2022 Maserati MC20 Cielo Review – Dubai Car News

It’s a changeable day in Sicily when we arrive to test the Maserati MC20 Cielo.

This morning, scattered wisps of white spread across the blue sky, a light Mediterranean breeze rustled the leaves in the sunny olive groves. Now the afternoon sun is low and obscured by dark threatening clouds. It looks like it might rain…

You’re always aware of the weather in a car like this. Up down, obviously. It’s a convertible, after all. But the ceiling?

Press the touch button on the two-seat central display to find out. First the rear cover behind the passenger compartment is open and upright. The roof then quietly emerges from its niche above the mid-mounted engine and swings into place. Finally, with a faint snick, the latches engage. All this takes only 12 seconds.

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Now you have more than half a square meter of glass above your head. It is transparent now, but that is not its permanent state. Glass is a film of liquid crystal tech dispersed from a layered polymer, and it’s there to give you a choice. Light or shade, as you like. Tap the button on the center display, and the change is instant.

Maserati claims none of the car’s small group of super sports convertible rivals have anything like it. And they came up with a name to explain the superiority.

Cielo literally translates to ‘sky’, figuratively ‘the sky’. Either way, it’s fair. If you want to sound Italian, say ‘chee-ay-lo’ quickly.

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This car is smarter than its name. With its carbon fiber monocoque, aluminum front and rear subframes and carbon fiber panels, the MC20 coupe is no heavyweight. And Cielo doesn’t change that. At 1560kg, it’s only 65kg or so lighter than the coupe, says product development man Gianluca Antinori.

Part of the explanation is that the monocoque design is essentially the same for both the closed and open versions. So Maserati’s engineers didn’t need to add extensive reinforcements.

What changes is the arrangement of carbon fibers that are the source of strength for the versatile structure. The upcoming MC20 Folgore EV will also undergo various configuration changes to the monocoque.

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Inevitably, the rear of the Cielo is larger than that of the MC20 coupe. The job of making sure the convertible looked good all around was entrusted to a young German designer from Maserati Centro Style in Turin, Nicolai Schrock.

It blends the shape of the rear guards better with the roof cover, which sits higher than the MC20 coupe’s polycarbonate engine cover. The angle of the B-pillar has also been changed, leaning forward for the cello while the coupe is vertical.

This is to visually suggest an arc over the passenger compartment even when the roof is down, explains Schröck. There is a curve at the top of the windscreen frame to complete the effect.

A program of subtle changes works. The Cielo MC20 loses little of the coupe’s elegance, and none of its 100-litre rear luggage compartment capacity.

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Inside, Cielo has introduced a number of improvements that will also apply to the coupe from the 2023 model year.

Most noticeable of these is the new driving mode dial on the center tunnel. At its top is a touchscreen that is swiped to access various menus. Alternative damper settings, eg.

The Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel is also a new design. Less obvious is that most sticks and switches are newer, and better than before.

The convertible’s drivetrain remains unchanged. It has the exact same dry-sumped version of the twin-turbo 3.0-liter net-tuno V6 engine as the MC20 coupe, and the same Tremec-built eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.

So, after swinging the butterfly doors and dropping into the verging-on minimalist interior, the sound of pressing the blue starter button is familiar.

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The extras of this particular car make it like a carbon sink. It has an optional carbon fiber steering wheel and elegant column-mounted shift paddles, plus optional carbon ceramic brakes.

Rearward vision is terrible, but the center mirror can change rolls to show an unobstructed view from the rear camera at the Maserati’s tail. better…

While the Nettuno’s loudness varies according to the selected drive mode – the exhaust system’s active valve defaults to opening above 5000rpm in GT and Wet, above 3500rpm in Sport and always in Corsa – the V6 isn’t the loudest of singers.

There’s some rock and roll rasp above 5000rpm until the 8000rpm cutout, but it’s no operatic tenor of an engine.

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But there is no questioning the quantity or quality of his emphasis. This is elite grade. And although the transmission feels slow and hesitant in GT mode, it’s perfectly responsive in sport and manfully eager to please in the Corsa.

In this car, though, the chassis is the star. The way this Maserati handles, steers, brakes and accelerates is a wonderful harmony.

On the often terrible roads of rural Sicily, the best setup was Sport (for drivetrain response) combined with Soft Damping (to keep the rubber in contact with the biting bitumen).

The calibration of the Maserati’s three-step adjustable dampers is superb, allowing even rough roads to be driven very quickly with great confidence. The direct and perfectly weighted steering is communicative and the brake-by-wire Brembos are brutally brilliant.

It may sound like an ordinary Italian supercar, but the Maserati has its own distinct character. Especially in GT mode, its nature is more relaxed and easy. Turn the dial, though, and it has competitive levels of athletic aggression. It can be chilling as well as thrilling.

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Decision

The MC20 was a real surprise when it launched last year. No one – myself included – expected the serial disappointment Maserati to deliver a mid-engined supercar so competent, coherent and engaging. After all, it had been running for 20 years since it last made anything remotely comparable.

The new convertible loses none of what makes the MC20 so appealingly special.

Perhaps the wind has finally turned for Maserati. Looking at Silo from the driver’s seat of Silo, the clouds seem to be moving in a new, very positive direction.

2023 Maserati MC20 Cielo Specifications