Maserati MC20 – supercar supreme

PATIENCE, they say, is a virtue. And for fans of iconic Italian brand Maserati the wait for a pure red-blooded supercar was a very long one.

But the arrival of the MC20 marked the start of a new era for the Trident brand, heralded as the ‘First of its Kind’ and built at the historic Modena plant in Italy.

Few people ever get the opportunity to drive a car that looks every penny of its £227,930 base price let alone one with such volcanic performance.

We’re talking seismic acceleration of 0-62 in 2.9 seconds, 0-124 in 8.8 seconds and a potential top speed of 202mph achieved courtesy of a Nettuno twin turbo V6 engine developing 630bhp of wallop.

And if the use of a V6 in a car of this provenance raises an eyebrow or two well this is a patented, 100 per cent Maserati unit with a combustion evolved from the pre-chamber technology used on Formula 1 powertrains.

This may be a car built to blast round the racetrack but Maserati has completed a phenomenal job in making it into a genuine everyday supercar, one you could drive on suburban roads at 30mph in perfect comfort and safety all day long.

Even on rough roads the MC20 moves with elegance and grace, sparing you the judder if skirting a pothole and remaining well-mannered throughout.

Weighing in at less than 1,500kg and courtesy of that whopping output the Maserati boasts a best in class weight to power ratio, the entire chassis constructed of carbon fibre and composites which enable otherwise impossible shapes – like the butterfly doors.

When you want to put your foot down the car delivers in spades, it’s a real thriller but without any dramas and performed with precision, balance and absolute stability.

There are five driving modes accessed via a selector, which is the most distinctive feature of the cabin and designed to resemble a luxury watch, each identified by its own colour – so WET mode is green, GT blue, SPORT red, CORSA yellow and ESC OFF is orange.

You can just put the car in GT and leave it to its own devices, which are incredible anyway, or flick through SPORT and CORSA to load up the traction, exhaust, suspension and gearbox for a truly exhilarating experience.

Inside, the entire focus is on the driver so shapes are simple, with very few sharp corners, black materials and dark upholstery to prevent reflections in the windscreen, while everything is laid out like the cockpit of a racing car.

It’s all pretty minimalist too, the central tunnel made from carbon fibre and only carrying the switches that are absolutely necessary, while the steering wheel was developed and designed with input from Maserati test driver Andrea Bertolini, a former World Champion in the MC12.

A thick steering wheel, available in Alcantara, helps maximise the car’s sporty feel and only houses essential buttons and switches – like the Start and Launch Control buttons.

While there’s a wealth of design, technology and racetrack experience gone into the MC20 there’s still the scope to considerably ramp up the price tab with extra-cost options.

For instance our tested model featured personalisation totalling £63,2909 including bright yellow Giallo Genio paint at £9,650, blue brake callipers costing £1,100, 20-inch birdcage gloss black diamond alloys (also £1,100) black leather seats at £3,000 and a Sonus Faber sound system at £3,.

But really ramping up the tab was an exterior carbon pack of dark exhaust tips, front splitter and rear diffuser plus door and wing sills in carbon fibre and a fibreglass bonnet together costing a princely £36,240 and taking the total bill to £296,155.