2026 Maserati MCPura First Drive Review: New Updates to an Old-School Supercar

• Maserati’s old-school MC20 supercar gets a refresh — and a new name.
• The MCPura includes revisions to the MC20's exterior styling, interior features and personalization options.
• Unfortunately, there's no bump in power nor substantial performance enhancements.

— Pisa, Italy

Maserati MCPura: This unfortunate nomenclature harkens to Pura Vita, or "pure life" in English, and a host of subtle improvements do combine to create a substantial revision of its predecessor, the MC20. Inside, a new "squircle" steering wheel with a thicker rim enhances the supercar's sporty aesthetic, as does a switch to Alcantara faux suede for most visible surfaces. On the exterior, a new front fascia sharpens up the nose. The car's side skirts now come in either black plastic or carbon fiber, and the diffuser out back tightens up into the exhaust pipes to amplify the short rear overhang.

On a drive through Tuscany and Liguria, my Cielo convertible's new Devil Orange paint job gives it away as an MCPura versus the outgoing design, though otherwise it'll likely take an old car parked side by side with a new one to spot any difference. Luckily, the MC20's original design looked spectacular when it first launched five years ago and still stands out as a stunner today.

Unlike the Maserati MC20 GT2 Stradale track toy, the new MCPura receives no increase in power nor any substantial performance gains. Its 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 makes the same 621 horsepower and 538 lb-ft of torque as before, and doing so preserves the GT2 Stradale's pride of place in the lineup. Leonardo Rimini, Maserati's sports car product planning specialist, tells me that extracting more power from the V6 pushes the boundaries of strict Euro 6 emissions regulations. 

The twin-turbo V6 delivers unbelievable thrust. It's almost certainly an underrated engine, delivering a rare combination of low-end grunt, swelling turbo rush and top-end power on the way to a screaming 8,000-rpm redline. Maserati claims a 2.9-second 0-60 mph time, and Edmunds recorded 3.3 seconds for an MC20 Cielo the last time one came in for testing, but in reality the MCPura feels quicker.

So there's really no need for more power, because all the best driving dynamics still carry over from the MC20 anyhow. The new front air intakes further optimize airflow for cooling and aerodynamics, and Rimini says the design took 2,000 combined man-hours in a wind tunnel. Still, it's the lightweight carbon-fiber single-piece construction that likely contributes most to the MCPura's character. Again, the car feels lighter than its specs suggest, at 3,307 pounds for the coupe and 3,565 pounds for the Cielo. 

The Cielo best epitomizes MCPura life, both because of the nifty retracting hardtop with its polymer-dispersed liquid crystal glass that can switch from clear to opaque at the touch of a button, as well as the carbon fiber underpinning the chassis. More layers of the miracle material down low in the car's subfloor compensate for a lack of the fixed roof's rigidity, therefore allowing for softer suspension tuning that makes driving along rough rural Italian streets far more comfortable than you might expect.

Through the Italian hillsides, the Cielo becomes a bit more playful, letting the tail wag early as the crisp and light steering lets this supercar cut through corners with ease. Using the steering column-mounted paddle shifters, the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission rips off shifts with lightning-quick precision, complemented by fun turbo blowoff noises.

Most importantly, though, the MCPura's electronic traction control reminds me of supercars from the 2000s, when big power made handling almost untamable. In fact, even today, the MCPura's traction control barely functions at all. You can easily get the MCPura to drift by giving it a bit too much throttle — and in the car's normal GT drive mode, too. The ignition simply cuts off too late to prevent the Cielo's 60% rear-biased weight distribution from rearing up frequently under power. Stepping up to Sport or Corsa unleashes even more fun, transforming the MCPura into a serious handful on public roads. I mean that in the best way possible. 

Launch control also barely works: You hold the brake and gas simultaneously, then step off the brake as usual, but this just prompts a burnout, not a scientifically controlled and traction-enhanced blastoff. On the flip side, somewhat concerningly, the lack of electronic refinement also seems to cause some unpredictable response from the brake-by-wire system, when light- to mid-pedal pressure doesn't necessarily translate to stopping power. Staying committed to driving harder solves this problem, luckily.

This is all part of the MCPura's old-school appeal. There's no all-wheel-drive traction, no hybrid system with electric assist, and the full EV variant initially promised back in 2020 has been canceled. And it's easy to understand why, because no matter the variant, the MC20 — and MCPura — is all about that V6 engine and the lightweight carbon chassis, not an EV conversion that will inevitably add another 1,000 pounds of batteries while costing a lot more, too. 

The new MCPura starts at $246,000 and the Cielo stickers for $281,000 — surprisingly modest increases above the initial MC20's original price tag of $215,000. Maserati also adds more customization options via its Fuoriserie personalization program, which, along with the Alcantara suede, should help to offset the decidedly cheap feeling of the switchgear in the cockpit. Maserati expects 84% of MCPuras will include at least one Fuoriserie part when ordered, out of a planned 1,000 combined coupes and Cielos slated for production each model year. The order books are open now, with early deliveries to U.S. customers expected to begin before the end of the year.

Photos by Michael Teo Van Runkle