Performance and comfort: the dual souls of Maserati, harking back to the brand’s racing roots and its iconic GranTurismo spirit. These features are now taken to a new level in terms of performance and driving pleasure in the great outdoors: Maserati presents the MC20 Cielo spyder.
Equipped with the revolutionary V6 Nettuno engine that made its debut in the 2020 MC20, MC20 Cielo offers a perfect mix of sportiness and luxury, courtesy of a specification unique to the segment: the innovative retractable glass roof.
A “first of its kind” and best-in-class in terms of thermal insulation, of opening and closing speed (just 12 seconds), and of how it epitomises the best in technology.
To do so, the new model is equipped with a state-of-the-art electrochromic (smart glass) window that can instantly be transformed from clear to opaque at the touch of a button on the central screen, courtesy of Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) technology.*
As such, MC20 Cielo provides a multi-faceted driving experience: all-encompassing with the roof closed and opaque; a unique “sky feeling” when the roof is transparent; holistic with the top down.
When a coupé is transformed into a convertible, the increase in weight is usually a major challenge. Innovative by nature, Maserati has managed to limit this and maintain the innate sporty DNA of the MC20.
MC20 Cielo weighs just 65 kg more than the coupé, made possible by meticulous, precise work during the stages of the car’s design. By limiting the increase in weight to around 60 kg, Maserati maintains the dynamic performance and driving pleasure of the coupé version in the MC20 Cielo.
The carbon fibre chassis also guarantees uncompromising torsional rigidity, offering a combination of extraordinary handling on the road and on the track.
The new model also adds a wide range of Active Safety Systems, unlike any other model ever has in this segment. As well as the parking sensors, rear-view camera and blind spot monitoring included in the MC20 since the MY22, the new spyder introduces autonomous emergency brake, traffic sign information and the Surround View 360° system, to help with parking manoeuvres using four extra cameras.
The new spyder will broaden the MC20 range and will bring Maserati into the segment of convertible sports cars. The brand intends to expand its offering to cover the convertible segment, which represents 35% of the global super sports car market.
* The central display can also be used to operate the roof at a speed of up to 50 km/h, in complete safety.
A spyder with a one-of-a-kind roof
The innovative electrically retractable glass roof
MC20 Cielo is “First of its Kind”, bold in every respect and designed for perfection, all the way to the minutest detail. The component that makes it stand out from every other spyder is the electrically retractable glass roof, the epitome of technology.
The clear glass roof, the largest in the segment, is 909 mm long, 615 mm wide and has a surface area of more than half a square metre (5,268 cm2).
MC20 Cielo is the only model in its class with a fully retractable glass roof as standard, with no impact on the car’s storage space. To operate it, all you need to do is tap a button on the central touchscreen: in just 12 seconds, the roof opens or closes, transforming this super sports car.
Another tap on another touch button and the glass changes from clear to opaque or vice versa. Advanced Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) technology makes it possible for the change of transparency to take place in an instant; it works at virtually all temperatures, from -30°C to +85°C.
Made by Maserati in partnership with Webasto, the device also guarantees perfect heat sealing and reduced in-car noise, setting the benchmark in a segment where retractable roofs are often made of canvas or sheet metal.
As usual for Maserati, innovation is accompanied by unique and immediately recognisable styling cues.
Therefore, just as the MC20 coupé proudly sports a stylised Trident – acting as a cooling air intake for the Nettuno engine – on the polycarbonate engine compartment cover, the brand’s icon can likewise make an appearance, in the optional extra of an all-new Trident decal.
The iconic Trident decal is made of matte titanium, with a special coating consisting of a film of transparent varnish.
Design
Concept and Design
The design of the MC20 Cielo was developed at the Centro Stile Maserati in Turin.
The same goes for the new spyder, its basis the history of a brand that has elegance and racing spirit in its DNA. Maserati design is the perfect combination of sportiness and character, following timeless lines that make “Visual Longevity” (an approach that transcends fashion) its manifesto.
The project stages: dialogue between design and engineering
The work of the Centro Stile Maserati begins with a briefing on the product and its engineering. At Maserati, the briefing is debated and shaped to achieve the best possible trade-off before moving on to the practical stages, taking drawings and sketches as their starting point. The design is developed throughout the project, in continuous dialogue with the engineering departments.
MC20 Cielo is a car with an elegant yet sporty design.
Its character and personality are truly eye-catching for the purity of its forms, which seem to have been carved out by the wind, whether the roof is open or closed.
Nothing is superfluous, everything has its own function. The aim at the Centro Stile Maserati was to integrate all the demands of aerodynamics in an organic way, as if the car had evolved naturally.
The only concession to a surprise effect is the butterfly doors, which also remain in the spyder.
The butterfly door provides much easier access into and out of the cabin, as well as showing off the carbon fibre cockpit, the aerodynamics and the completely unmasked front wheel.
Maserati MC20 Cielo is a project that brings together two very different worlds. Its outfit – the bodywork – represents beauty and purity; the chassis, the carbon fibre underbody, epitomises technology and extreme performance. The upper section of the car conveys strong yet aesthetically harmonious impressions; the lower part, with its bare carbon fibre, begins with the aerodynamic floor and is rather more aggressively designed, with sharp edges and corners: everything has its own function. The front grille is the linking feature between these two worlds. It combines a bare carbon fibre lower part with a body-colour top, and its form appears to consist of two components.
