Maserati MC20

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

This morning, scattered wisps of white paraded across the azure sky, propelled by a light Mediterranean breeze stirring leaves in the sunny olive groves. Now the afternoon sun is obscured by low and darkly threatening clouds. It looks like it could rain…

You're always aware of the weather in a car like this. Top down, obviously. It is a convertible, after all. But roof up?

Press the touch button on the two-seater's central display to find out. First the rear-hinged cover behind the passenger compartment swings open and erect. Then the roof emerges silently from its niche above the mid-mounted engine and swings into place above. Finally, with a faint snick, the latches engage. It all takes just 12 seconds.

Now there's more than half a square metre of glass above your head. It's transparent now, but this isn't its permanent state. Layered into the glass is a film of polymer-dispersed liquid crystal tech, and it's there to give you choice; light or shade, as you prefer. Tap the button on the centre display, and the transformation is instant.

None of this car's small group of super sports convertible rivals have anything like this, Maserati claims. And they came up with a name to subtly suggest superiority.

Cielo translates literally as 'sky', figuratively as 'heaven'. Either way, it's apt. Quickly say 'chee-ay-lo' if you want to sound Italian.

More than just the name of this car is clever. With its carbon-fibre monocoque, aluminium front and rear subframes and carbon-fibre panels, the MC20 coupe is no heavyweight. And the Cielo doesn't change this. At 1560kg, it's only 65kg or so more than the coupe, says product development man Gianluca Antinori.

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

What does change is the lay-up of the carbon fibres that are the source of the versatile structure's strength. Different lay-up alterations will also be made to the monocoque for the coming MC20 Folgore EV.

Inevitably, the rear of the Cielo is bulkier than the MC20 coupe's. The task of ensuring the convertible looked lovely all over was assigned to a young German designer at Maserati Centro Stile in Turin, Nikolai Schröck.

He massaged the shape of the rear guards to better blend them with the roof cover, which sits higher than the see-through polycarbonate engine cover of the MC20 coupe. Also altered is the angle of the B-pillar, which for the Cielo leans forward whereas the coupe's is vertical.

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

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

Inside, the Cielo introduces 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 centre tunnel. Its top is a touchscreen that's swiped for access to different menus; alternative damper settings, for example.

The Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel is a new design, too. Less obvious is that most of the wands and switches are new, and better, than before.

No changes are made to the convertible's drivetrain. It has exactly the same dry-sumped version of the twin-turbo 3.0-litre Nettuno V6 engine as the MC20 coupe, and the same Tremec-made eight-speed double-clutch transmission.

So, after swinging open the butterfly door and dropping into the verging-on-minimalist interior, the sound when the blue starter button is pressed is familiar.

This particular car's extras make it something of a carbon sink. It has the optional carbon-fibre steering wheel and gorgeous column-mounted shift paddles, plus optional carbon-ceramic brakes.

Rearwards vision is terrible, but the centre mirror can switch roles to display an unobstructed view from a rear-facing camera in the Maserati's tail. Better…

While the loudness of the Nettuno's voice varies according to the selected drive mode – the exhaust system's active valve opens above 5000rpm in default GT and Wet, above 3500rpm in Sport and always in Corsa – the V6 isn't the greatest of singers.

There's some rock and roll rasp above 5000rpm up to the 8000rpm cut-out, but this is no opera tenor of an engine.

But there's no questioning the quantity or quality of its thrust. It's elite grade. And though the transmission feels dozy and reluctant in GT mode, it's perfectly responsive in Sport and manically eager to please in Corsa.

In this car, though, the chassis is the star. There's a wonderful harmony to the way this Maserati grips, steers, brakes and accelerates.

On the often-awful roads of rural Sicily, the optimal set-up was Sport (for drivetrain responsiveness) combined with Soft damping (to keep the rubber in contact with the bumpy bitumen).

Calibration of the Maserati's three-step adjustable dampers is simply superb, enabling even poor 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.

This may sound Italian supercar normal, but the Maserati has its own distinct character. Especially in GT mode, its nature is more relaxed and easygoing. Turn up the dial, though, and it has a competitive level of athletic aggression. It can chill, as well as thrill.

VERDICT

When it launched last year, the MC20 was a real surprise. No one – myself included – expected serial disappointers Maserati to deliver a mid-engined supercar so capable, cohesive and charming. After all, it was getting on for 20 years since it had last built anything remotely comparable.

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

Perhaps the wind has changed for Maserati at last. Looking up at the cielo from the driver's seat of the Cielo, it does seem the clouds are moving in a new, very positive, direction.

2023 Maserati MC20 Cielo specifications