A while back I ranted about Turbocharged V6s losing their identity. In fact I said:
“In becoming more widely adopted, turbo V6s have become sanitised, mainstream, and have lost their outsider status. With tightening regulations and the need for efficiency, it is doubtful if we’ll ever see a churning, quirky, roughshod performance V6 ever again.”
Firstly, what pessimism!
And secondly – I was wrong.
In this case I am really quite pleased to be proved wrong. With the reviews of the Maserati MC20 and Ferrari 296 GTB coming in thick and fast, it seems that the twin-turbocharged V6 has lost none of the enigmatic character that we love so much.
The Maserati MC20 which – I’ll say this now to get it out of the way; looks far, far better when spec’d without a black roof – has brought the whistling, snuffing and angry turbocharged V6 back to the forefront. A reviewer who’s opinion I trust greatly, compared the sounds made by the MC20’s Nettuno (also a win for such a cool engine name) engine to that of the Lancia Delta S4 Group B rally car. Simply put, I cannot think of higher praise than that.
Turbocharged V6s have always been about getting down to business first and foremost, and a their grouchy aloofness has always been part of their appeal. That’s why the V6 was always an outsider. A V6 was never chosen for its sound, it was simply the best fit for the job at hand. Pragmatism at its best.
The 296 GTB also makes me happy as Ferrari always tend to make fairly spectacular engines, and the GTB’s new twin-turbo V6 is no different. It too is all business, but with a little more refinement than the Nettuno. What makes me most pleased about Ferrari’s V6 is that to squeeze out that fairly ridiculous hybrid-assisted 830 bhp headline figure, the 3 Litre V6 has to be turbocharged to buggery.
Bring on the era of the seriously big boost.
Yes, the previous generation of Supercar’s used tuneable twin-turbo V8s but that felt a bit like desecrating a piece of art; the twin-turbo V6 has a far more tuneable spirit. Just as the V6s of the Noble M400 and Jaguar XJ220 started out as engines that were sort of lying about, the future of performance car engines being in the greasy hands of the V6 makes the tuning seem far less of an affront upon the honour of these supercar’s than previously.
Power to the people, baby.
Kerbside 