Maserati made up for several delayed launches, understandable in 2020, to debut the MC20 with a spectacular web event every bit as impressive as a major auto salon effort, even though there was no audience present. The car proved to be well worth the trouble and expense.

The MC20 certainly has a DNA that very few carmakers can get anywhere close to matching. The five founding Maserati brothers were involved with cars from the beginning of the 20th century and the company’s racing history dates back to 1926 and a win in the famed Targa Florio race.

The company’s trident logo, highly respected in the sports car world, was based on one depicted on the Fountain of Neptune in Bologna. In the years to come, Maserati was a winner in every class of racing from Grand Prix to sports cars and remains the only Italian maker to have won the Indy 500 and has, in fact, won the big American race twice. This is the kind of background that inspired the new MC20, a model that is quite different to anything the firm has ever built.

Uncharted Territory

The MC20 is a class of car Maserati has never constructed before and is being trumpeted as part of a new era for the brand. It’s a spectacular-looking sports car with sinuous, highly aerodynamic, lines and a layout common among sports supercars.

It’s very light at 1,500 kg and with its 630-horsepower, the power to weight ratio is exceptional. The engine is a 3.0-litre V-6 with dual turbochargers, mated to an 8-speed dual clutch automatic. This endows the MC20 with impressive performance figures right up there with some of the best competitors in the industry.

The engine will be built by Maserati, its first after a 20-year spell of using sub-contractors, including Ferrari. Of course, everyone has been asking whether or not there will be an electric MC20 and according to Maserati, this will appear over the next year or two. Reportedly, it will use three electric motors to provide 700-horsepower and a zero to 100 km/h time of 2.0-seconds.

Italian Elegance

The interior of the MC20 combines luxury with practicality, resulting in a cockpit ambiance that Italian makers do so well. Two 10-inch screens are used, one for cockpit information and the other for touch-control functions.

There’s a handy storage compartment beneath the centre armrest, useful in a type of car where cabin stowage is often at a premium. There’s a wonderful simplicity about the cockpit controls in the MC20 and many often-used buttons are mounted on the leather-wrapped steering wheel.

Maserati has a very desirable range of vehicles, ranging from the Quattroporte saloon to the Levante SUV plus the Ghibli and GT sports cars, but nothing remotely like the MC20. There’s no doubt that this car will give a considerable boost to the fortunes of Maserati, even if only to draw attention on the showroom floor. If, as Maserati points out, this is the dawn of a new era for the brand, there will be some exciting models emerging from Modena over the next few years.