The much-awaited Maserati MC20 supercar has made its debut at a spectacular event called MMXX: Time to be audacious in Modena, Italy. The event according to Maserati, marks the beginning of a new phase in the Brand’s history.
A monumental stage was erected for the occasion in the middle of the Modena track. It was 23 m high, 33 m wide and 30 m deep; a revolving central stage was of 500 cm in diameter. Above the stage was a massive LED screen, a kind of hollow monolith with a total surface area of 630 m2. A total of 44 Maserati cars from different periods were positioned in a drive-in theatre-like setting. Artists Sandro Mussida, Lorenzo Senni and Bjorn Thorarensan performed at the event.
As for the car itself, well, the front end might remind you of the MC12 while also giving you the C-X75 vibes at the same time. In fact, Maserati considers the MC20 as “a worthy successor to the MC12”. On the side, the butterfly doors house the air outlets at the bottom, while the haunches get the air inlets to cool down the mid-mounted twin-turbo V6. The rear-end looks like an evolved version of the GranTurismo, especially the shape of the taillights.
The dual-tone paint scheme makes the car look so much better, especially when viewed from the side. You can imagine one of those roofless, windscreen-less roadsters. The lower part of the MC20 is always dark and can be had in exposed carbon fibre or painted in black.
The wheels measure 20-inch at both axles, shod with tyres measuring 245/35 at the front and 305/30 at the rear. The discs measure 380 x 34 mm at the front with Brembo 6-piston calipers and 350 x 27 mm at the rear with 4-piston calipers. As for the dimensions of the car itself, the MC20 measures 4,669 mm in length, 1,965 mm in width and 1,221 mm in height. It has a wheelbase of 2,700 mm. The total luggage capacity is claimed to be 150 litres.
Overall, it’s a clean design with functional aerodynamics that doesn’t make the car look too busy or aggressive. Also, notice the engine bay cover with openings that resemble the trident logo. Maserati says that designing the MC20 took about 24 months. Thanks to the extensive usage of carbon fibre and other lightweight materials, the MC20 boasts a kerb weight of less than 1,500 kg (3,307 lbs).
The MC20 is the first Maserati to feature the butterfly doors which make it easier to get in and out. Anyway, as with the exterior, the designers have resisted the urge to go overboard for the interior with crazy lines, swooshes and whatnot. The cockpit looks fairly simple and minimalistic.
There’s a 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.25-inch floating infotainment display, which look pretty similar to the ones found in a Mercedes car these days; perhaps it’s the same supplier. The seats come from Sabelt and with laser-generated contrast blue highlights. The material choices include leather, Alcantara and of course, carbon fibre. The options list includes a Sonus Faber premium audio system.
In case you haven’t noticed it already, the carbon fibre central console features the drive mode selector knob that also houses the damper settings button in the middle. There are Wet, GT, Sport and Corsa modes to play with. The ESC can also be turned off.
Powertrain
Moving on to the business end of the story then, the MC20 is powered by an in-house developed 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 Nettuno engine that we saw in July. It borrows F1-derived pre-chamber combustion system with twin-spark plugs. More details on that here. The engine pumps out 630 metric hp (463 kW) at 7,500 rpm and 730 Nm (538 lb-ft) of torque between 3,000-5,500 rpm. An 8-speed DCT drives the rear wheels via a Mechanical Limited-Slip Differential as standard. Buyers can opt for an Electronic LSD.
A 0-100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration is claimed to happen in less than 2.9 seconds. The official top speed is over 325 km/h (202 mph), in case you’re wondering.
The options list also includes a suspension lift system where the front axle can be lifted by up to 50 mm to clear any obstacles. The system works at speeds of up to 40 km/h (25 mph) and when the speed exceeds, the system automatically returns the vehicle to normal ride height.
Convertible and electric
Another important thing Maserati shared is that the MC20 will also be available in convertible and electric versions — at a later date. The design of the platform enables all three versions.
Recommended for you
Leave a Reply
Note: Comments that are unrelated to the post above get automatically filtered into the trash bin.
