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By Jonathan Crouch

Maserati returns to the supercar sector with the MC20. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 43

The MC20 is everything you might want a Maserati sports car to be - fast, grand and gorgeous. Everything's been developed from scratch, including the engine, and there's a choice of coupe or convertible body styles. Both with plenty of 'want one' factor.

Backgroundword count: 187

A Maserati supercar. It's been a while since we had one of those. In fact, it's been a while since we had a new Maserati sports car of any kind, but this model, the MC20, puts that right, the first mid-engined Maserati in a generation. Let's start with the name. The 'M' stands for 'Maserati', the 'C' for 'Corsa' [Italian for 'racing']; '20' designates the year of model unveiling - which you might not have guessed because this car's most direct predecessor, the low volume MC12, was unveiled back in 2004. Yes, it's been that long since Maserati has had a contender in the Ferrari segment. Perhaps that partly has something to do with the brand's previously close ties with Ferrari, which often left it reticent to step on Maranello's toes. But with the switch of Maserati ownership to the sprawling Stellantis Group in 2021, those ties have been severed: Maserati's no longer deferential to Ferrari; it wants to beat Enzo's brand on its own terms, a quest that starts right here with this car, offered in both this coupe form and as a glass-topped Spyder model.

Driving Experienceword count: 356

As you set off, there's a satisfying exhaust crackle from the twin turbocharged V6 behind your head. Maserati engines are no longer sourced from previous partner Ferrari. This one, a 3.0-litre powerplant known as 'Nettuno' (Italian for 'Neptune') was entirely developed in-house and puts out 630hp to the rear wheels via an 8-speed auto gearbox borrowed from the current Chevrolet Corvette. You select gears via huge shift paddles off the steering wheel and a rotary controller offers four drive modes - 'Wet', 'GT', 'Sport' and 'Corsa' [which is the race mode]. Two levels of damper stiffness feature in each of the drive setting. Helped by launch control, the MC20 is brutally quick off the line, dispatching 62mph in just 2.9 seconds. 124mph passes in just 9 seconds on the way to a top speed of 203mph. Whether you'll like the dramatic orchestral accompaniment as you go quite as much might depend on how much of a Maserati loyalist you are. The elegant roar of the brand's past normally aspirated powertrains is replaced here by an altogether different melody of turbocharged whooshes and guttural barks. Which is all very supercar-like, but Maserati says that its also developed this car for everyday driving and the supple quality of ride really reflects that; you can enjoy this car as much on a long distance GT trip as on your favourite winding back road. Even more pleasingly, this car stops as it goes thanks to standard carbon ceramic discs - 330mm at the front and 350mm at the rear - which work with calipers that have 6-pistons at the front and 4 at the rear. Through the turns, the MC20 loves to change direction - like a shark turning towards a meal, but without the track refugee nervousness that you might get in a rival McLaren or Lamborghini of this kind. It's just everyday more usable. Despite quite a prodigious kerb weight of well over one and a half tonnes, the Italian maker's really nailed this, with traction through the turns aided by a mechanical limited slip differential you can, on request, swap out for an even faster-reacting electric system.

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