Since the Maserati MC12, the Tridente brand has not been associated with the words “supercar”, “racing” or, even, amazement. Which exciting cars has the Bologna manufacturer presented these past few years? The Ghibli Hybrid? The Levante? Those dark days are now over with the new Maserati MC20 (Maserati Corse 2020), which will be fully built in Modena, Italy. Text: Luca W., Mickael B. © Images: Maserati ©
The Maserati MC 20 ticks all the boxes of supercar design
The trident’s new toy is a supercar, nearly all made out of carbon fiber, weighing less than 1’500 kg. Developed by Dallara and Maserati, the monocoque tub is fitted with a specially designed diffuser in order to create a huge amount of downforce, increasing grip. The chassis and aero team spent no less than 2’000 hours in the wind tunnel to develop and set up this piece of art. Even though, it took only 24 months from scratch to final version to create the new Maserati supercar.
In terms of design, there are cues of Alfa Romeo 4C, mixed together with the last great supercar from Maserati, the MC12. It’s compact and has all the styling elements of a pure breed Italian Berlinetta including – Lamborghini owners rejoice – scissor doors. It looks really great and will for sure give customers who were looking to buy an F8 Tributo or Huracan an alternative choice to seriously consider.
The interior is very sleek and simple. Looks very functional, but somehow missing a bit of Italian craziness. All this new technology sounds very german-ish. Let’s hope we still get some funny, funky translations and bugs that have made Maserati such charming automobiles to live with. We do have great hopes for how this supercar will drive and sound, since the Tridente brand has produced some of our most memorable drives on these two points. It is going to be tough though, specially on the second part due to the new noise regulations, but let’s hope they can give us the melody we have been used to.
The Maserati MC20 masterpiece is its engine
No, the engine is not an inflated Alfa Romeo Giulia carry-over. The Nettuno engine is 100% Maserati made. It is a 3.0-litre 90° twin-turbo V6 generating no less than 630 hp of power and 760 Nm of torque. The power/capacity ratio is 210 hp/liter, making the Nettuno the most power-densed engine on the market. Wow ! It clearly makes us excited, really: 210hp/litre! A Bugatti Chiron is 187.5! This incredible power density is made possible by a Formula 1 technology: the passive prechamber (patended by FCA), combined with a twin spark system.
The pre-chamber is a combustion chamber set between the central spark plug and the traditional combustion chamber, connected by holes. The other spark plug acts normally when the engine doesn’t use the pre-chamber. Naturally, there is a twin injection system (direct and indirect), which reduces noise on low revs, lowers emissions and improves consumption.
This incredible numbers allow the car to achieve 0-100 km/h under 2.9 seconds, and 0-200 in less than 8.8 seconds. Top speed should be over 325 km/h, thanks to the 8 gears dual clutch transmission. Talking about transmission, the Maserati MC20 is rear-wheel drived, with rear limited slip self-locking mechanical differential (Electronic differential is optional).
Yet, those numbers are for this version of the Maserati MC20. A cabriolet and an electric will be coming in a near future. And can we get the Alfieri soon too?
Maserati MC20 specs and price
| Engine | 3.0-liter, turbocharged V6 |
| Power/torque | 621 hp / 729 Nm (538ft-lbs) |
| Weight | 1500 kg (3307 lb) |
| Power/weight ratio | 2.41 kg/hp (5.32 lb/hp) |
| Fuel consumption | 7.8 l/100km (30.1 mpg) |
| Transmission | 8-speed dual clutch gearbox |
| Top speed | 328 kph (204 mph) |
| Acceleration (0-100 kph / 0-62 mph) | 2.8 seconds |
| Price | €216,450 ($259,638 – £187,230 – CHF250,000) |
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