Elite Traveler Fall 2022

107 etr li at ve eler FALL 2022

Maserati MC 20 Cielo

There’s a resolute focus that comes into view as one drives along the long, narrow lanes of Kern County, California. The mind begins to envision the straightaway, the chicane, the inside line. Approaching Willow Springs Raceway is a meditation in banality that leads, inevitably, to adrenaline overdrive. Sliding into the MC20 coupe, what Maserati calls its “super sports car,” there’s palpable excitement. After a 21-year hiatus from producing its own power, MC20’s 621 hp 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 Nettuno engine roared to life on the track — a fi tting debut. The rear-wheel drive supercar was designed with intention, speci fi cally to “enable convertible versions and for full electric power,” a current snapshot of the brand’s trajectory. According to CEO Davide Grasso, the MC20 launches the Trident’s turnaround plan, freeing Maserati from being “a slave to volumes.” MC20, with its vertical lights (on other models they’re horizontal) and six standard colors, is a study in deliberate editing. Its sister, the MC20 Cielo, carries a two-piece electrochromic folding glass roof. Retractable hardtops fell out of vogue in the last decade in favor of lighter fabric ones, but Maserati constructed MC20 Cielo to make a statement. More canopy than roof, the top transforms from clear to opaque using electrical current. After all, Cielo is Italian for sky. Racing around the track, the rear spoiler improves downforce without detracting from the sleek back hatch, which also includes a polycarbonate engine cover with cutouts in the shape of a trident. Consider it performance meets panache. Maserati MC20 Cielo from $242,000, maserati.com

After a 21 -year hiatus fr om producing its own power, MC20’s 6 21 hp 3 . 0 -liter twin turbo V 6 Nettuno engine roared to life on the track — a fi tting debut