Maserati MCPura aims to return the modern supercar to its roots

Despite automotive manufacturer portfolios being swept up by the rising tide of electrification, the niche world of supercars isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. This is largely based on customer feedback - electric powertrains with their synthesised soundtracks and flat torque curve party tricks just aren’t appealing enough. With supercars, people pay top dollar for a particular blend of viscerality, engagement and mechanical “feel” which is highly contingent upon a crisp, combustion-borne soundtrack.

The Maserati MCPura has a great soundtrack. Its in-house developed Nettuno V6 is the finest offering from Stellantis when it comes to petrol performance. It features an F1-derived pre-chamber combustion technology with twin spark plugs, making 621hp and 720Nm. But numbers don’t really play much of a role in encapsulating its appeal, because it's meant to be the antithesis of modern, numbers-driven supercars. This one’s all about offering a pure, unadulterated drive, a front-row seat to Tosca equivalent of supercar theatre.

It isn’t even all that new really. The MCPura is more of a rebranding exercise for Maserati as it is its post-Ferrari era, the brand’s undisputed halo car. Born as the MC20 in 2020, Maserati decided it wanted to dissociate with the year of Covid, and so, when updating the car, kept the Maserati Corse and slapped a more fitting “Pura” at the end.

They didn’t stop there, although to be honest, they didn’t go much further either. From the outside, the MCPura remains unmistakably related to the MC20, yet the differences are more than cosmetic. Its front end has been sharpened, the bumper and diffuser redesigned to improve airflow and efficiency. The result is a silhouette that feels cleaner, tauter and more purposeful. A new AI Aqua Rainbow finish — a colour that shifts subtly in sunlight — joins the updated palette, complemented by freshly designed alloy wheels that further distinguish it from its predecessor.

The fast and the elegant

The car’s appeal is undeniable. It’s elegant, restrained and proportionally perfect — a visual antidote to today’s aggression-heavy supercar styling. In an age of hyperbolic wings and angular excess, the MCPura recalls a more graceful philosophy. The last time a mid-engined car exuded this level of natural beauty, it wore a Ferrari 458 badge. Maserati, it seems, is restoring the lost art of restraint.

Reclaiming the supercar

Labelling the MCPura a grand tourer, as Maserati occasionally does, stretches the term. This machine is too focused, too alive to be domesticated. Even in its mildest drive setting, the car feels electric in its reflexes — a coiled spring ready to unspool with the slightest prod of the accelerator. On the mountain roads that snake through Tuscany, it lunges forward with feral intensity, the twin-turbo V6 snarling as it builds revs. A gentle squeeze of the throttle is enough to spin the rear wheels. The carbon-ceramic brakes demand heat before they settle into their rhythm, squealing faintly until they do.

Balance remains the Maserati’s defining trait. When Livemint tested the MC20 at Sepang in 2021, its steering precision stood out as almost telepathic — and that quality endures. There’s no need for rear-wheel steering or trick electronics; the chassis itself delivers intuitive feedback and razor-sharp turn-in. The dual-clutch gearbox, too, is perfectly calibrated — shifting with seamless accuracy and no perceptible lag. The Nettuno V6, meanwhile, responds with the urgency of a naturally aspirated motor, responding instantly to throttle inputs with crisp, linear force.

Engineering Purity

True to its name, the MCPura is engineered with purist intent. At its heart lies Maserati’s Nettuno V6 — a 3.0-litre, twin-turbocharged, dry-sump engine conceived and built entirely in-house – the same unit that powers the latest GranTurismo and Grecale Trofeo models.

Structurally, the car remains built around the carbon-fibre monocoque of the MC20, keeping weight low and rigidity high. Only minor adjustments to the underbody were made to enhance aerodynamics. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, ensuring lightning-fast gear changes.

Dimensions and packaging make it relatively usable by supercar standards, but the MCPura’s character is anything but docile. It is a driver’s car through and through — one that prefers a closed track to a crowded boulevard. The trademark butterfly doors provide the only real flourish in an otherwise tightly focused design that prioritises precision over spectacle.

Inside, the cabin remains stripped of distraction. The Alcantara-lined interior feels purpose-built, with exposed carbon-fibre options available for those seeking a racier ambience. Apart from a tactile drive-mode dial, nearly all functions operate through a minimalist touchscreen interface. In the Cielo convertible variant, the glass roof opens or closes in 12 seconds — a neat trick, though the reliance on touch controls over physical buttons slightly detracts from the experience.

Verdict

The MCPura stands apart in today’s supercar landscape. It doesn’t chase absurd power figures or engage in one-upmanship with its rivals from Lamborghini or Porsche. Instead, it embodies a quieter, more confident philosophy — one grounded in mechanical honesty and aesthetic discipline.

With prices starting at ₹4.12 crore for the coupe and ₹5.12 crore for the Cielo convertible, it’s undeniably positioned among the elite. But its appeal isn’t in the numbers; it lies in what those numbers represent — a celebration of proportion, purity and restraint in a category increasingly defined by excess.

The Maserati MCPura is a reminder that true greatness doesn’t always announce itself with brute force. Sometimes it whispers — through balance, clarity and craftsmanship. In a world addicted to noise, the MCPura feels refreshingly composed — less like another hyper-engineered dessert and more like a perfectly torched crème brûlée: refined, deliberate and utterly satisfying.

The writer attended the MCPura drive in Italy at the invitation of Maserati.