Why we’re running it: Is this underrated and usable supercar really Italy’s answer to McLaren?

Month 1 - Specs

Life with a Maserati MC20: Month 1

Welcoming the MC20 to the fleet 

On p15 of the Maserati MC20 owner's manual begins the section titled 'Understanding the Vehicle. Here you can swot up on the intricacies of what is the Trident's first supercar in nearly 20 years - and therefore something of an unknown quantity.

You will learn where to find the button that protectively raises that gorgeous 250F-inspired snout, how to use the car's only cupholder in complete safety and that the 'slight clicking' noise that can be heard at 7mph or so is just the ABS performing a self-check and not the early rumblings of an eye-watering warranty claim.

As ever with cars whose raison d'être hinges on nothing remotely sensible, it's quite an engaging read. However, there's also a nice little double entendre at play here, and it's the reason why an MC20 is joining the Autocar fleet in the first place.

"Understanding' the MC20 on a purely conceptual basis - how well it fits into the supercar landscape in 2024 - is a considerably more interesting and complicated matter than anything you will read in the manual.

Let me ask you this: it has been five years since grotesque MC20 mules based on Alfa Romeo's ill-fated 4C started appearing on the roads around Modena and three years since the stunning finished product went on sale, but how many of these beauties have you seen in the wild?

Despite living in London, I've encountered just one MC20, and that was a press car, bombing up the A1 with a journalist from a rival magazine at the wheel. The DVLA says 277 Ferrari 296 GTBs were registered last year. MC20s? Not even 5% of that.

Clearly people in a position to buy the MC20 don't understand it, which I imagine inhibits their ability to lust after it. It possibly comes down to the fact that Maserati hasn't tried to play the numbers game.

This characteristic endears me to the MC20 straight away, because it's an unhelpfully reductive pursuit at the best of times and side-stepping is often a mark of confidence in your product. However, it's still a game that matters to many people with £220,000 to blow on a mid-engined Ergonomics are good, despite the charmingly old-world cabin aura toy.

The facts are that this Maserati is 189bhp down on its Ferrari rival and doesn't sound as sweet. Neither does it have hybrid integration, as the fabulous 296 GT B does, for instantaneous throttle response and high-tech appeal.

What the MC20 does have is a CFRP monocoque, but even then it contrives to weigh more than the similarly tubbed McLaren 750S, despite the Brit carrying two extra cylinders and having a larger footprint.

Then there's the new Lamborghini Temerario, which deftly covers several bases: big V8, hybrid, 10,000rpm redline, all the horsepower. Has the supercar class ever been so brutally competitive?

Perhaps, but I can't think when. So the MC20 has no on-paper USP yet demands similar money to the others. After options, our Giallo Genio example costs - deep breath - £310,735.

Admittedly a chunk of that is down to things you really can do without, like exterior carbonfibre trim and a carbonfibre engine cover I can't help but love the look of the latter), but even specced carefully you're contemplating £260k.

But let's put the numbers to one side. After all, stripping down cars to a set of statistics often means missing out on the magic, and there's already evidence to suggest the MC20 possesses no small degree of soul or indivduality.

It has such a pleasing old-world aura about it that it's almost a surprise to open up the butterfly doors and find two digital displays and CarPlay compatibility.

It's also a surprise to find that the ergonomics are good: the MC20 strikes a fine blend of fighter-jet compactness and low-scuttled forward visibility that makes you feel connected to the road as it disappears beneath you.

We will see how unforgiving it can be on a long run, but if there is an attritional effect, it won't be down to the seats, which are a bit under-bolstered for such a rapid car but relaxing by class standards, at least for my backside.

And PHEV or not, the MC20 really is outrageously rapid. Its claimed 0-100mph time of 6.5sec seems conservative, if only because the ever-present boom-fizz-hum of the beefy Nettuno V6, along with its boosty delivery, means your perception is often one of 821bhp nestled behind you rather than the actual 621bhp.

In combination with the arcing header rail of the slab-sided carbonfibre tub, this car gives off the spirit of a 1980s endurance racer. So heady is the effect that you would swear Maserati were today much more involved in motorsport than it is - although the upcoming MC20 GT2 should rectify that.

Meanwhile, there's a disarming softness in the suspension that makes this an unexpectedly polite everyday supercar. Surely nothing this fast would dare to possess such leisurely springing, but the MC20 clearly does things differently from other supercars.

The set-up takes some acclimatisation, but it's one I'm already enjoying. Frankly it's hard not to draw comparisons with Alpine's A110: both have the same fluid ease and expressive manner.

I will also, if it isn't obvious, admit to having a weakness for the way this car looks. Ferrari's move away from the insectoid aggression of the 488 GTB to the more organic, timeless elegance of the 296 GTB is to be applauded, but the MC20 exists in another league of grace and has an understated but threatening attractiveness that no contemporary supercar can match.

Again, it's very throwback. The haunches are so well proportioned it almost hurts, and there's a simplicity that means the absurdly dished side skirts don't look fussy. Road grime should only enhance its magnificence.

Second Opinion

Richard is right: this isn’t a car you buy for the numbers – especially those on the depreciation curve. It’s one you buy for the way it makes you feel. People take photos, kids gawp, drivers let you out of junctions. Yes, really: they understand that an MC20 isn’t driven by the type of rich wrong ’un you’d normally try to avoid

Murray Scullion

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Maserati MC20 specification

Specs: Price New £222,025 Price as tested £310,735 Options Exterior carbon pack £36,240, Giallo Genio special paint £9650, lightweight monocoque racing seats £5900, carbonfibre engine cover £4855, Birdcage 20in alloys £3840, 695W Sonus Faber sound system £3750, sports suspension with nose lifter £3250, Alcantara interior trim £3000, electronically controlled LSD £2150, blue brake calipers £1100, logo-embossed headrests £850, electrochromic door mirrors £650, heated front seats £550

Test Data: Engine V6, 3000cc, twin turbocharged, petrol Power 621bhp at 7500rpm Torque 538lb ft at 3000-5500rpm Kerb weight 1,478kg Top speed 2.9sec 0-62mph 199mph Fuel economy 24.1mpg CO2 262g/km Faults None Expenses None

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