- A self-driving Maserati MC20 prototype reached a top speed of 197.7 mph
- The prototype relied on software developed by students at Politecnico di Milano
- Maserati’s Stellantis parent is working on self-driving technology due in showrooms in 2025
The Maserati MC20 is a fast car, but Maserati has also built one example that can drive fast on its own.
This one-off prototype was developed in partnership with Politecnico di Milano, Italy’s leading technical university, and recently completed an exhibition run during the 1000 Miglia Experience Florida which visited Cape Canaveral, Florida, in February. The car reached a top speed of 197.7 mph in fully autonomous mode—a new record for a self-driving car.
The exhibition was run in partnership with the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC), a sanctioned racing series for self-driving cars, primarily aimed at university teams. The series uses a common chassis sourced from Italian race car constructor Dallara and held its first race in 2021. Currently, race cars in the series reach top speeds of 171 mph on oval courses.
The MC20 prototype made its record-setting run on the space shuttle landing strip at Kennedy Space Center, the same location where the previous record of 192.8 mph was set by a modified IAC race car in 2022. The new record is just shy of the MC20’s top speed of 202 mph, made possible by a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 rated at 621 hp.
Maserati MC20 self-driving prototype reaches 197.7 mph – Feb. 2025
The MC20 used self-driving software developed by students at Politecnico di Milano’s Artificial Intelligence Driving Autonomous unit. For the students, the goal of the project was to test how self-driving software performs in a production vehicle under extreme driving conditions.
“The goal of high-speed tests is to evaluate the behavior of robo-drivers in extreme conditions,” said Sergio Matteo Savaresi, the scientific director of the Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering department at Politecnico di Milano. “Conducted in controlled environments without a human driver, the test assesses the AI’s stability, robustness, and reaction time, ultimately enhancing safety for low-speed urban mobility situations.”
Separately, Maserati’s parent company, Stellantis, is working on self-driving technology for production cars. The automaker is developing a self-driving system called STLA AutoDrive, set to launch in 2025, which is expected to achieve Level 3 autonomy on the SAE scale. This means the car would allow the driver to take their eyes off the road for brief periods—long enough to read an email or text message—but still be prepared to take back control at any time.
Stellantis stated that STLA AutoDrive will initially function in hands-off, eyes-off mode under certain conditions, including a speed limit of 37 mph. The system is designed for future upgrades that could enable speeds of up to 59 mph and even off-road capabilities. Currently, the only Level 3 hands-off, eyes-off driver assistance system available in the U.S. is Mercedes-Benz’s Drive Pilot, which operates under similar conditions and is currently legal only in California and Nevada.
