It could have the trident badge, however the Maserati MC20 was initially supposed to be an Alfa Romeo. The latter did ultimately get its personal flagship sports activities automobile with the 33 Stradale based mostly on the MC20. It means there at the moment are two new supercars from Italy that do not carry a prancing horse or a raging bull badge. This one made the journey to the Nürburgring the place Sport Auto journal’s take a look at driver put it by way of its paces for a lap of the Inexperienced Hell.
Driver Christian Gebhardt wanted 7 minutes and 25 seconds to finish a lap of the Nordschleife with the MC20 outfitted with Bridgestone Potenza Sport tires. How does the Maserati stack up in opposition to different high-end efficiency vehicles? The exact same driver lapped the difficult circuit in 6:58 whereas behind the wheel of the Ferrari 296 GTB and in simply 6:54 with the Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
17 Images
Trying on the lap instances posted by Sport Auto with cheaper vehicles, the BMW M4 CSL did it in 7:17, so the front-engine Bavarian coupe is approach sooner than this mid-engine Italian unique. Not that we’re attempting to make excuses for the MC20, however the Bimmer did have stickier Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires. A few years in the past, Christian Gebhardt examined the larger, heavier BMW M5 CS with a time of seven:29 — solely about 4 seconds greater than the Maserati.
Lap instances apart, the MC20 hopped onto the dyno after finishing a sizzling lap of the Nürburgring. Powered by a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6, the flagship is marketed as having 621 horsepower. As with all automakers, Maserati lists the Nettuno’s output accessible on the crank. The dyno take a look at confirmed considerably smaller numbers, nonetheless, touchdown at 510 hp on the wheels. To succeed in 621 on the crank would imply roughly an 18 % energy loss by way of the driveline, which is a bit a lot in comparison with different fashionable mid-engine supercars. In fact, there are numerous elements that may have an effect on how a chassis dyno measures energy.
Whereas it is not shared with different manufacturers, this V6 shouldn’t be unique to the MC20 supercar because it additionally powers the Grecale Trofeo and GranTurismo, albeit in decrease states of tune.
