Thursday 26th May 2022

2022 Maserati MC20 Cielo unveiled

Ferrari 296 GTS and McLaren 720S Spider not doing it for you? How about the Maserati MC20 Cielo, then...

---

‘Maserati presents MC20 Cielo, a one-of-a-kind car that can deliver the performance of a true super sports car, together with a holistic and immersive driving pleasure the like of which has never been seen before.’ Well, that’s a claim. And a bold one at that. But we’re not going to knock a bit of Latin passion, especially when the Maserati MC20 Cielo looks so splendiferous and has a large trident daubed on its engine cover. Nice touch, that.

Cielo, in case you’re wondering, means sky in Italian, and the idea is you’ll be seeing plenty of that in the MC20 Cielo. That’s whether the roof is up or down, because the Cielo has a glass folding roof that lets the light flood in even when closed. If that makes you think of a sweltering greenhouse, think again. The panel above your head is electrochromic ‘smart glass’ with layered polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC). As you might guess, then, at the touch of a button it switches from transparent to opaque and offers ‘best-in-class’ thermal insulation.

The roof also opens and closes in 12 seconds, so in no time you'll be enjoying the crisp bark of the MC20’s Nettuno 630hp twin-turbo V6 motor. This won’t really be straining any harder, either. The Cielo weighs just 65kg more than the coupé (in the region of 1,540kg) thanks to its stiff carbon tub that was designed from the outset with the convertible in mind – and the forthcoming electric version for that matter. Therefore, Maserati claims the Cielo’s torsional rigidity remains high, despite the gaping hole and little added bracing.

The attractive shade of the car you see pictured is the new launch colour. It’s called Acquamarina and it’s a three-layer metallic from the Maserati Fuoriserie customisation programme. Other new additions to the MC20 range include automatic emergency braking, traffic sign recognition and a 360-degree parking camera. And there’s an optional Sonus faber 12-speaker sound system that delivers a ‘natural sound’. Now, whether that’s better than the natural sound emanating from the tailpipes when the roof is down is a matter of debate. Cost? No mention of that, but the coupé is £187,230 so we doubt there will be much change, if any, from £200,000 - but that's still a chunk less than the Ferrari 296 GTS and McLaren 720 S Spider.

---

 

• Maserati MC20 cabrio first look
• 2022 Maserati Grecale PH review

[AlfistiRetiree]

Arse antlers? Really?!

[wpa1975]

Nice looking car, looks better than the coupe.

[Andy83n]

Tramp Stamp

[originals]

The wheels on this and the coupe are bloody awful.

[Silvanus]

Rear badge aside, I think this is one of the best looking supercars out there. It would look fantastic in a bright colour and some more tasteful wheels.

[Jon_S_Rally]

It's a nice looking car but, dare I say it, not as pretty as the (much cheaper) Emira...

[BigChiefmuffinAgain]

Nice enough in isolation but not sure what it really brings that's any different to all the existing players in this field ? With Ferrari and McLaren going hybrid and a new Huracan not far off, there's something a bit out of date about it already.

Who knows - maybe that's what some people want...

[anonymous-user]

Jon_S_Rally said:

It's a nice looking car but, dare I say it, not as pretty as the (much cheaper) Emira...

Personally think the Emira looks worse in the flesh than in photos, it's nowhere near as low and looks quite short. This is a great looking car, the Emira not so much.

[Twoshoe]

Glad to be reminded that they're not just making SUVs these days at least.

[WCZ]

ajap1979 said:

Personally think the Emira looks worse in the flesh than in photos, it's nowhere near as low and looks quite short. This is a great looking car, the Emira not so much.

have to agree tbh

the mc20 looks even better in the flesh though

[flukey5]

It's weird, you hear/see almost nothing about these cars. I haven't seen them on youtube reviews, pictures on forums etc. I was starting to think they're vapourware

[anonymous-user]

I think it looks very smart, probably drives and sounds awesome. It is amazing how many top end cars are being churned out month after month , really does feel like the last festive season for ICE cars.

Do wonder how many participants there are in the class of electrochromic ‘smart glass’ with layered polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC). Not so difficult to be best in class if you are billy-no-mates.

[Iamnotkloot]

Nice looking thing and who wouldn't want a Maserati (non-SUV)?
I agree about the trident being a little unnecessary.
However, I like the wheels!

[chrisironside]

If I were lucky enough to afford one of these I think I'd rather the crest on the back was a bit smaller, and/or more subtly etched.
That's a great looking car though. <3

[dibblecorse]

That, for me, all day long, complete with the huge rear deck decal, love that ....

[nismo48]

+1 lovely looking thing

Silvanus said:

Rear badge aside, I think this is one of the best looking supercars out there. It would look fantastic in a bright colour and some more tasteful wheels.

[mrclav]

flukey5 said:

It's weird, you hear/see almost nothing about these cars. I haven't seen them on youtube reviews, pictures on forums etc. I was starting to think they're vapourware

They're definitely not vapourware. I've already seen one in Kensington, this exact car in fact.

[jackbarclay]

Is that the press car? I saw a very similar one parked up near the Louvre in Paris.
Lovely clean design in real life. Surely more an Artura rival than 720s though?

[thelostboy]

Looks good! I also heard it looks better in the flesh.

I know with the Emira the ones they showed at dealers were not production, which were noticeably lower than the actual production cars - a bit of catfishing by Lotus it seems.

However, to be fair these aren't really rivals - it would be like judging a Cayman against a 911.

[WCZ]

flukey5 said:

It's weird, you hear/see almost nothing about these cars. I haven't seen them on youtube reviews, pictures on forums etc. I was starting to think they're vapourware

it's a strange one really, they've had some press and all of it has been very positive

owners love them to bits too

I think that atm for the supercar sector unless it's stupidly (900hp+) fast then they just don't get that much attention