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.
Bu hikaye Top Gear dergisinin June 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Top Gear dergisinin June 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
ELECTROMECHANIC
Meet the electric restomod that you can create at home it's so easy you can do the conversion in a day, apparently
ALL THE SMALL THINGS
Word is there's no such thing as a decent, small, simple, reasonably priced car these days. Allow TopGear to investigate
VOLKSWAGEN ID.BUZZ 7-SEAT
Volkswagen’s new seven seater ID.Buzz is now the family mover it always should have been
BMW M5
TO THE POINT: THE NEW BMW M5 IS AN excellent car. It's very fast, confident, endlessly configurable and now offers a not inconsequential 40ish miles of electric-only running for happy tax returns.
VAUXHALL GRANDLAND vs FORD EXPLORER
These two brands have been the 'pile it high, sell it cheap' kings of the UK market for decades, but their new core models take a very different tack...
CAR OF THE YEAR - 5 STAR
Yep, Renault's retro-chic new supermini with an optional wicker baguette holder Scoops the grand prix...
MEANWHILE... IN THE FUTURE
Catching rockets with chopsticks isn't the only autonomous tech going on in Elon Musk's world...
KING OF THE HILLS
You wait for one 800+bhp super GT, then two rock up at once. It's the Aston/Ferrari showdown we've all been waiting for...
PACKAGE
What better way to test the Hyundai Santa Fe's SUV-ness than hand delivering TopGear magazine to each and every subscriber in... New Zealand?
MYTH BUSTER
\"THE GOLF GTI WAS THE OG HOT HATCH\"