[music]
In the modern era, Maserati has always played second fiddle to Ferrari. It's an attitude
that's come from the corporate boardroom all the way down to the road cars. But with this,
the brand new MC20, things have changed. No more fighting with one hand tied behind their back.
This is the Maserati that could out-Ferrari Ferrari.
[music]
The MC20 is the first proper supercar from Maserati in decades. What about the MC12, you ask?
Well, that was essentially a homologation special for GT racing, and only around 60 were ever
produced, and all of them were left-hand drive. In any event, it was a Ferrari Enzo in drag.
The MC20 is designed from the ground up to be a proper road-going mid engine supercar,
and there'll be less than 1,500 built each year.
And it's got the looks and performance potential to rehabilitate the Maserati brand
after a couple of decades of, well, let's face it, some pretty ho-hum machinery. At its core
is a proper carbon fibre monocoque developed in conjunction with race car builder Dallara.
Straight from the modern supercar playbook, alloy sub-frames are bolted on front and rear.
The bodywork is also carbon fibre, and much of it is clear-coated. There's an additional carbon
pack on this tester. The suspension is double wishbone all around with conventional springs
but very clever electro-mechanical dampers. The brakes feature huge rotors, multi-piston calipers,
and on this car, an optional ceramic set up for race spec performance, more boxes ticked.
And just look at it. There's true Maserati styling cues, but those trademark supercar proportions,
they're spot on. The smart aero stuff you can't see, it's underneath. No surprise then that this
car was developed almost exclusively using CFD and other virtual tools in record time.
And the cockpit ticks all the supercar boxes too. Butterfly doors, two fantastic sports buckets,
a very driver-focused cockpit, lovely touches, carbon fibre, and really nice detailing.
The drive mode selector is a case in point. Maserati says
it draws inspiration from a fine watch. A big screen takes care of comms and infotainment.
And I love the steering wheel, the right size, the right thickness, and not too many controls.
There's wireless CarPlay and wireless charging, and a camera-based rear view mirror that works.
There's enough tech to keep everyone happy, but not enough to take away from
the driving experience, and after all, that's what we're here for.
Family ties must have made it tempting to bolt a Ferrari engine
into the back of the MC20. It's a measure of how serious Maserati is about the car that there's a
bespoke three litre twin turbo underneath, and it's a product of its own engine lab.
The V6 is over-square, dry sump to sit low, revs like a bastard, and features an innovative
pre-combustion setup that Maserati claims boost power and torque and helps the MC20
hit the latest emission targets. There is no electrification. The MC20 will boast higher
performance versions, including a GT3 race car eventually. For the moment, its focus is a blend
of road and track. There's multiple drive modes to allow keen drivers to explore their limits,
but that's for another day. For the moment, we'll concentrate on what it's like on the road,
and it's a surprise. For a start, the ride is much better than I expected. GT mode is the ideal blend
of handling and ride. It really does work well on Aussie roads, and you can't say that about a lot
of mid-engine supercars. This twin clutch gearbox, it's not as sharp as the Porsche PD Cayenne,
it does have a few glitches around town. Sometimes it takes a shift to manual to make things work
just so. I do like the fact though that the pedals are fixed and on the steering column,
rather than moving with the wheel.
What is sharp is the V6. This is a seriously capable engine that lacks very little, except
maybe a soundtrack. It's got a noise of its own, and it's not unpleasant,
but it's not what you'd call stirring, a bit like the way modern Formula One cars just don't sound
like their V8 and V10 counterparts. It doesn't lack pace though. There is the occasional chirp
of the waste gates, and there's some plenty of mechanical noise coming back there.
It really isn't quite the oral match to some of those other Italian engines, though.
Steering's really direct as you'd expect, it's really well weighted.
It's quite light in GT mode. In sports mode, well, that certainly thickens it up a bit, but it's
equally accurate. I must admit it's a very easy, comfortable and friendly supercar. On the balance,
I like its tractability, I like its sheer oomph, and I do like the sort of mechanical edge to it.
Without a track session we'll hold final opinion, but the MC20 really does hit the marks for a road
going supercar. It's hard not to be enthusiastic. At last, here is a Maserati to get excited about.
Ferrari is more an icon than a brand these days. It's on the New York Stock Exchange in
its own right, and that's a good thing, because in doing so, it's given Maserati the breathing space
to build the MC20, I can't say it's gonna beat a Ferrari 296 or an F8 in a straight fight, that'll
take a comparison test that we know isn't gonna happen. What I can say is the MC20 is a proper
Italian supercar. The thinking man's Ferrari? Well, what do you reckon?