The twentieth year of our Lord's second millennium Anno Domini, has been quite a terrible one for the most part, and one needn't explain much to understand why. I doubt very few will ever look back at it with fond memories, as challenging and fruitless as it has been thus far. Yet, for Maserati, 2020 did prove to be quite a productive calendar, not only having squeezed what little life remained from its current stable, but also by taking the time to create something entirely new. In such a climate, this is a very bold move.

"It's time to be audacious", they proclaimed, harking back to the early days when Maserati dared to challenge the odds. After recent years of creating endlessly charming mediocrity, it's time to stop the clock, and start over. It all begins here, with the MC20; the Trident's first mid-engine supercar in 16 years. It's been a long time coming since the MC12 bowed out after a brief, but successful career. But now, Maserati is unshackled with a keen new spirit, no longer chained to a wall by its former overlords at Ferrari.

The First Of Many.

Credits to: Maserati - MC20

Clearly the Trident is happy to release all that pent up energy as well, given the spectacle that followed the MC20's launch. It was quite, interesting and surreal, as though one is walking through a modernist show at an arts exhibit. There was a chanting choir, some weirdly hallucinating videos, drums, lasers and... I'm still confused. But then again, it's not everyday that a flagging carmaker turns around this excitedly. Not only does it preview a new future for the brand, but the MC20 itself is treading into new ground, with quite the few 'firsts' for them.

The instant I laid eyes on it, I was stunned at how beautiful it is. Although that might be unsurprising coming from the Italians, yet it must be said of how anxious I was that they might botch it up. It's fairly easy to design a car poorly, in following with the trends of putting more wings, cuts, and spoilers to appeal to the average 8 year-old who wants a new wallpaper. Compare the MC20 to a Lambo or McLaren, and you may as well be comparing a pair of elegantly well-tailored suit trousers, to ripped denims with more holes than a cheese-grater.

Credits to: Maserati - MC20

The whole MC20 was built from the scratch in just two years, using Maserati's newfound mastery of technological wizardry, as more than 90% of the car was created virtually, in a computer simulation. Much of the inspiration comes from the Birdcage Concept of 2005, and one can see the resemblance, with its minimalistic styling of keeping the bodywork as seamless, and uninterrupted as possible. It's almost tame in a way, not at all as loud of expressive as some other supercars.

It wasn't just penned by car designers gleaming artistically behind their thin specs, but also through the pure utilitarianism that engineers champion. This lovingly orchestrated clash of worlds can be seen from the swept-back front to the subtle flick of a spoiler at the back, where curvaceous shapes are met by hard edges. The silky smooth silhouette are broken up by distinct ducts, and large vents to channel the atmosphere in its favour. Its all intentional, and with an alluring result without being boring, nor gaudy.

As luxury cars are, and especially at around $200,000, you'll find jewel-like detailing with a redesigned trident milled from aluminium, and brandishing a new logo for the brand. The louvres on the lightweight Lexan rear-glass panel to vent heat away from the engine, are subtly arranged in a trident. You'll also find that this is the first Maserati with dihedral, butterfly doors; ticking another box in the supercar 'must-haves' list. But as they say, form follows function. Those doors make it easier to get in and out.

Credits to: Maserati - MC20

Just because the exterior appears bare, doesn't mean it hasn't a few aerodynamic tricks hidden up its sleeve, having been meticulously shaped and tested for over 2,000-hours in a wind-tunnel. Best of all, it's mostly hidden underneath the MC20, keeping that sultry exterior uncluttered, guiding airflow carefully fore and aft. There's a vortex-generator, leading air through channels and fins to create a ground-effect, or vacuum to suck it onto the road, finished with those large rear-diffusers.

As you might've already noticed from admiring its many curves, there's quite a handful of exposed carbon-fibre. This is telling of what's hidden away once you peel away at its pearlescent-white paint. Instead of using more conventional aluminium, the chassis is a carbon-fibre monocoque tub, designed in collaboration with Dallara. Since the latter has made chassis for various motorsports series from IndyCar to Formula E, we can say confidently that they know a thing or two about crafting sturdy, and purposeful skeletons.

Not only rigid, it has a respectably lithe sub-1,500kg kerbweight. Plus, they didn't just make one carbon-tub, but two more to accommodate other variants of the MC20; a future convertible Spyder, and an all-electric model. It, and other future Maserati models with electrified powertrains will be badged Folgore, or 'lightning bolt' in Italian. In the MC20, its Greenpeace-friendly descendant will soon have three motors, and will be immensely powerful.

