Exclusive: new 2020 Maserati MC20 supercar scooped
Published: Yesterday 07:00
► New 2020 Maserati MC20
► Shock V6 mid-engined supercar
► Our scoop dossier spills the beans
This new Maserati MC20 is a surprise addition to the Trident’s sports car range and CAR magazine has obtained exclusive details of the new supercar ahead of its debut in May. It's a mouth-watering prospect.
You’re looking at our artist’s impressions by Andrei Avarvarii of the new sports car, which will go on sale before the end of 2020 priced the right side of £200,000. And if this looks like a bolt from the blue, you’re right: until recently, it wasn’t in the plan.
The MC20 is designed to challenge junior supercars from Ferrari, Aston Martin and McLaren and will be powered by a mid-mounted V6 initially, with hybrid and full electric versions to follow. The name was announced on 20 February, after CAR revealed the car we called Supersportiva in our earlier scoop.
You can read the full scoop on the Maserati MC20 in the March 2020 issue of CAR magazine, available in print and digital editions.
Click here for a free preview.
A new Maserati product plan… we’ve been here before, haven’t we?
It’s a fair point. Maserati has had more relaunch programmes than Nasa, and it’s now in the throes of being taken over by PSA as parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is merging with the French car-making giant. It means we can expect another bold product plan, and the MC20 is a very recent addition to the cycle.
Based on a carbonfibre tub similar to that of the recently discontinued
Alfa Romeo 4C sports car, it’s likely to be built on the same line as that Alfa. But this is a new platform: longer, wider and with an extended wheelbase for more interior space, room for a bigger engine and more forgiving handling.
The new package can accommodate a more senior V6 engine mounted longitudinally amidships, and the suspension will be by double wishbones front and rear.
New Maserati MC20: a new V6 good for 600bhp+
Our sources confirm a V6 powerplant for this new Maser range-topper, but it’s not yet clear which engine from the group could be deployed. The
Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio’s 2.9-litre V6 is one option, but not favoured we hear - and nor is the possibility of using the new-generation Ferrari V6 bound for future small supercars, including a reborn Dino.
Instead, we hear rumours that the MC20 will share the V6 being developed for a pair of new Alfas: the new-generation
GTV and
8C sports cars.
‘Displacement costs only pennies, but pays back big bucks in power and torque,’ said an FCA engineer when asked if there’s truth in the rumour Maserati is aiming for a capacity of 3.6 litres instead of the ubiquitous 3.0.
Back in November 2019,
Maserati issued a short statement and the picture above. 'The first mule for the development of the new Maserati powertrain was driven out of the Viale Ciro Menotti gates, in Modena today. The experimental vehicles are equipped with a new powertrain entirely developed and built in Maserati and will be the forefather of a new family of engines integrated exclusively on the vehicles of the brand.
'The data acquired through the kilometres covered by the mules will be integrated with the experience gathered in the Maserati Innovation Lab driving simulators, the most advanced in the world. This working methodology will then be used to fine-tune and develop the prototypes with final bodywork and mechanics'
Hybrid and electric models to follow
The new Maserati MC20 will launch with this sequentially-turbocharged V6 power only; throbbing V8s are out of favour in these carbon-crunched times, and the only transmission choice will be an eight-speed twin-clutch automatic from Getrag, driving the rear wheels.
Even Modena cannot ignore the electrification revolution reshaping the industry and CAR magazine can confirm that Maser is working on hybridised versions of the MC20 too. Such a Trofeo model would add e-modules to the front axle to provide all-wheel drive, electric torque vectoring and upwards of 700bhp in range-topping spec.
The latest announcement confirms that the MC20 will see Maser return to the racetrack, following in the tyre tracks of the MC12 which campaigned from 2004-2010.
It’s all part of a new model programme, which faces difficult choices as Maserati registrations worldwide struggled to 24,000 in 2019. Sales have grown in the past decade, but not as much as original plans promised and the new masters in Modena are reassessing their range of sports cars, SUVs and saloons. They still understand the power of a brand-building supercar - and that’s what has given the MC20 the green light.
https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/spy-shots/maserati/supersportiva/