A driverless Maserati MC20 Coupe, utilizing self-driving software developed by Politecnico di Milano and the Indy Autonomous Challenge, achieved a new land speed record for autonomous vehicles. The car reached 197.7 mph (318 km/h) at the Kennedy Space Center.
This surpasses the previous record of 192.2 mph set in April 2022 by an Indy Autonomous Challenge vehicle. The 2.8-mile runway at Kennedy Space Center provided the ideal location for this record-breaking attempt.
The achievement is significant not only for its speed but also for stress-testing autonomous driving algorithms at extreme speeds. The learnings from this are expected to enhance the safety of autonomous vehicles on public roads.
The Maserati MC20, a high-performance car, was chosen for the record attempt. Its powerful engine (621 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque) and advanced features contributed to the success of the run.
The Indy Autonomous Challenge CEO, Paul Mitchell, highlighted that this record-breaking event is about pushing AI and robotics to their limits to facilitate safe, sustainable, and high-speed autonomous mobility on highways in the future.
Look out: there’s a new fastest robot in the world.
A Maserati MC20 Coupe with no one in the driver’s seat set a new land speed record for autonomous vehicles, reaching 197.7mph (318km/h) during an automotive event at the Kennedy Space Center last week.
The Maserati was running self-driving software developed by Politecnico di Milano, Italy’s largest scientific and technological university. The team also worked with the Indy Autonomous Challenge, which most recently ran at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway during CES 2025.
In the shadow of NASA’s iconic Space Shuttles, the race car flew down the 2.8-mile runway at record-breaking speeds, surpassing the 192.2mph record that was also held by Indy Autonomous Challenge and PoliMOVE, set by an IAC AV-21 race car in April 2022.
The achievement is noteworthy, and not just because an autonomous race car went faster than any other self-driving vehicle before it. It’s partly about stress-testing the reliability of the algorithms that undergird the autonomous driving system, determining how they manage extreme speeds. By pushing the boundaries, the team overseeing the record-breaking run hopes to improve safety by applying their learnings to autonomous road vehicles operating on local roads.
“These world speed records are much more than just a showcase of future technology,” Paul Mitchell, CEO of Indy Autonomous Challenge and Aidoptation BV, said in a statement. “We are pushing AI-driver software and robotics hardware to the absolute edge. Doing so with a streetcar is helping transition the learnings of autonomous racing to enable safe, secure, sustainable, high-speed autonomous mobility on highways.”
The Maserati MC20 is a stylish — and expensive — choice for the autonomous run. Retailing for at least $239,000, the race car sports a mid-mounted, twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 that Maserati calls the Nettuno. The engine makes serious power: 621 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque, which is sent through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission to the rear wheels.
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