Look out: there’s a brand new quickest robotic on the planet.
A Maserati MC20 Coupe with nobody within the driver seat set a brand new land pace file for autonomous autos, reaching 197.7 mph (318 km/h) throughout an automotive occasion on the Kennedy Area Middle final week.
The Maserati was operating self-driving software program developed by Politecnico di Milano, Italy’s largest scientific-technological college. The workforce additionally labored with the Indy Autonomous Problem, which most lately ran at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway during CES 2025.
The achievement is noteworthy, and never simply because an autonomous race automotive went sooner than some other self-driving automobile earlier than it. It’s partly about stress-testing the reliability of the algorithms that undergird the autonomous driving system, figuring out how they handle excessive speeds. By pushing the boundaries, the workforce overseeing the record-breaking dwelling hopes to enhance security by making use of their learnings to autonomous highway autos working on native roads.
“These world pace data are rather more than only a showcase of future expertise,” Paul Mitchell, CEO of Indy Autonomous Problem and Aidoptation BV, stated in an announcement. “We’re pushing AI-driver software program and robotics {hardware} to absolutely the edge. Doing so with a streetcar helps transition the learnings of autonomous racing to allow protected, safe, sustainable, high-speed autonomous mobility on highways.”
The Maserati MC20 is a stylish — and expensive — choice for the autonomous run. Retailing for at the least $239,000, the race automotive sports activities a mid-mounted, twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 that Maserati calls the Nettuno. The engine makes severe energy: 621 horsepower and 538 lb-ft of torque, which is distributed by an eight-speed dual-clutch computerized transmission to the rear wheels.