Maserati MC20 Fuoriserie | Test Drive

26 February 2024 Redazione News, Stories, Tested

Let me introduce you a supercar with a ton of power, without even the distant whiff of electric, hybrid or compromise. The MC20 was created to make enthusiasts fall in love again, in the very moment in which the automotive world seems to have definitively veered in the direction of a sad point of no return that knows no petrol-flavored passion.

MASERATI MC20 FUORISERIE

Words Alessandro Marrone / Photos Alessio Becker

/fuo·ri·sè·rie/ as the vocabulary means, a car enriched with a bodywork different from the common model. A sterile definition that gives no idea at all of what a “fuoriserie” really is. If we turn back the clock a few decades, those models defined as fuoriserie were purely out of the ordinary dream cars – mostly sports cars – the kind that turned heads both for those who were lucky enough to see one on the road and for those who were at the wheel, even if for very different reasons. There are far too many fuoriseries today, but we tend to identify them in an ultra-exclusive niche, models produced in limited series or even as one-offs, sold for millions of Euros and in the most probable case destined to collect dust in some museum or to some snobbish elegance concours. For Maserati the word “fuoriserie” has a completely different meaning.

It’s been 50 years since the Modena trident came out with a mid-rear-engined sports car. Those were the times of the formidable Bora, a partially misunderstood beauty which on balance has nothing else to do with the new MC20, the supercar which had to wait a few months longer than expected for its introduction to the world, but which at its arrival on the scene played the role of the ideal engine to tow Maserati towards a new destination. Maserati Corse 2020 therefore, this is the business card for a car with the look and performance of a supercar and the drivability and comfort of a grand tourer. A nice cocktail that I thought I’d mix on one of the most tortuous and adrenaline-filled roads in Europe: the Col de la Bonette.

The French pass has now become my end-of-season pilgrimage, a ritual that began a few years ago and which I await with trepidation month after month, for being able to enjoy the colors tending towards orange and an almost deserted road due to a weather instability which promptly caused a landslide on the southern side, the one I don’t take into consideration as it is narrower and therefore slower. After all, it is still a supercar with a ton of power, without even the distant smell of electric, hybrid or compromise. The MC20 was created to make enthusiasts fall in love again, in the very moment in which the automotive world seemed to have definitively veered in the direction of a sad point of no return that knows no petrol-flavored passion.

Thus the new engine called Nettuno is introduced, a 3-litre twin-turbo V6 which differs from any unit you might consider similar thanks to the pre-combustion chamber, in other words an extra spark plug which by anticipating combustion creates an extra boost of power, obviously provided that the conditions exist and it is therefore requested by the driver. This particular solution thus allows a relatively small engine in terms of cubic capacity to deliver both exorbitant power and torque. Furthermore, given its particular architecture and lightness, it was possible to place it very low and perfectly ahead of the rear axle, so as to enjoy a surprising weight balance which is reflected in its frightening handling. The MC20 is full of solutions and even where it faces the need to use a by-wire braking system, it makes the feeling of the brake pedal very racing, but at the same time also easy to interpret for a less experienced driver.

In GT mode, the more practical side of a supercar that has no intention of asking for permission comes out as it enters the high performance club. There are doors that open upwards, almost stripping the chassis which houses the two occupants in an exceptional interior with Sabelt seats in leather and Alcantara which are perfectly supportive, but also equally comfortable over long distances. It matters little if the luggage compartment behind the engine is small and overheats, even less if the front one is more like a document holder, because the MC20 is a book of emotions and the cover is a sinuous line like the profile of a beautiful work of art. Bloody faster than your best painting. It is an image as simple as it is enchanting and which represents the only valid reason why you will sometimes be allowed to stop, get out and observe how beautiful it is.

