Silvestri built a manual, naturally aspirated V12, just because it still can
900 hp, a seven-speed manual, and zero turbochargers. Silvestri did not get the memo about 2026
Silvestri Automobili, a new Italian boutique manufacturer based in Crocetta di Sant'Agata Bolognese, has revealed the MN 40 Tributo, a road-legal, all-new car built around a naturally aspirated 6.8-litre V12 producing 900 hp. Just 15 will exist, and only 13 are actually for sale.
Who Nicola Materazzi actually was
The MN 40 Tributo is named for Nicola Materazzi, the engineer behind the Ferrari F40 who also worked on the Lancia Stratos and the B Engineering Edonis. Francesco Rocco's carbon fibre body borrows the F40's fixed rear wing, triple tailpipe treatment, and profile line without copying it outright, and the tubular aluminium spaceframe chassis was developed with input from Materazzi himself before his death. This is a tribute to a person's engineering philosophy, not a recreation of a specific car, which sets it apart from a Dubai firm's more literal take on the same idea, built on a Ferrari SF90 Spider base.
The numbers
The mid-mounted V12 revs to 9,500 rpm and sends 900 hp and 800 Nm of torque through a seven-speed manual transaxle with an open-gate shifter, built by CIMA of Bologna, the same supplier known for gated manuals on classic Italian exotics. A sequential setup with paddle shifters is available for buyers who want it. Carbon-ceramic brakes with ten-piston front and six-piston rear calipers sit behind 20-inch front and 21-inch rear wheels, with electronically adjustable suspension using Ergal aluminium components.
Just 13 cars, and a mystery price
Silvestri Automobili plans to build all 15 examples over roughly three years, with the company keeping two for itself. Pricing has not been disclosed, and neither has a kerb weight, so treat the car's power-to-weight character as unconfirmed until Silvestri actually says something. It is not the only small Bologna-area outfit betting on a naturally aspirated engine and a road-going ambition right now, either.
AutoNext Take
This is exactly the kind of car worth encouraging more of: a brand-new naturally aspirated V12, a proper seven-speed manual with an open-gate shifter, and not a turbocharger or a screen-based excuse anywhere near it. A tribute built around an engineer's philosophy rather than a specific old model is also a sharper angle than the usual "we recreated a classic" pitch. Whether Silvestri Automobili becomes a lasting name or a one-car curiosity, somebody chose to build the hard, uncompromising version of a supercar instead of the easy one, and the 13 people who end up with a key deserve to know exactly how rare that choice has become.
