One of the best perks of this job is seeing manufacturers’ newest and most exciting models before the public. So I was understandably excited when I received an email from Maserati back in June with the header ‘Private Preview – New Model Reveal.’
‘What’s coming embodies the true spirit of our sports cars,’ the email promised. ‘Performance, intelligence and evolution in its purest form.’ By this point my anticipation for this mysterious machine was sky high, but those final few words, ‘evolution in its purest form’ proved to be closest to the mark.
When the Maserati MCPura was unveiled over the summer, it looked more than a little like the now five-year-old MC20. The familiarity continues underneath: the 3.0-litre twin-turbo Nettuno V6 with its F1-inspired pre-chamber ignition is unchanged, as is the Dallara-developed carbonfibre tub. Outputs stay at 621bhp and 538lb ft, with 0-62mph in 2.9sec and a 202mph top speed.
Accordingly, the technical briefing at the international launch in Tuscany this October was brisk. Upgrades amount to aerodynamic refinements from the shark-like nose, reworked floor, side skirts and diffuser. This is said to yield five percent more downforce, while also improving the cooling of heat-sensitive components. New alloys and fresh hues – including the striking Al Aqua Rainbow launch colour complete the exterior.
The subtle, incremental changes continue when you open the dramatic butterfly doors. The interior is now fully trimmed in Alcantara, which Maserati says helps to reduce the car’s weight, although no specific figure is given. The flat-topped steering wheel mirrors the motor sport-inspired GT2 Stradale and is available with optional LED shift lights. Behind it are large, column mounted shift paddles, while the centre of the dash is characterised by a 10.25-inch infotainment screen that adds the GT2 Stradale’s ‘performance pages’ functionality.
Having already experienced the MC20 in the UK in drop-top Cielo form, I wasn’t exactly crestfallen at the chance to drive its – let’s be honest – facelifted sequel. The test route worked its way along the Italian coastline, from the Miami-esque boulevard of Forte dei Marmi to the postcard cove of Sestri Levante and back again, we threaded mountain switchbacks, rolled through quiet villages and flew along open autostrada – punctuated by tunnels that begged for gratuitous downshifts and staccato bursts of acceleration.
The MCPura’s personality is largely determined by the drive mode selected via the knurled rotary dial that crowns the transmission tunnel. The most demure setting is ‘Wet,’ which relaxes the throttle response and softens the adaptive dampers for driving in slippery conditions. I spent the majority of my time in the driver’s seat in ‘GT’ mode, from which you can select either ‘Soft’ or ‘Mid’ settings for the damper stiffness.
With the dampers in their softer settings, the MCPura boasts the best ride quality I’ve experienced in a supercar aside from the McLaren 720S, which uses computers to continuously adjust its hydraulic cross-linked dampers. The Maserati boasts a simpler five-link suspension system that achieves similar results by allowing longer-travelling springs than a typical double-wishbone arrangement. On the less than ideal surface of some rural Italian roads, it’s excellent. Another benefit of the GT setting is that it allows the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission to swap ratios with both smoothness and rapidity.
The Sport setting turns things up a notch, sharpening the steering and throttle response, increasing the ferocity of the gearchanges and opening the exhaust baffles to increase the aural drama. The most unhinged setting, ‘Corsa,’ is best left to the circuit. This puts the dampers in their firmest setting and the controls in their sharpest guise. It also makes the gearshifts so gratuitously aggressive that it can upset the rear axle under hard acceleration.
The frustration is that each mode has a catch. GT is a touch quiet and civilised; Sport’s shift aggression compromises it slightly; ride quality is busy in Corsa, the throttle too spiky, and the shifts far too violent. I had exactly the same issue in the MC20, and the solution is obvious: let the driver mix and match in an Individual mode. That Maserati hasn’t – in a car it insists is a ‘new model’ – is baffling. Frustrating as it is, that oversight is the MCPura’s biggest drawback – aside from the undersized fuel tank and a rear boot that gets hot over longer journeys.
While these foibles are carried over from the MC20, the drive through Italy revealed that its best attributes have been passed on, too. Flex your right foot and the 621bhp V6 delivers speed that seems to feel more manic than even the numbers suggest. You soon find yourself childishly changing gears and blipping the throttle in order to hear the cacophony of wastegate flutters and whooshes.
The electronically assisted power steering is excellently judged and is fast, accurate and communicative. Strangely, the carbon ceramic brakes felt more natural and progressive than the soft pedal feel I remembered in the MC20, too; the engineers hinted at a software tweak, although it isn’t explicitly mentioned in the press notes. It almost feels like a spicier and more exotic version of an Alpine A110 – and that’s meant as a compliment.
So, while it’s obvious the MCPura isn’t a new model, Maserati was right to call it ‘evolution in its purest form’. The fundamentals that made the MC20 such a compelling drive remain intact – the ballistic Nettuno V6, supple ride, sharp front end and genuine grand-touring manners. Klaus Busse’s shape still turns heads, and the cabin and aero get useful, if modest, tweaks.
It remains a captivating, slightly left-field choice with a few clear compromises, aimed at anyone who wants something different to a Ferrari or a McLaren. I like it all the more for that – and I hope enough people with the means to buy one do too.
