismo Folgore carries a 92.5-kWh pack shaped in a “T-bone” layout. Instead of a flat slab under the floor, the modules run through a central tunnel and around the occupants. That keeps the seats low and preserves the sleek GT silhouette that defines the model.

US Market Breakdown: Which Engine Is in Which Maserati

For American buyers, here’s exactly who makes what in the current lineup.

The Ghibli and Quattroporte are no longer in active production. Maserati ended manufacturing on both sedans in late 2023 to early 2024. US dealers may still carry leftover new units, but no replacement sedan with an internal combustion engine exists for 2025.

Where Every Maserati Powertrain Gets Made

Every facility sits in Italy. Where Maserati is made hasn’t changed — only who builds each component has.

Why This Shift Actually Makes Sense for Maserati

Ending the Ferrari relationship wasn’t a downgrade. It was a deliberate business move driven by three factors:

Margin improvement. Ferrari engines were expensive to source. The Nettuno brings flagship engine production in-house while the GME architecture handles volume trims at a lower cost per unit.

Technological credibility. The pre-chamber MTC combustion system in the Nettuno gives Maserati a genuine “first” — F1-derived combustion tech in a road car. That’s not borrowed prestige. That’s independent engineering.

Electric future, Italian-made. By partnering with Marelli and FPT rather than adopting off-the-shelf EV components, Maserati keeps the Folgore lineup distinctly Italian. The 800-volt architecture in the GranTurismo Folgore isn’t a shared platform — it’s purpose-built for the Trident badge.

The era when Maserati needed Ferrari’s name on the engine block to justify its price tag is over. What’s replacing it is arguably more interesting — a brand engineering its own future, engine by engine, in the same Modena workshops where it all began.