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The 2021 Maserati MC20's styling is rather subdued, and we like it.
Maserati
There's a fine line between a brand with strong heritage and one that's maybe getting just a little bit stuffy. Lately,Maseratihas been slipping dangerously close to that latter category, but today, with this car, that could all change. Making its debut Wednesday, the 2021 Maserati MC20 is the Italian automaker's first new supercar in 16 years, an all-important shot of modernity for a company in desperate need of something fresh and new.
Maserati MC20 Concept is vaguely futuristic
The MC20 is a very different thing from2004's Ferrari Enzo-based MC12. Much more demure, for one. Designed and engineered in-house, it has an understated, modern supercar look that we're quite fond of. The MC20 is arguably a bit plain, especially compared with the MC12, but there's also something vaguely futuristic about it, with really only that gaping nose giving a link to other Maseratis on the road -- well, that and the cheeky trident cut into the rear decklid (which isn't our favorite styling cue, if we're being honest). The MC20 is also very different than the recently departedGranTurismo Coupe,which was larger and more of a grand tourer.
The MC20 is a marriage of artistic design and aerodynamic sensibilities, and Maserati thoughtfully color-coded those different elements. The parts of the car that are white? That's where the designers made the final call. The darker parts along the bottom? All driven by efficiency and performance. That white, by the way, is called Bianco Audace, or "white boldness," which Maserati says was designed to "evoke the gleam of quarried marble, struck by the light of a Mediterranean sunset."
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The body of the car is simple and clean, with neither a giant wing hanging off the back nor a splitter protruding from the front. Vents and intakes are kept to a minimum, with the most aggressive visual component, the rear diffuser, cloaked in raw carbon fiber.
All that wraps a custom carbon monocoque tub developed with race-car chassis expertDallara. Interestingly, the chassis was designed to support three versions. The first is the coupe you see here, while a retractable hardtop Spider flavor is coming next. The third version will be electric, making room for batteries in the same basic layout, with only the layout of the carbon filaments changing. No ETA on that, though.