Maserati MC20 Sets New Autonomous Driving Speed Record

Indy Autonomous Challenge Maserati MC20 has once again smashed a record by hitting 197.7 mph without a human behind the wheel.

Over the past couple of years, many automakers and aftermarket companies have been laser-focused on developing autonomous driving technology, which many see as the future. Though there have been some bumps in the road to achieving full autonomy (pun intended), that work continues, regardless, and we continue to see barriers broken on a regular basis. The latest comes to us from Stellantis and its Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) Maserati MC20, which just set a new autonomous driving speed record.

The IAC Maserati MC20 smashed this particular mark at the NASA Space Florida Launch and Landing Facility runway in Cape Canaveral by a achieving an impressive speed of 197.7 miles-per-hour, all with no human driver behind the wheel. Rather the sports car was controlled by artificial intelligence driver software developed by the PoliMOVE-MSU team, which is part of the Artificial Intelligence Driving Autonomous performance division of the Politecnico di Milano.

The Indy Autonomous Challenge is a test bed for innovation and a training ground for Politecnico di Milano’s engineers – one that allows Maserati to try out new autonomous driving technologies in a fast-paced environment against the best competition.

By achieving that mark, the IAC Maserati MC20 beat the old autonomous speed record set in April 2022 by an IAC Dallara AV-21 on the same runway, which hit a top speed of 192.8 mph with no human behind the wheel. Aside from its next-level self-driving tech, the MC20 achieved that mark using its Nettuno V6 engine, which churns out 630 horsepower and is capable of propelling that vehicle from 0-62 mph in 2.88 seconds, with a top speed of more than 203 mph.

The IAC MC20 also utilizes the brand’s Twin Combustion technology, a combustion system built entirely in-house at Maserati and evolved from the pre-chamber technology used on Formula 1 powertrains. Thus, it’s no stranger to breaking records – in fact, just last year, the IAC MC20 set a new record for fastest autonomous production car at the Piacenza Military Airport track in Italy, reaching a speed of 177 mph there.

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Brett Foote

Brett Foote has been covering the automotive industry for over five years and is a longtime contributor to Internet Brands’ Auto Group sites, including Chevrolet Forum, Rennlist, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts, among other popular sites.

He has been an automotive enthusiast since the day he came into this world and rode home from the hospital in a first-gen Mustang, and he's been wrenching on them nearly as long.

In addition to his expertise writing about cars, trucks, motorcycles, and every other type of automobile, Brett had spent several years running parts for local auto dealerships.

You can follow along with his builds and various automotive shenanigans on Instagram: @bfoote.