A Heart Of Gold.

Credits to: Maserati - MC20

For now however, we'll stick with good ol' internal combustion. It's being powered by a mostly in-house 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6. I say 'mostly' because while Maserati may be proud that this is 100% engineered by them in Modena, and the first proper Maser engine since 1998, but we can thank its rapid development to their fellow Italians. We know that its configuration is shared with Alfa Romeo's newest turbo'd V6, which itself was once a glorious Ferrari turbo'd V8, with two cylinders lobbed off.

Nonetheless, with such a great canvas to work on, the Nettuno, or 'Neptune', should be a fabulous powerplant. It even carries a piece of F1 technology in the form of pre-chamber ignition. The means that there's two chambers for combustion, as per a smaller one sitting on top, and a spark-plug for each. This smaller chamber ignites first, causing the explosion to infuse into the main chamber underneath, and resulting in more potent, reliable, and cleaner combustion process.

It will satisfy both environmentalists, and also to petrolheads. The Nettuno V6 in the MC20 will happily output 630hp, and 730Nm of torque, revving its way up high to 8,000RPM. So far, it sounds like music to my ears, and the exhaust note is quite a fruity one at that. This is the most power-dense engine in its class, and has the best power-to-weight ratio as well, with each horsepower needing to carry only 2.33kg. Mated to it, is an equally competent eight-speed Getrag double-clutch gearbox.

Performance then, is pretty good, managing a sprint to 62mph (100km/h) in just 2.9-seconds, and from a standstill to 124mph (200km/h) in an impressive 8.8-seconds. The MC20 runs out of breath after 202mph (325km/h), and you can confidently stop on a dime if needed, with Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes. However, to compete in the performance game, dynamics are just as important as straight line speed. There are double-wishbone suspension to maintain better contact with the road, as assisted with standard anti-roll bars, adaptive dampers, and a mechanical limited-slip differential.

Credits to: Maserati - MC20

Just as focused is the interior, with full intent on keeping your eyes dead centre, away from any piffling distractions. Amenities are kept to a bare minimum, although its hard not to admire the lovely carbon-fibre details, with Alcantara and fine Italian leather caressing your skin. Much of the crucial controls are moved to the steering-wheel, as the rest hide inside of two, 10.25-inch displays. One sits on the dashboard, serving up vital information, while the other deals with everything else.

Unlike Maseratis of yore, this one runs Android Automotive, not some rubbish old infotainment system used in a bargain Fiat. Being the first Maserati in a long, long while to not include an analogue clock to gaze at - even the racy MC12 had one - the drive-mode selector mimics that of a high-end mechanical timepiece. You can toggle through five modes to suit the occasion - Wet, GT, Sport, Corsa, and ESC-OFF - with electronic aids varying from maximum, all the way down to "I hope you have life insurance, and a will".

But don't just think that the MC20 is designed only to fit the serene and rich backdrop of Beverly Hills, Monaco, or Mayfair. No, the MC20 was developed from the ground up to go racing as well, being just as comfortable on a starting grid as it is in your driveway, or parked in front of a Tesco. Hence the name MC, which stands for Maserati Corse, the latter for 'racing'. Maserati didn't mentioned any particular discipline or series, but if its spiritual predecessor, the MC12 is any giveaway, it'll likely join the ranks of endurance, and GT championships.

A Beacon Of Hope.

Credits to: Maserati - MC20

The MC20 doesn't just bring with it a new badge, but also a spirited winds of change. It's the start to a busy and cunning plan as Maserati begins another, ambitious renaissance, and one I hope will succeed this time around. They've expanded their operations with new production lines, innovation hubs, and extensions to their historic Viale Ciro Menotti plant, where the MC20 will be built, as has Maseratis for the past 80 years.

There will be at least a dozen more new, and refreshed Maseratis coming along in the next few years, including a new compact lux-SUV, called the Grecale, and a replacement to the recently deceased GranTurismo and GranCabrio next year. They now have a factory Classiche programme to care for classic Maseratis, and a new bespoke Fuoriserie department to personalise every car as bespoke as you want it to be. The MC20 then, is more than just a car, but a beacon of hope. So far, that ray of sunshine is radiating intensely.