PRE-CHAMBER IGNITION: F1 TO THE ROAD

Maserati’s new 3-litre V6 engine is packed with technology and debuts pre-chamber ignition in combination with twin turbos and direct and port injection. The system, as seen in F1 and LMP1, promotes a much faster burn in the main cylinder and hence allows high boost pressure without risk of detonation.

In simple terms, a small chamber with its own spark plug at the top of the cylinder ignites a tiny amount of air and fuel, which is then forced through multiple jets into the main combustion chamber and makes for a rapid and highly efficient burn. In F1 or LMP1 this is used to mitigate the fuel flow restrictions as it allows for stable combustion even with an extremely lean mixture. Maserati hasn’t gone down this leanburn route (mostly because it produces high levels of NOX) and instead uses the benefits of pre-chamber ignition for knock resistance at high boost pressure.

The set-up does have inherent NVH issues, but Maserati claims to have overcome them by employing port injection and standard combustion at lower revs and only utilising the direct injection and pre-chamber system in high-boost situations.