Don't call Ferrari a copycat for this V6 engine. It has nothing to with Maserati

Many in the automotive world suspect that Italian supercar manufacturer Ferrari has actually copied the V6 twin-turbo engine of Ferrari 296 GTB from another Italian luxury car giant Maserati. Technically speaking, the two cars come with V6 twin-turbo engines that are very similar.

While the mid-engines Maserati MC20 supercar gets a 3,000 cc V7 twin-turbo motor, Ferrari 296 GTB gets a 2992 cc V6 twin-turbo power mill under the hood. In fact, both MC20 and 296 GTB's engines come with identical 88 mm bore and 82 mm stroke respectively. These similarities have fuelled the speculation of Ferrari copying its home-soil rival. However, Ferrari's Chief Technical Officer Michael Leiters has denied any such possibility.

In an interview with Autocar UK, he said that the two V6 twin-turbo engines are completely different despite their technical similarities. He said that Ferrari doesn't copy anybody or take over anything from others. Leiters further claimed that the 82-mm stroke engine has been typical for the iconic Italian brand for years and it doesn't require collaboration on something like that.

Interestingly, apart from the abovementioned similarities, there are differences between these two V6 engines from two iconic luxury car brands. While the Ferrari motor has a 120-degree bank angle, while the Maserati engine comes with a 90-degree layout. The power outputs of the two engines are different as well. Maserati MC20 churns out 663 hp, while the Ferrari model pumps out 696 hp of power output, without hybrid assist.

Leiters' claim is backed by Maserati's previous claim. The car brand with the trident logo claimed last year that its Nettuno engine is 100% Maserati engine. Both these two engines are expected to be used widely in the respective future models from the two Italian brands.