Maserati has announced that it is developing a race version of its MC20 to contest the 2023 Fanatec GT2 European Series. That is a series run by the SRO Motorsports Group for cars contesting its GT2 category. This should not be confused with LM GT2 - rather, it is a category that slots between GT4 and GT3 and like those categories is based on a Balance of Performance.
The MC20 GT2 is, like its road counterpart, powered by a 3.0 litre 90 degree V6 ‘Nettuno’ twin turbo engine exploiting Maserati’s ‘twin combustion’ (MTC) Twin Spark with TJI double combustion control. This indicates that the engine has pre-chamber combustion. That means a portion of the charge is spark ignited within a secondary chamber, which discharges fast moving heated jets through a series of nozzles into the primary chamber.
That system provides multiple ignition sites within the primary chamber which leads to rapid and highly stable combustion. However, this engine also has a second spark plug to directly ignite primary chamber in situations whereby the operation of the pre-chamber is not required.
The MC20 engine also has a twin injection system, meaning both direct and indirect injection are employed. Maserati says ‘this process reduces noise at the bottom end of the rev range, minimising both emissions and fuel consumption’. The race engine is dry sump and the rear wheel drive GT2 car will put its power through a six-speed sequential racing gearbox with paddle shift control. A racing clutch and a limited-slip self-locking mechanical differential will be employed.
The power output of the MC20 will be determined in the BoP - Maserati has a 630 hp base engine currently under development. Maserati was previously highly successful in FIA GT racing between 2004 and 2010 using its MC12.