The front wing lacks the three air vents that served as a signature feature of Maserati models, but would be pointless here, as the engine is mid-mounted. However, they are taken back up in the channels set into the sides of the matching cover.
Exterior
A dedicated colour: Acquamarina
For MC20 Cielo, Maserati has created a new colour: known as Acquamarina, it is available as part of the Maserati Fuoriserie customisation programme.
The concept that led the brand to select this special three-layer paint consisted of taking such a high-performance car in a more contemporary direction: holistic, high-tech and uniform in colour, all at once.
Maserati searched for a colour that would recall driving in the great outdoors, with the wind in your hair. A fresh, luminous and light shade. An iridescent colour, in its interaction with light, revealing itself in a surprising way.
The base is a pastel grey inspired by racing, reminiscent of the MC20’s sporty DNA, accompanied by an iridescent aquamarine mica that enlivens the colour and makes it stand out.
MC20 Cielo is fitted out in a colour that not only speaks of performance, but also serves as a nod to its racing origin by bringing together the brand’s dual souls: elegance and racing.
Other than the launch hue, MC20 Cielo revisits the colour palette created for the coupé, plus Grigio Incognito (a pastel grey). The range therefore encompasses five other colours: Bianco Audace, Giallo Genio, Rosso Vincente, Blu Infinito, and Grigio Mistero.
Every one of them was developed exclusively for the MC20. All the colours were created by bringing together two aspects: a strong reference to Made in Italy, the local area and a modern reinterpretation of models and colours that have made history for the brand.
The interior of the MC20 Cielo follows the same philosophy. In the launch version, light is key, in the use of ice-coloured Alcantara and leather. Below the dashboard, the ice-coloured door panels and seats enhance the finishes and contribute to the visual lightness of the car in comparison to the standard version, which retains a black leather interior. The trident on the headrest can also be embroidered by hand as an optional extra.
As with all the models in the Maserati range, the new spyder can also be customised, making it a blank canvas for your own tastes, made possible by the Maserati Fuoriserie programme.
PrimaSerie Launch Edition
Specially and only at launch, the MC20 Cielo is also available in the PrimaSerie Launch Edition, a limited series of around 60 models featuring exclusive content.
The very name – PrimaSerie – indicates the privilege of owning an all-new model, and makes exclusivity a clear strength.
Its unique features are clear to see, all the way to the minutest detail: the exterior in the new Acquamarina colour is complemented by new MM20” wheel rims in a special version with Gold finish and laser-engraved “PrimaSerie” wording. The badges on the bodywork also come in a specific finish.
The interiors are upholstered in ice-coloured Alcantara and leather, embellished with specific contrasting stitching in aquamarine on both the dashboard and the “PrimaSerie” wording on the headrest.
New wheel rims
The new Maserati spyder adds to the MC20 range of rims a new diamond-cut alloy wheel featuring a refined design, where the key component is the double the Roman numeral that recalls the car’s name and the year that marked the beginning of a “new era” for Maserati. These rims are available as an optional extra for both the coupé and the spyder.
Carbon fibre wheel rims will also be available, to ensure weight savings of 30 kg in comparison to the standard version.
Interior
The interior: the realm of functionality
Maserati MC20 Cielo conveys emotions with its elegant yet sporty line, and leaves the role of pure functionality to the interior. Everything is highly streamlined, almost minimalist, with two 10-inch screens, one for the cockpit and the other, the Maserati Touch Control Plus (MTC Plus MIA) in a central position, slanted slightly towards the driver.
The tunnel is very plain, with no unnecessary ornamentation. It includes only the drive mode selector, two buttons for the gears, the power window controls and the infotainment volume control, and a space for a smartphone with wireless charging pad. All the other controls are located on the steering wheel, with the ignition button on the left and the launch control on the right.
Although the function of every component takes priority, the interior is skilfully styled with carbon fibre to act as a meeting point for lifestyle, performance and engineering. The carbon fibre in the interior is matte in finish, for a more tailored, fabric-like look.
As seen in the MY23 coupé, the spyder has benefited from upgrades to its interior and new features: new control levers have been added behind the steering wheel, as have new buttons to turn on the lights, while the Alcantara steering wheel now comes as standard, with a blue engine start button.
Sports steering wheel in Alcantara
The steering wheel is taken from the MC20, developed and designed with input from Andrea Bertolini, Maserati Reference Driver and former World Champion in the MC12. A thicker steering wheel was chosen to maximise ergonomics and the sporty ‘feel’.
Only the essential buttons and switches remain intact, including the Start and Launch Control buttons.
The easily accessible, generously sized paddle shifters set into the steering column are available in dark aluminium in the standard configuration, or in carbon fibre as part of the carbon fibre interior package.
With MC20 Cielo, as in the MY23 coupé, the steering wheel comes in Alcantara as standard, or in carbon fibre with a blue engine start button.
Another major new feature is the electrical steering adjustment system, available as an optional extra for the MC20, starting from the new Cielo variant. Adding only 700 grams to the car’s weight, this specification extends the angular movement of the steering wheel and makes its adjustment even more intuitive and precise.
More informations: maserati.com
