Gently does it
The MC is a great supercar No excuses no ifs or buts not even too many gripes What a pleasant surprise With a carbon tub at its core it’s akin to a McLaren but more languid It feels light and skims along like an Alpine A there are overtones of Lotus in its mannerisms McLaren Alpine Lotus this is encouraging And the more I drove it the more I liked it it’s beguiling and sophisticated to drive
But what sort of supercar is it? Rear visibility is dismal there’s a plexiglas engine cover and a pretty barebones cabin which seems to steer it to the more hardcore end populated by Lamborghini’s Huracán STO But the ride is wonderful refinement is downright impressive it does mpg on a long haul and is light easy and undemanding to drive more akin to a McLaren GT
Encouragingly it’s not copying anything It’s both usable and highly exciting to drive more road bias than track certainly but boasting a well judged compromise And a compact litre V that unlike the forthcoming Ferrari GTB and McLaren Artura has no hybrid assistance I was worried about this about the potential lack of drama and about how sluggish it seemed in early videos of it revving That was wrong This twinturbo is a feisty energetic hard hitting motor No the sound can’t rival the baritone howl of a naturally aspirated V
Huracán but what can these days? What you have here is a fairly plain V engine note but overlaid with effervescent turbo fizz and hiss It’s pronounced and uplifting and has whip crack responses
“Ah” you’re thinking “bet it’s Ferrari’s V with a pair of cylinders chopped off” No this new Nettuno V is “a patented
per cent Maserati engine” And it’s very interesting with twin spark plugs one located in a small secondary combustion chamber above the main body of the cylinder allowing better swirl and mix in the main chamber Considering it’s the first engine Maserati has built itself since it’s a masterpiece and does wonders to distance the firm from past overlaps with Ferrari
An spd twin clutch box sends bhp and lb ft to the rear wheels keeping them busy The stability control is a bit heavy handed and the gearbox has the irritating habit of downshifting when you’ve put it in manual However long gearing mph is about
rpm delivers a mpg cruise although economy falls off a cliff if used hard
Let’s dwell on usability for a moment I don’t know how Maserati measured the ¡litre front ‘boot’ but it can barely fit the logbook The boot aft of the engine seems bigger than the litre claim but stuff gets warm The rearview mirror is fitted with a screen The camera view is better than the