• Presentation.Maserati MC20: the trident of the new era

  • Gallery See here images of the definitive Maserati MC20

After being several times on the verge of disappearance, it seems that Maserati finally has a credible plan of salvation.

It is called MMXX and it will be key until 2025, with a common thread that is not surprising at this point: the seven models that will be launched until then will always have a 100 electric version.

These are the MC20 sports car (there will also be it as a convertible), the Grecale midsize SUV (with the Alfa Romeo Stelvio platform), the new GranTurismo and GranCabrio and the revamped Quattroporte (a sedan) and Levante (the large SUV).

(also as electric).

The plan

will involve investing 2,500 million euros to reach 75,000 registrations in the middle of the decade

, for the 26,500 cars of 2019. In addition, he has not stopped losing money (200 million in 2019), although Mike Manley, who until this Saturday outside the CEO of FCA (now joined to PSA in Stellantis), he assured weeks ago that

"2020 will go down in history as the last time Maserati recorded losses", which is also important because it is the only luxury brand of Stellantis.

Winning on the streets and on the track

The introduction is important to make clear the importance of the

MC20, a name that pays tribute to the brand's racing division

(Maserati Corse), which will return to racing with the MC20 and the year of the turning of the page (2020).

Here you can see a gallery with more images of the car.

The car has a new platform and launches a

three-liter V6 engine, the first manufactured by Maserati in more than 20 years, no

longer having to "order" engines from Ferrari and with which the Nettuno family opens, which will later arrive other Maserati.

It has 630 hp (and 730 Nm), which means that it is

the six-cylinder series production with the highest specific power in the world (210 hp / liter).

In addition to having, if that matters a lot to its potential customer,

an average homologated consumption (WLTP) lower than that of the most direct rivals

(11.6 l / 100 km vs 13.8 liters of the Lamborghini Huracan of 610 CV, 11.9 of the 620 hp McLaren GT or 12.0 of the 650 hp Porsche 911 Turbo S).

These figures indicate that the MC20 is a lightweight car

and, in fact, weighs only 1470 kg, less than the Ferrari Roma (1645 kg), McLaren GT (1605 kg) and Porsche 911 Turbo S (1750 kg), the first two with eight cylinders, the last six.

Performance is also winning: 0 to 100 km / h is covered in 2.9 seconds, at 200 it reaches 8.8 seconds

and so on until reaching a peak of 325 km /

h

(all values ​​subject to homologation) .

Much of the secret to the low weight lies in the

carbon fiber and composite monocoque, made with Dallara,

a company with decades of experience in competitive single-seater chassis.

The suspension uses overlapping triangles front and rear, the steering has a system that Italian engineers call "semi-virtual" and

the dampers are variable, a fundamental condition for the MC20 to fulfill the dual mission of providing the comfort inherent in a Gran Turismo. and the efficiency of a race car on the track.

Body that unites form and function

Deprived of large aerodynamic elements, the car's lines unite form and function, as Giovanni Ribotta, director of exterior design, explains:

"The aim was to integrate everything that had to do with aerodynamics in the body design, as if it had been born organically,

that's why there are no moving parts, with most of the aerodynamic-related elements on the underside of the car. "

In the best Maserati stylistic tradition,

the front end is very eye-catching,

then the dominant cockpit stands out between the wheel arches, with an emphasis on the engine in the rear central position, just behind the cockpit, just like the McLaren.

Being a very low car,

the vertically opening doors facilitate entry and exit

and, once installed, I can appreciate the generous space both in width and height (two occupants of up to 1.90 meters and wide shoulders will not feel any major limitation in their movements).

This cabin, whose final quality is not yet possible to judge in a pre-production prototype,

has a minimalist overall presentation, so that driving is as close to "driving" as possible, in the right context.

The combination of visible carbon fiber with alcantara and leather (with colored stitching) on ​​the front of the dashboard creates a distinctive and personalized atmosphere, while the thick-rim steering wheel combines the good grip of that type of gourmet suede with the technical aspect of the carbon fiber in some buttons such as the

Start, Launch (for a full start without a trace of skidding), the cruise control and audio system controls.

There are two digital displays, 10.25 ", one for instrumentation (configurable and with various menus for the track) and another central,

central and slightly oriented towards the driver, for infotainment functions. The interior rear-view mirror projects the images taken by a rear camera and the shift paddles, in the carbon fiber prototype, in the series model are made of aluminum.

On trial at the Modena circuit

One of the most important interfaces is the rotary control located in the central tunnel, which serves to choose between the

different driving modes (Wet, GT, Sport and Corsa and ESC Off

- the latter to deactivate the stability control).

As is normal in sports cars of this caliber, there is no stop / start button,

but there is one to lift the "nose" of the car

(5 cm up to a speed of 40 km / h) so as not to touch the front on the ground, especially when entering and leaving garages.

The seats have integrated headrests and reinforced lateral support, and there are

two small luggage racks, a 100-liter in the rear and a 50-liter in the front

(taking advantage of the absence of an engine under the hood).

Before the first dynamic tests on public roads and with the car already completed,

Maserati invited a dozen journalists for a first contact with the MC20, at the Modena circuit, in the form of a final development prototype and, therefore So much still with some "war paintings".

After adjusting our position, a tap on the start button (on the front of the steering wheel for the first time in a Maserati) and the 3-liter V6 (

with a dry sump lubrication system

to ensure good oil irrigation in the motor even in the presence of strong centrifugal forces) warns the senses with a promising thunder.

The double clutch transmission (manufactured by the American Tremec) goes to the highest gear with an acceptable smoothness in the first kilometers, but when I switch to the Sport and Corsa program (the latter is the most aggressive)

some gear changes are more aggressive : According to the chief engineer sitting next to me, "this is one of the issues that is being resolved in the final set-up."

So I decided to use the big cams more often a sequential manual use.

In any case, it is clear that the response of the V6 Nettuno is impressive from the lowest

revs, also reflecting the very favorable power-to-weight ratio of just 2.33 kg / hp.

The drive-by-wire throttle has its share of merit in this almost instantaneous response.

Rigid and glued to the asphalt

It is true that a racing circuit provides a very different "tread", but we are left with the idea that,

in GT mode, the MC20 will be able to be sufficiently tame by the bones of its occupants.

In addition, the brand insisted on giving the car that ambivalence, so not only are the driving modes well spaced, but there is an additional resource:

"each driving mode has two damping settings, one more comfortable and one more sporty, "

explains Landini.

In the winding area of ​​the track you can see that the same mid-rear engine setup (which works wonders for the McLaren V6s) takes a lot of credit for the MC20's balance (which achieves an even mass distribution between the two axles. ).

It also gains in stiffness due to its carbon fiber "spine", as can be seen by the integrity of the bodywork even under strong transverse acceleration efforts.

Only when entry speeds in tighter turns or in quick left-right combinations lack common sense does the MC20 remind us of its rear-wheel drive nature

, but otherwise everything runs on rails, also a result of the good performance of

the limited-slip

differential ( mechanical) rear.

The electric steering shows great precision and speed of response, without interference or devices that reduce sensitivity.

The carbo-ceramic brakes feel quite powerful, but should improve their feel in this final part of the car's development.

And at 240 km / h, even without appendages or large spoilers, you can see that the MC20 is more glued to the track, as a consequence of the 100 kg of downforce on the body.

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