You won’t find this feature listed in any owner’s manual. It’s not highlighted in any of the glossy brochures either.
But the steering wheel “start” button, standard on Maserati’s new MC20 supercar, comes neatly hard-wired directly to every single one of those teeny hairs on the back of your neck.
Just press the big blue button, hear the MC20’s 621-hp twin-turbo V6 explode into life with all the ferocity of Krakatoa, and you’ll instantly feel those follicles standing to attention, like those fuzzy-hatted guards outside Buckingham Palace.
Maserati calls its new V6 technical masterpiece “Nettuno”, which translates to Neptune in Italian. The mythical sea god used to wield a three-pronged trident, which happens to be Maserati’s iconic logo.
Yet, this remarkable new powerplant is simply the icing on the triple-layer chocolate cake that’s the sensational MC20.
Unveiled in 2020, this exotic, mid-engined super coupe is the poster-child for Maserati’s return to relevance after recent years of, well, largely irrelevance.
Together with the new Grecale compact SUV, a new GranTurismo two-door coupe, and a clear focus on electrification with its upcoming Folgore EV models, the MC20 showcases a much brighter future for the Trident brand, now part of the burgeoning Stellantis group.
Just look at the thing. To my eyes it’s one of the most stunning exotics money can buy, up there with pricier rivals like Lamborghini’s Huracán, Ferrari’s 296 GTB, and McLaren’s Artura.
The beauty here is a swimsuit catalog of toned curves and taut muscle, without the typical supercar plethora of fighter-jet wings and aero add-ons.
And its exotic style goes deeper than looks. The car is built around a state-of-the-art, single-piece, super-stiff carbon fiber chassis. Flying down the road, the whole car tips the scales at a fighting-fit, no-fat 3,700 pounds.
That helps account for the car’s rock-out-of-a-catapult performance. Dial-up the most-aggressive Corsa drive-mode setting, engage launch control, hit it, and the Mazzer will slingshot from standstill to 60mph in a mere 2.9 seconds. And won’t quit until the speedo is showing 202 mph.
The way this new V6 screams to its 7,500 rpm red-line is like having The Three Tenors sitting in the left seat, hitting the high notes in Nessun Dorma.
Climb aboard through that high-lifting butterfly door, settle into the well-bolstered bucket seat and lay yours hands on the lovely carbon-fiber-and-Alcantara wheel. Ahhhh. If there’s a criticism here, it’s the lack of a sense of occasion. The whole cabin is minimalist and functional. Bleak, almost. All that gray mouse fur upholstery could have come out of an ’80s Buick.
But the twin 10.3-inch digital displays do away with traditional buttons and knobs and are welcomingly intuitive to use. Here there’s little to distract you from the main business of hard driving.
And drive it does. The steering is laser-precise, with perfect weighting and telegraphic feedback. It just adds to the sensational feeling of lightness and agility the car has.
Turn into a tight corner, and the combination of that awesome steering, huge chunks of rubber at each corner, and adaptive suspension make the MC hammer around as if it’s running on invisible rails.
The beauty here is just how easy it is to drive fast. Very fast. The car almost shrinks around you, making it feel way less intimidating than some supercars.
Driving this Italian thoroughbred is like drinking a triple espresso after a lifetime of decaf.
It’s hard to think of $217,000 as being great value, but with the MC20 it is. Yes, must-have options, like the $4,000 front suspension lift, $5,500 20-inch forged alloys and $10,000 carbon-ceramic Brembo brakes, will push the price closer to a quarter of a mill. But it’s still worth every penny.
The biggest challenge would be choosing the MC20 Coupe over the gorgeous, folding-hardtop Cielo roadster version, base price around $250,000.
Trust me, either one is going to have those neck hairs standing to attention.
