MASERATI MC20

Lesser-spotted Italian supercar joins the fleet. Can it justify its hefty price tag?

- RICHARD LANE

WHY WE'RE RUNNING IT Is this underrated and usable supercar really Italy's answer to McLaren?

On p15 of the Maserati MC20 owner's manual begins the section titled 'Understanding the Vehicle'. Here you can swot up on the intricacies of what is the Trident's first supercar in nearly 20 years and therefore something of an unknown quantity. You will learn where to find the button that protectively raises that gorgeous 250F-inspired snout, how to use the car's only cupholder in complete safety and that the 'slight clicking' noise that can be heard at 7mph or so is just the ABS performing a selfcheck and not the early rumblings of an eye-watering warranty claim. As ever with cars whose raison d'être hinges on nothing remotely sensible, it's quite an engaging read.

However, there's also a nice little double entendre at play here, and it's the reason why an MC20 is joining the Autocar fleet in the first place.

'Understanding' the MC20 on a purely conceptual basis - how well it fits into the supercar landscape in 2024 - is a considerably more interesting and complicated matter than anything you will read in the manual. Let me ask you this: it has been five years since grotesque MC20 mules based on Alfa Romeo's ill-fated 4C started appearing on the roads around Modena and three years since the stunning finished product went on sale, but how many of these beauties have you seen in the wild? Despite living in London, I've encountered just one MC20, and that was a press car, bombing up the AI with a journalist from a rival magazine at the wheel. The DVLA says 277 Ferrari 296 GTBS were registered last year. MC20s? Not even 5% of that."