Maserati has sliced the top off its brand-(re)building MC20 supercar, creating what’s badged the Cielo – equipped with a trick new retractable glass roof.
The 2023 Maserati MC20 Cielo has been revealed, as the convertible version of Maserati’s hero supercar, ahead of its Australian launch in mid-2023.
The Cielo – fittingly, Italian for ‘sky’ – is the second member of Maserati’s new MC20 supercar family, and differentiates itself from 2020’s coupe with an electrically-retractable glass roof, which can raise or lower in just 12 seconds at speeds up to 50km/h.
The glass roof – with more than half a square metre of open area – incorporates Advanced Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) technology allowing it to change from clear to opaque at the touch of a button, at ambient temperatures between -30 and 85 degrees.
Maserati says the roof hasn’t impacted the car’s storage space (at 100 litres in the rear, plus 50 litres up front), and delivers “perfect heat sealing and reduced in-car noise”. The car weighs 65kg more than the coupe, due to increased chassis stiffening.
Styling changes to keep the MC20 Cielo slippery in the wind tunnel include repositioned engine air intakes, reshaped B-pillars, and new air deflectors for the rear intakes.
In place of the coupe’s trident-shaped air intake, Cielo buyers can option a matte titanium Maserati trident decal for the engine cover – plus a new diamond-cut alloy wheel design debuting with the convertible, and a convertible-specific Acquamarina grey paint colour (pictured).
A further six colours are available: Grigio Incognito, Bianco Audace, Giallo Genio, Rosso Vincente, Blu Infinito, and Grigio Mistero.
Available at launch in Europe is a PrimaSerie edition, with Acquamarina exterior paint, gold wheels, PrimaSerie badging, and ice-coloured leather and Alcantara upholstery with aquamarine stitching.
Inside, carry-over items from the coupe include 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen (which incorporates the electric roof control), a wireless phone charger, and an available 12-speaker Sonus Faber sound system.
Both coupe and convertible MC20 models benefit from an Alcantara steering wheel as standard for Model Year 2023, plus new indicator and wiper control stalks, new headlight buttons, a blue engine start button, and a newly-optional power-adjustable steering column.
The drive mode selector in the centre console is now a touch device, and incorporates five modes: Wet, GT (default comfort mode), Sport (fast road driving), Corsa (the most hardcore mode), and ESC Off.
Powering the MC20 Cielo is the same 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged ‘Nettuno’ V6 as the coupe, sending 463kW and 730Nm to the rear wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
Maserati claims a 0-100km/h sprint time of “approximately” 3.0 seconds – only a tenth or two quicker than the coupe – towards a 9.2-second 0-200km/h time, and a top speed in excess of 320km/h.
Under the skin, highlights include three-mode adaptive dampers, double-wishbone suspension geometry, 20-inch wheels, a front-axle lift system, and 380mm six-piston front and 350mm four-piston rear brakes (with 390mm front and 360mm rear carbon-ceramic discs optional).
The MC20 Cielo is also the first MC20 variant with autonomous emergency braking – a feature that will become mandatory on all newly-introduced model lines in Australia next year, and is standard on $16,000 Kia Picanto micro cars and $30,000 Isuzu D-Max utes.
Traffic sign recognition and a 360-degree camera will also debut on the convertible, complementing rear parking sensors, a reversing camera and blind-spot monitoring.
The 2023 Maserati MC20 Cielo is due in Australian showrooms around the middle of next year. An electric MC20 coupe is due to be revealed next year, completing the supercar’s model range.
Pricing and specifications are yet to be confirmed, however expect a premium over the $438,000 plus on-road costs list price of the coupe in Australia.
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