You walk up to the MC20. Of course you do - you've seen it from a distance so you want a closer look. It's a rare beast, hasn't suffered Instagram overexposure, so there's lots for your eyes to dwell on. But there's a catch: next you're going to drive it.
Hardly a catch, you're thinking. But as you take in the Perspex rear screen, peer in at the dark, bare cabin, swing a door up to reveal a cutaway carbon sill, realize there's something of the Group C racer about this new Maserati, and remember the next three hours are not going to be spent spanking around Dunsfold but in crushing motorway monotony... the sparkle dulls. You think, “Well, I know what to expect: noise, vibration, road chatter, and a stiffness that'll be reflected in my skeleton when I have to get out after 150 miles as the tank will be dry.”
This, then, was the thought process I went through. With a certain trepidation I left Slough in this carbon tubbed, rear-drive, twin-turbo V6 supercar. For the first 40 miles I was too occupied to give the MC20 much thought. I was just trying to get it as I wanted, figure out the wheel, screens, those Fiat stalks, phone connectivity. It wasn't until around Swindon that it suddenly occurred to me that the MC20 wasn't making as much of a fuss as I expected.
Quite the opposite in fact. It was sauntering along, hands in pockets, whistling a merry tune. It was happy, content. And as a result, so was I. Supple suspension, calm cabin, little noise intrusion and let me just check - wow, 32mpg. Confusion reigned. What is this car with hardcore overtones that handles motorways like a skip through a summer meadow? Maybe I should have expected this. There's a softness to the shapes, especially the artful sweeps over the arches, it looks comfortable in its own skin, isn't too thrusting or forceful. It's dramatic without effort, aero, or ostentation.
Denne historien er fra June 2022-utgaven av Top Gear.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June 2022-utgaven av Top Gear.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
INEOS GRENADIER
\"It looks like it could batter its way through anything\"
The 1,000bhp P1 drift car is finished (on the outside] and doesn't it look sensational?
WHAT IS IT? A McLaren racecar carbon tub clothed in P1 GTR panels with the full drift car treatment. Consider us well and truly intrigued
HEAD TO HEAD SUPER SALOONS
This should just be your usual, regular, ultra fast, four door battle. But after what AMG has done to one of our very favourite speed machines, it's anything but. It's AMG C63 vs Alfa QF...
REAR OF THE YEAR
What happens when you cross Zagato with Alpine? An A110 that can change its clothes...
SAVE THE WHALES
Since a Californian startup began reimagining 15 years ago, the popularity of restomod Porsches has exploded. Does Singer still do it best? We'll let its latest-turbocharged - creation answer that one...
...sell on Monday
Driving to Pikes Peak in Ford's Mustang Mach-E Rally on the path least trodden, arriving in time to see its F-150 SuperTruck take on the hillclimb. What could go wrong?
GO WITH THE FLOW
The most aerodynamic car Audi has ever made... is a great big executive barge. And when the smoke clears, you'll see it's been a long time coming...
SCRAMBLED SEGG
The Koenigsegg Chimera is a one-off mashup of Agera RS, Jesko and, CC850 - potent, but what exactly is the point?
SIMPLIFLY AND ADD LIGHTNESS
At the peak of Lotus's powers, boss Colin Chapman bought himself the coolest aircraft in motorsport history... 45 years later, TopGear's on a mission to find it again
CANNON BULL
Adrian Newey's RB17 hybrid V10 hypercar is at long last (almost) ready Track car, perfection or pointless?