Maserati’s super sports car, the mid-engined 2021 MC20, will start production by early July, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Mike Manley shared. Manley provided the model’s timing, as well as confirmed all Maserati future product plans remain intact, during a call with investors.
The MC20 is a two-seat sports car that goes up against the likes of the Ferrari F8 Tributo and Lamborghini Huracan. We were supposed to see the MC20, which is loosely inspired by the Alfieri concept, in May, but the unveiling is now postponed until September.
Production plans continue, though. The coupe is expected to birth a convertible in 2021. A new twin-turbocharged V-6—no sharing of a Ferrari engine—will initially power the model, although both gasoline-electric hybrid and battery-electric powertrains are expected to join the model line in the coming years.
FCA claims the super sports car is the natural evolution of the MC12 that marked Maserati‘s return to racing in 2004 following a 37-year absence. In that same sense, Maserati plans to once again return to racing with the new MC20.
Why Is It Called MC20?
The MC in the MC20 name is an acronym for Maserati Corse (or Maserati Racing). Meanwhile, the number 20 refers to 2020, a year which Maserati claims marks the start of a new phase in its history. The car was developed at the Maserati Innovation Lab and will be built at the brand’s historical plant in Modena, Italy. To accommodate the model, Maserati is retooling the Modena plant to support the MC20’s advanced electric powertrain option. Additionally, the brand is adding a paint shop.
Have Maserati’s Product Plans Changed?
Manley acknowledged that Maserati will have a bumpy year on the heels of a tough 2019. Still, he noted FCA “didn’t delay any Maserati product plans.”
Maserati plans to overhaul its portfolio by 2023. FCA hoped to outline its objectives for Maserati at an investor day this month but that briefing is now postponed. That said, the vehicles have not skipped a beat. “Development work [for future vehicles] is done and now we’re working on the touch and feel areas of the vehicles,” Manley said.
More Videos
Baby Levante Coming?
A second SUV that slots below the Levante is another new vehicle that Maserati plans to introduce in the coming years. FCA is adding a new production line for the vehicle at its Cassino plant in Italy, which also builds Alfa Romeos.
Maserati will also incorporate electric motors in the powertrains of its future models, starting with a Ghibli hybrid. In 2021, the Italian brand will begin producing successors to the GranTurismo coupe and GranCabrio convertible. The two-door models will serve as the first Maseratis to feature all-electric propulsion. Both will be produced at Italy’s Mirafiori plant, which will serve as a production hub for the brand’s new electrified cars.
Furthermore, an electric version of the Levante aims to take on the Tesla Model X. The brand will offer a plug-in hybrid variant of its midsize crossover, too. The Quattroporte full-size sedan will also benefit from electrification. That said, Maserati still plans to offer internal-combustion engines even as it embraces battery-electric powertrain technology.