The aerodynamic appendages are intelligently integrated and embellished by the extensive use of carbon fiber on the Fuoriserie model being tested, which also sports a matte military green livery with an orange stripe that runs along the entire bodywork. This would undoubtedly be a risky choice, but also the ideal way to pay the right homage to a more special object than usual. The 20 inches wheels seem even larger than they actually are, perhaps because they have an extremely reduced shoulder, or perhaps because they reach flush with the wheel arches, enveloping a tireless carbon-ceramic system with 380mm self-ventilated discs at the rear and 350mm up front. It’s no secret now, the MC20 is a masterpiece, a bolt from the blue ready to unleash the storm of the century on the Col de la Bonette.

Ignoring Wet mode, I increase the level of driving involvement by first setting to Sport and then to Corsa, immediately reminding myself that the tires are practically at the end of their life. For some it could be a problem, but I see it as an opportunity to make the rear widen more easily, without feeling guilty about having to stop at the tire shop the next day. La Bonette is always the same, but it is still able to excite me as if I were here for the first time. The sun in the sky hits the asphalt under no perfect conditions, not hiding some spots with dirt, a situation in which the Maserati tends to slide more than it should, despite the sensitivity of the pedals and steering wheel being as precise as a surgical scalpel.

The power available is devastating: 630 horsepower at 7,500 rpm, with a continuous torque curve that reaches 730 Nm at just 3,000 rpm. The twin turbo reacts as soon as you call it into action and squeezes you to the seat almost as if you want to merge with the Sabelts. I remain gripped at the wheel, throwing the next gear in order to limit excessive slipping and allow the gigantic rear wheels to bite the asphalt to the point of launching me towards the following curves. The moment you enter a hairpin bend, without ever taking your hands off the ideal position, you realize that this Super-GT can do both of the things it was designed for. The fact of doing it incredibly fast is a reward that those who dare a bit more will appreciate exponentially, especially when the V6 howls at the mountains with the tires waving white flag and making the rear slide from one side to the other.

At the same time, avoiding driving it as if you were fleeing from an armed robbery and setting the curves as a real driver would do, allows you to realize how much the reduced weight of just one and a half tons and a rigid chassis – but never excessively – allow to grind out kilometers at high speeds while keeping the body flat and straight. As the kilometers go by and the altitude increases, the road becomes dustier and the cliff on the side invites you to maintain the necessary distance from the edge of the road. This is why I would never have believed it possible to continue to incessantly step on the throttle, setting lines and apex points of our favorite playground, closed to traffic thanks to the providential landslide of the previous days.

Paddling behind the wheel is pure enjoyment. Touching them with a quick and decisive wave of the fingers is like a drug, a pinch that rises and falls through the 8 speeds of the double clutch which, instead of waking you up and bringing you back to reality, continues to make you live a daydream called Maserati. Which I then imprinted clearly in my mind that time I drove on this very road, precisely this time of year, with a GranTurismo Sport. That time too was fantastic and it is perhaps precisely thanks to that magical alignment of emotions that I decided that every end of the season I would do all I could to finish the high altitude expeditions on the Col de la Bonette. Years later and with a clearly different concept of sports cars, I find myself with the same emblem in the middle of the steering wheel and with the same strong feelings of satisfaction. The MC20, although it has also proven to be excellent when it comes to crossing countries and regions in total relax, actually can’t wait to tear up the asphalt, offering the driver absolute performance. We’re talking about just 2.9 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 kph, 7.5 seconds to reach 180 per hour and a top speed of 326 kph. Numbers that are impressive, but never as much as the sudden emptiness in your stomach triggered by a maximum torque that seems to kick and throw you down the ravine that accompanies the climb towards the famous monolith located at over 2,800 meters above sea level.

We needed a car like the MC20, especially because it is a Maserati, the first entirely made in Modena after years, many years. We needed a hero like a team needs its champion. Something out of the ordinary was needed to rekindle that fire that seemed to be fading in the uniformity and anonymity of the current automotive landscape. The MC20 is one of those cars that gets you out of bed before dawn, the best excuse to clock up hundreds of kilometers and put your tires on the sacred asphalt of some mountain road. Welcome back to the club, Maserati.