We’ve already praised the Maserati MC20 supercar for being not just beautiful but also a genuinely wonderful car to use every day. With the legendary Italian company in something of a period of transition – spurred on by its status as Stellantis’ most premium brand and the company-wide transition to electrification – the MC20 is the most direct line between the modern Maserati and the feted, near mythological, status of the company in non-specific days gone by.
Maserati knows this all too well, and these two new editions of the MC20, the Icona and Leggenda, play up that historical link with a celebration of one of the company’s rare noughties success stories, the MC12. When it debuted in 2004, the Maserati MC12 was quite unlike any other Maserati of the time. Powered by a Ferrari-derived V12 (and indeed closely related to the contemporaneous Ferrari Enzo), the MC12 was little more than a race car for the road.
Styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro, just 50 examples of this ‘Maserati Corse’ 12-cylinder were built in order to homologate the successful MC12 GT1 race car. Twenty years later, Maserati has enlisted the services on its in-house Fuoriserie personalisation programme to create these two homages to the MC20’s prestigious predecessor.
The Maserati MC20 Icona is finished in a two-tone livery that directly references the MC12 Stradale, which in turn was paying homage to the earlier Maserati Trofeo Light. All this self-celebration has ultimately turned out rather tastefully, with a white (Bianco Audace Matte) and Blue (Blu Stradale) livery with subtle Maserati Fuoriserie branding. Wheels are chromed with blue hubcaps and blue brake callipers.
The MC20 Leggenda edition is a little bit more ostentatious, with a pairing of Nero Essenza and Digital Mint Matte to mimic the MC12 GT1 in the colours of the successful Vitaphone Racing team. The famous Maserati Trident logo is picked out in yellow, while the wheels and brake callipers go for a much darker hue.
Inside, the Icona and Leggenda special series both feature dedicated lightweight racing seats, as well as the addition of the top-of-the-line Sonus Faber sound system, carbon-fibre interior trim and the special suspension lifter for getting that elegant front end over low kerbs.
Just 20 examples of each will be made. Maserati has just four years to go before its self-declared decision to have its entire range running on electricity alone. You can be sure that the company’s racing heritage won’t stay untapped as it looks to promote this new era.
Maserati MC20 Icona and Leggenda Editions, details at Maserati.com, @Maserati
