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2023 Maserati MC20 Road Test: Distinctly Maserati, and better for it

It’s not the quickest to 60 or the flashiest of the bunch, but the Maserati MC20 is a brilliant mid-engine supercar. It also seemingly appeared overnight. One day, Maserati was making subpar luxury sedans, and the next itÂ’s producing a carbon-tubbed supercar with a bespoke engine and looks thatÂ’ll have you going, what the hell is that? But in a good way. Seriously, if an award existed for “most improved” in the automotive industry, Maserati deserves to take home the prize this year. From the MC20 to the hot-selling Grecale, this isnÂ’t the Maserati weÂ’ve known and chided for the better part of this century. ItÂ’s all the more impressive that Maserati is finally catching its stride at the same time Ferrari engines are falling away from its lineup, particularly because the presence of those Maranello-designed engines was the biggest draw to driving home a car with the trident in its grille. Forget about Ferrari, though, because the Maserati MC20 is a great supercar because itÂ’s a Maserati. Let your butt fall into the reasonably-bolstered (but not too crazy) all-Alcantara seat, swivel your legs in over top of the exposed carbon sill, and breathe a deep breath of relaxation. Sure, it takes a tiny bit of contorting to get in, but the cabin is downright plush for being an honest-to-goodness supercar. Give the butterfly door a firm yank downward into place, but make sure to admire the perforated and patterned Alcantara as you do, because itÂ’s just one of many hints at the MC20Â’s quiet luxury. ItÂ’s refreshing to take in the interiorÂ’s surroundings, because while storage may be at a premium, most of the controls and trimmings are easily describable as normal or even ergonomic. The steering wheel buttons look lifted straight off an Alfa and are instantly natural to operate. Your phone will find a perfect resting place in the very secure and well-integrated wireless phone charger in the carÂ’s central tunnel. The wheel-mounted drive mode selector is a chip off AlfaÂ’s “DNA” mode selector, but itÂ’s in the perfect spot to effortlessly change the carÂ’s character in an instant. Even the armrests on both the center console and doors are well-judged to keep you relaxed and well-supported no matter how long the drive. Add to all this the Uconnect 5 infotainment system that is dirt-easy to operate, including with wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, and youÂ’re left with a supercar that doesnÂ’t make being in it or driving it a chore.

Maserati teases MC20 prototype again reminiscing about the Targa Florio

Maserati spent its weekend reminiscing about victory in the 1940 Targa Florio, putting an MC20 prototype to work enhancing the gravitas of the anniversary. After winning the Targa in 1937, 1938, and 1939 with the Maserati 6CM and its 1.5-liter supercharged inline-six throwing 175 horsepower, the House of the Trident showed up in 1940 with the brand new 4CL powered by a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder cranking 220 hp. Luigi Villoresi, who'd driven the 6CM to triumph the year before, crossed the line first in the 4CL to close out European racing until the end of World War II. With a return to racing on the automaker's mind, Maserati took a camouflaged MC20 to the same Favorita Park roads that hosted the Targa. The soft-focus spy shots were taken in front of the Floriopoli stands, a stretch of bunting and banners not far from the Targa start line as historic competitors headed into the Sicilian mainland. The MC20 is as photogenic in these shots as all the others, and as mysterious. The automaker seems intent on making everyone wait until the September debut to for any details that the prototype doesn't put on display. Prime among enthusiast interest is the powerplant. With Ferrari shutting down its supply of engines to the fellow Modenese sports car maker, Maserati says its new mid-engined coupe will be "the first car to use [its] new engine, brimming with innovative technological contents, developed and built by Maserati in-house." Short odds figure on a molto potente twin-turbo V6 sending power to the rear wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, the long money isn't afraid to bet on a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8  to replace the F154 V8 that Ferrari provides. With race engineers undoubtedly sorting out a version for sports car racing as we speak, Maserati will certainly hope the competitive version matches the exploits of the 4CL. The vintage race car took pole in its first race, earned its first victory two races later, snatched up a bag of silverware before WWII, won the first race held in Europe after the war ended, and continued winning in 4CL and 4CLT trim until 1951 to take 31 total victories — nine more than the MC12 race car. Related Video:    

The Maserati MC20's new Nettuno V6 is a high-tech showpiece

It's been more than two decades since Maserati was in the business of developing an in-house 90-degree V6 engine, and the last one it had traced its genealogy back 30 years. That story started in 1968, when Citroen took a controlling stake in Maserati, and the French requested that the Italians create an engine for the 1970 Citroen SM. Famed Maserati engineer Giulio Alfieri designed a 2.7-liter V6 producing 170 horsepower that could be built using Maserati's existing V8 tooling, hence the 90-degree angle. Alfieri then revised that V6 and bored it out to three liters, upping output to 187 hp, for use in the 1972 Maserati Merak. A decade later, Maserati – now owned by Alejandro de Tomaso, who had fired Alfieri — started with Alfieri's V6 philosophy when developing a mill for a new sports car. The resulting V6 unit, in 2.0-, 2.5-, and 2.8-liter displacements, was the first twin-turbocharged motor put into a production car. That car? The hot, gorgeous mess known as the 1984 Maserati BiTurbo. Almost 10 years on, the 1992 Maserati Ghibli II would get a 2.0-liter version of this 90-degree V6 making 306 horsepower. The 1995 Ghibli Cup turned that mill up to 330 hp, crowning the 2.0-liter V6 as the most power-dense engine in a production car, surpassing 1990s icons like the Jaguar XJ220 and original Bugatti EB110 (both 155 horsepower per liter). When the Ghibli exited production in 1998, Maserati ceded engine development duties to Ferrari by order of Fiat, which owned both automakers. 2022 Maserati MC20 View 47 Photos Nettuno, the new beating heart of Maserati Now we have the Nettuno, a 90-degree 3.0-liter V6 created to power Maserati's renaissance and making its debut in the chunky, aerodynamic form known as the MC20. At 630 horsepower and 538 lb-ft of torque, the engine almost picks up where the Ghibli Cup left off: with 210 horsepower/liter, the Nettuno is one of the most power-dense in the world. The Bugatti Chiron, Ford GT, and McLaren 756LT don't crack 200 hp/l. The only production cars in the ballpark are Euro specials like the Mercedes-AMG A45 (208.4 hp/l). Beyond it are seven-figure hypercars like the SSC Tuatara (229 hp/l) and Koenigsegg Jesko (256 hp/l on gas, 320 hp/l on E85). The word we're looking for in Italian is bentornato. Welcome back, Maserati.