It’s a Mas have
beautifully clean shape, particularly stunning in our test car’s blue. And then there’s the engine. Most of the really good ones fitted to Maseratis over the years (and some have been truly great) have actually been made by Ferrari.
This 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 ‘Nettuno’ engine is all Maserati’s own work. It’s a clean-sheet design and built by the Modena company – apart from the crankcase which is made in a foundry in Shropshire.
The engine produces 630PS and a lot of torque so that acceleration is intense, whatever gear the double clutch automatic is in. The motor also makes a fantastic noise.
You get into the MC20 via a larger door that lifts scissor fashion helped by a hydraulic ram. You have to be careful you don’t park too close to another car or you won’t get out.
Same goes for parking in a small garage but I suspect people who buy a £190,580 Maserati supercar don’t have small single garages.
Inside, the cabin is simple and uncluttered – a centre console with DM (Drive/Manual) and R (Reverse) buttons and a large rotary knob for selecting driving modes. There’s an infotainment screen with phone mirroring and temperature adjustment – the voice control works well enough to do this.
You’ve read plenty from me on my love for the Alpine A110. Well, if Alpine built a supercar it would turn out like this Maserati – the same simplicity and ease of use.
The MC20 rides comfortably; not quite as well as a McLaren Artura but close. There’s a button in the centre of the driving mode control that softens suspension dampers.
The modes are GT, Sport and Corsa. If you’re in Sport and press the button, the dampers are set to the softer GT setting. It’s an important detail because you get all the noise and throttle response of Sport without rattling your teeth.
Maserati is about to launch a convertible version of the MC20 called the Cielo, which I’m sure will be as wonderful as the coupe.
Also on its way is a fully electric version called the Folgore.
Although it will have more than 1,200bhp and will likely be even quicker than the petrol car, without the sound of that lovely V6 engine it will not interest me.