New Maserati MC20 halo model to drop at Monterey Car Week 2024
Maserati’s brilliant MC20 supercar will channel its motorsport siblings through a new halo model to be revealed at The Quail car show
Maserati has teased us with new images of a track-focused Maserati MC20 halo model ahead of the new car’s debut at The Quail, part of Monterey Car Week in California. Maserati’s acclaimed MC20 supercar has been part of the range since 2021, and after first being spun off into a Cielo convertible it looks ready to diversify once more. This time we’re expecting a track-focused high performance variant.
The new halo model will be inspired by the brand’s MC20 GT2 racer and MCXtrema track-only variants, adding more power and stripping weight from the current road-going model. Maserati has so far released three teaser images, the latest revealing the car’s far more aggressive styling.
This will include a comprehensive redesign of the car’s overall aero package, with extensive use of carbon fibre for the new front splitter and bonnet, plus new front wings with Porsche GT3-style wing vents that will reduce pressure in the front wheel arches to the benefit of downforce at the front end.
These new carbon elements will probably be joined by more carbon aero devices on the car’s flanks and rear, with a more aggressive diffuser and a static rear wing also on the cards. Expect a set of ultra-lightweight wheels and sticky track-focused rubber to feature, creating a mid-engined model in the mould of Ferrari’s ionic 488 Pista or Lamborghini’s Huracan STO.
As with those models, we also expect there to be a generous power boost, here derived from Maserati’s 3.0-litre ‘Nettuno’ V6 that features unique pre-chamber combustion technology and two turbochargers delivering high levels of boost. The existing MC20 model is already rated at 621bhp, but we expect a higher figure, potentially up to or over 700bhp thanks to the inherent tunability of the motor and the circa-740bhp figure in the track-only MCXtreme model.
The road car’s eight-speed automatic transmission and electronically controlled limited-slip differential will probably be carried over, with bespoke tuning for the new model. Both these elements, plus the overall powertrain, will be adjustable across different drive modes controlled through the large central mode switch inside the MC20’s simple cabin.
Maserati says the new car is “dedicated to those who do not wish to sacrifice extraordinary performance on the road” and claims “this new car guarantees innovative technological solutions and impressive aerodynamic performance”. Maserati also says the car “inherits the racing spirit of the GT2” but hints it “is a further evolution of the MC20”.
Offering a stripped-out, hardcore version of a series production model is not new for Maserati, the firm having previously offered the GranTurismo MC Stradale in that car’s previous generation. With the standard MC20 already costing well over £200,000 in base form, we expect this to rise further for the new halo model.
Maserati will reveal the new MC20 flagship in full on 16 August where it’ll sit alongside the MC20 Icona and the MCXtrema at the Monterey Car Week event.
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