COBI Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo Set 24577

COBI's Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo is a 1:35 model built from 105 blocks, 14 cm long, produced under an official license from Maserati. The wheels turn on rubber tires, and the markings are printed onto the blocks rather than applied as stickers.

The spark plug that came down from Formula 1

Trofeo is the top of the petrol GranTurismo range: 550 PS, or 542 hp in American figures, from a three-liter twin-turbo V6 called Nettuno — the engine Maserati built for the MC20 supercar.

What makes it unusual is how it lights the fuel. Each cylinder carries a small pre-chamber with its own spark plug. That plug fires first, and the flame shoots out through narrow channels into the main chamber, igniting the charge from several points at once instead of one. The burn is faster and more complete, which lets the engine run a higher compression ratio than it otherwise could.

The idea is borrowed from Formula 1, where pre-chamber combustion has been standard practice for years. Maserati brought it to a road car in 2020, and among production engines it is still a rarity — the reason a three-liter six in a grand tourer makes the kind of power that used to need a V8.

In the COBI range

Set 24561 is the previous-generation GranTurismo and 24567 the GranTurismo GT3 Racing, both at the same scale. Set 24335 is the MC20, the car the Nettuno engine was designed for, as a much larger model. Set 24568 is the Maserati Garage to park them in.

Specifications

Pieces: 105 · Scale: 1:35 · Age: 6+ · No stickers
Model dimensions: 14 cm long (5.5 in)