Maserati is the latest automaker to jump into the autonomous driving space with an MC20 they plan to display at CES 2025.
The project will be a partnership with Politecnico di Milano, Italy’s leading university of science and technology, and the National Center for Sustainable Mobility (MOST). The three will equip an MC20 Cielo with updated AI-driven autonomous driving technology in an effort to further develop the technology for real-world use.
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Maserati
Maserati has already used AI in its sports cars
Another autonomous MC20, a coupe instead of a Cielo, has already proven its capabilities in past events. In the 2023 and 2024 Mille Miglia, it drove part of the route in full autonomous mode. Granted, co-driver Matteo Marzotto had to be in the car to fulfill some of the event’s requirements, but he did not interfere when the AI was in charge.
In November 2024, Maserati brought the MC20 Coupe to the Piacenza-San Damiano airport runway for a high-speed test run in thick fog with little visibility. With no human pilot on board, the autonomous sports car reached a top speed of 285 km/h (177.09 mph).
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“The aim is to test the responsiveness of the robot conductor under extreme conditions,” said Sergio Matteo Savaresi, scientific leader of the project and Director of the Department of Electronics, Computer Science, and Bioengineering at Politecnico di Milano. “This allows us to push the limits of technology to improve the safety and reliability of autonomous vehicles.”
Maserati
The autonomous MC20 Coupe will also take part in the Indy Autonomous Challenge
The same MC20 Coupe will also be the Safety Car at the Indy Autonomous Challenge at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on January 9th. That race pits autonomous racecars from 10 university teams in a head-to-head race to give attendees “a firsthand look at the evolution of AI in high-speed motorsport.”
If you want to see the updated autonomous Maserati MC20 Cielo firsthand, it will be on display at the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) and ANFIA booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center’s West Hall.
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Final thoughts
It’s refreshing to see autonomous driving technology being developed by someone other than Tesla. Competition is always good, and it pushes companies to improve their products further to keep up with, or best, the others.
Now that GM is out of the picture, Tesla only has Alphabet’s Waymo to look out for. If Maserati started investing in autonomous taxis too, I wouldn’t mind being taken to work in an MC20.
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