Super sports cars have a hard time in times of climate discussion and tighter budgets thanks to the corona shock. Ironically, Maserati from Italy is now back powerfully. The flat MC20 is supposed to revive the sporty genes of the traditional brand, but also serve as a draft horse for the normal models.
The big festival should actually be celebrated in spring. But Corona came. Maserati rescheduled and postponed the rebirth of the first real sports car with the trident logo in 15 years until late summer. Directly at the racetrack in Modena, Italy, the mid-engine flounder MC 20 dropped its last covers and basked in the applause of the well-behaved guests at the premiere. "Our supercar is a huge step into a completely new phase in our history," says Maserati boss Davide Grasso.
An old-school sports car, with a flat hood, but edgewise slotted LED headlights, the front fenders peek a little over the front hood to fluff up even more clearly at the back. The sloping windshield merges directly into the roof, which then drops back towards the rear in the middle of the passenger dome. The rear window is quite small and has air slots. After all, it also serves as a cover for the mid-engine and allows curious glances at the shiny silver powerhouse. The protruding tops of the fenders also dominate the rear. In contrast, the wide taillights look really good. So the bottom line is a potent appearance by the newcomer in a classic style, but staged in a highly modern way.
As it should be, the MC20 has a mid-engine in front of the rear axle, which breathes through thick side gills. The MC stands for "Maserati Rennsport" and the "20" for the year of publication. With the predecessor MC 12, which won the world championship several times in its era at the beginning of the millennium, the number still referred to the sum of the cylinders. The newcomer is clearly behind, since he is satisfied with half the number of pots and displacement.
Despite downsizing, the three-liter six-cylinder with 463 kW / 630 PS is only two behind its predecessor. That it lags behind the MC325 by 12 km / h at the possible top of 20 km / h is only mentioned in passing. Both are irrelevant, at least on public roads. The biggest difference between the two MC models from different ages: The predecessor was developed as a racing car, which was only later approved for road use. 50 pieces were built. With the MC 20 it is the other way round. It is only in the second step that it will also serve as a basic model for pure racing cars. There is no limit to production.
The teams from Modena are particularly proud of their newly gained independence from the large sister brand Ferrari from the same group. For example, if the Maserati Levante's most powerful SUV is powered by a rival engine from its own stable, the twin turbo of the MC20 is a completely in-house development, for which the parent company Fiat-Chrysler (FCA) provided a lot of money. A special method of double injection uses technology from Formula 1. Even on paper, the power is breathtaking: a sprint to 100 km / h in just under three seconds and the torque of 730 Newton meters safely on the road without all-wheel assistance.
Of course, all modern assistance systems for the MC20 are also on board if required. According to Maserati, purism must not come at the expense of safety and therefore rejects all fans who would have preferred to do without the helpers out of pride in their driving skills. You don't have to do without the music that comes from the two arm-thick tailpipes above the equally martial rear diffuser. In a special sport mode, the MC20 thunders off so hard that Rammstein's works, on the other hand, seem like a delicate symphony. The question is whether the wanton but real noise will find the blessing of the authorities.
On the other hand, there are no approval problems with the upward-swinging doors, which open like butterfly wings and allow a comfortable first phase of access to the car. The second, however, requires you to slide into the deeply mounted sports seats and then come out again elegantly. But that should be a problem that solves the targeted customers as well as paying the purchase price of around 210.000 euros.
Maserati MC20 - Preliminary Specifications:
Two-door super sports car with two seats. Length: 4,67 meters, width (without mirror): 1,96 meters, height: 1,22 meters. Wheelbase: 2,70 meters, trunk volume: 50 l (front) + 100 liters (rear). Rear wheel drive. Weight: under 1,5 tons
Drive: six-cylinder petrol engine with double turbo and double ignition, 3.000 ccm, 463 kW / 630 PS, max. Torque: 730 Nm at 3.000 - 5.500 rpm. Vmax: 325 km / h, 0-100 km / h in 2,9 sec., 0-200 km / h in 8,8 sec.Eight-speed double clutch automatic: standard consumption according to WLTC: 11,6 l / 100 km, CO2 emissions: 262 g / km, EU 6d temp. Efficiency class: n / a
Price from: approx. 210.000 euros
Why: Because when you rebel against the green zeitgeist you are in first line
Why not: Because the days of such cars are simply over
What else: Porsche 911 Turbo, various Ferrari models, the Corvette or Aston Martin DB11
What else: A roadster and a purely electric model are currently being planned
