2023 Maserati MC20 thrills judging panel, bags Car of The Year award

MANILA: The renowned Car of The Year 2022 title has been given to the 2023 Maserati MC20 by Evo, one of the publications in the world for auto aficionados. The 2023 Maserati MC20 beat out stiff competition to earn the endorsement of Evo's highly qualified road test judging team.

Stuart Gallagher, editor of Evo, commented: “In a year that delivered so many tantalizing new performance cars from many established marques the Maserati MC20 was the cream that rose to the top of evo’s 2022 Car of the Year test.

“It’s a remarkable car that ignites a passion in the driver that Maserati is famed for. It oozes character, rewards the driver in everything it does and leaves you aching for another drive every time you step out of it. Throw in an exotic piece of Italian automotive design and you have the perfect recipe for both a brilliant driver’s car and eCoty champion.”

Fellow judge Steve Sutcliffe said: “It’s the car I’d most like to own of all the cars I’ve driven in the last 30 years.”

The 2023 Maserati MC20 received accolades for handling at all speeds, giving thrill and emotion in abundance, and for being a "car person's car" that stands out so sharply from other supercars.

The groundbreaking new Nettuno engine, a 3.0-liter Twin-Turbo V6 with 630 horsepower, is the heart of the MC20, both Coupé and Cielo. The newest powerplant from Maserati is the first to feature an unique prechamber combustion system with two spark plugs, a technology that was developed for Formula 1 racing.

Customers can choose from a variety of choices, as with all Maserati models, as well as use the Fuoriserie personalization options to build a genuinely customized and one-of-a-kind vehicle.

Modena Motorsports, Inc., — the official and local importer and distributor of Maserati in the Philippines — set forth the MC20 for Filipino car enthusiasts. The 2023 Maserati MC20 is “First of its Kind” and Maserati returns to a stage where it has always starred, that of supercars that combine luxury and performance with the Trident brand’s unique style.

The 2023 Maserati MC20 is a Maserati with mind-blowing aerodynamic efficiency. Its superb looks conceal an uncompromising sporty soul, with the new 630 horsepower V6 Nettuno engine that delivers zero-to-100kph acceleration in 2.88 seconds and a top speed over 326kph. A patented, 100% Maserati engine, benefiting from the MTC (Maserati Twin Combustion) technology, the innovative combustion system developed by the Brand, evolved from the pre-chamber technology used on Formula 1 powertrains. Conceived, designed and built entirely in-house.

The sports car is particularly light under 1,500 kilograms, and thanks to its power output of 630hp it is best in class in weight/power ratio, at 2.33 kg/hp. This lightweight has been achieved without any skimping on comfort: MC20 has all the contents cars of this type must have to satisfy a sporty yet sophisticated clientele, looking not only for performance but also for comfort and luxury. So a great deal of work was done on the materials.

The entire chassis is in carbon fiber and composites, with the benefits of lighter weight, faster tool-go times and greater stylistic freedom in the design of forms. Carbon fiber enables the creation of shapes impossible with press-formed metal. The butterfly doors are a very obvious example.

Over two thousand man-hours in the Dallara Wind Tunnel and more than a thousand CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations have enabled the creation of a car with refined aerodynamics which is also a genuine work of art. Elegant and sporty, efficient and lightweight. Conceptually, the 2023 Maserati MC20's aerodynamic design divides the car into two parts: an upper part where stylistic considerations predominate and a more technical lower part, color-coded in black and carbon fiber respectively.

The monocoque has been developed from the outset for all three types of car to be produced in the coming years: the coupé, the convertible and the future electric version, to be presented in 2022. The monocoque’s architecture and geometry are the same for all three versions, but differ in the distribution of the carbon fibers and layers, to provide monocoques with different structural characteristics for the three different types of car.

Semi-virtual suspension underpins the 2023 Maserati MC20 allows the tire's contact patch to be kept constant while cornering, ensuring high lateral accelerations and keeping handling natural and instinctive in any situation and at any speed. Eight-speed oil-immersed Dual Clutch design with six power and two overdrive speeds to ensure emissions compliance is matched to the V6.

The driving seat controls of the MC20 are essential, functional and rational. The entire focus is on the driver, and his desire for optimal performances. Everything is designed to help him to get the most out of his Maserati, without distracting him. So shapes are simple, with very few sharp corners. The materials chosen are black and the upholstery is dark, to prevent reflections in the windscreen. Everything is laid out just like the cockpit of a racing car, with functionality and visibility paramount.

The 2023 Maserati MC20 has five driving modes, selected using the selector in the center of the tunnel: WET, GT, SPORT and CORSA. Each one is identified by its own color: WET green; GT blue; SPORT red; CORSA yellow; ESC OFF orange.

Driving modes are selected by turning the selector for a few seconds. For example, the car starts in the default GT mode. It only takes a movement of half a second in the direction of the mode required to switch from GT to SPORT (on the right) or WET (on the left). The driver can press the selector for two seconds to choose CORSA mode. Pressing for five seconds switches to ESC Off mode. The longer time is to ensure that the driver has chosen this mode intentionally and not by mistake.

Brembo, world leader in the design and production of braking systems, is the supplier of choice for the entire system for the new Maserati MC20. At the front, the new Trident super sports car is stopped by Brembo radial mounted monobloc six-piston brake calipers. The calipers converge on 390 x 36 mm Brembo CCM (carbon ceramic material) brake discs to offer superior stopping power.

Photos from Evo, Maserati, Modena Motorsports Inc.,

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