2023 Maserati MC20 Cielo

Along with its coupe sibling, the Maserati MC20 Cielo drop-top is an exotic sports car out of Italy that aims to lure buyers with its mix of arresting styling and neck-snapping performance. The MC20 is Maserati's halo car that sets the standard for performance and design for the carmaker, and in Cielo guise, it's even more alluring. Although not quite as brash as the wildest Lamborghinis and Ferraris, the MC20 Cielo is still a sight to behold when those butterfly doors are open, and the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged Nettuno V6 with 621 horsepower sounds better here since one can drop the roof at the touch of a button. A minimalist interior means nothing to distract you from the task of driving, and we also appreciate that the Cielo doesn't weigh much more than the coupe. The Cielo's price places it alongside rivals like the Aston Martin DB11 Volante and Ferrari Portofino M, both of which have V8 engines and guarantee an intoxicating driving experience. Can the latest MC20 Cielo match them?

A new arrival for the 2023 model year, the Cielo is the roofless version of the standard MC20 highlighted by its electrically retractable glass roof. This roof can open and close in just 12 seconds, contributing to a modest weight gain of 143 lbs for the Maserati MC20 Cielo over the coupe. It still gets the 621-hp Nettuno V6, so it's very quick. At launch, the PrimaSerie Launch Edition model will be available with a special three-layer color called Acquamarina, but only 60 examples of these will be produced.

Not every coupe makes a successful stylistic transition to a drop-top, but the exterior of the Maserati MC20 Cielo is a winner. It shares many aspects of its design with the coupe, but the buttresses with the roof down lend it an even more striking profile, and this is amplified when the car stands still with those butterfly doors open.

Other than those doors, however, Maserati has practiced impressive restraint in the car's design. It has a timeless, simple design that will age well, starting with those simple LED headlights. The grille has a body-color top section but a bare carbon fiber lower part. And, although the signature trio of air vents from other Maseratis isn't found on the front wings, that doesn't take away from the car's sportiness. 20-inch wheels are standard, but various finishes are available.

As for that electrically retractable roof, it can be raised or lowered in just 12 seconds, and it has electrochromic glass that can be either clear or opaque. Moving around the body, there are more carbon fiber elements; the Exterior Carbon Fiber Package adds to this with carbon fiber for the hood, front splitter, rear diffuser, and fender sill inserts.

At the rear, the MC20 has dual tailpipes in an aggressive bumper, while the elongated taillights are simple and sophisticated.

At 185 inches in length, the MC20 Cielo is a few inches longer than the Ferrari Portofino M. Other dimensions for the Maserati MC20 Cielo indicate a height of just 48.2 inches, typical of sports cars and other high-end exotics, and a width of 85.8 inches with the mirrors included. The wheelbase comes in at 106.3 inches.

At around 3,449 pounds, the MC20 Cielo weighs just 143 lbs more than the MC20 coupe, which isn't a great deal of added weight, and it's offset by how much power there is.

Non-metallic, metallic, and Fuoriserie colors are provided for the Maserati MC20 Cielo. The non-metallic hues are limited to Grigio Incognito (a light gray) and Nero Essenza (black), but there is more variety in the metallic palette. Here, customers can choose from Bianco Audace (white), Rosso Vincente (red), Giallo Genio (yellow), Blu Infinito (blue), or Grigio Mistero (silver). Finally, the Fuoriserie palette consists of Blu Corse (blue), Bianco Audace metallic (white), Giallo Genio matte (yellow), Liquid Metal matte (gray), and Bianco Pastello (white).

Although Maserati doesn't provide pricing for these colors on its website, you can expect to pay in the region of $14,000 for paint with a matte finish. Several brake caliper colors are also available, ranging from blue through red and yellow to gray and black.

The Maserati MC20 Cielo's 0-60 mph time of under 2.9 seconds and a top speed of about 202 mph makes it quick enough to entertain even the most hardcore enthusiasts, and passengers not used to this sort of pace will be blown away by its performance. Sending power to the rear wheels exclusively, the 3.0-liter twin-turbo Nettuno V6 is responsible for this madness, and its 621 hp and 538 lb-ft of torque are delivered with even more acoustic savagery when the roof is down.

Power delivery isn't spiky; it pulls strongly all the way to its red line in a way that not all turbocharged sports cars can replicate. The V6 makes a throaty, engaging roar and sounds even better with the top down, and the transmission doesn't let the car down with quick shifts via the responsive paddles, yet it executes smooth changes when you're not caning it in the default GT mode. Does it sound as good as a Ferrari V8? No, but the Cielo has a character all of its own that any gearhead will respect.

Driven back to back with the coupe, one can sense a touch of shimmy in the Cielo via the steering column, but it's not enough to be disconcerting or spoil your progress. For the most part, the Cielo matches the coupe's wide range of capabilities, with a surprisingly compliant ride in GT mode making way for an agile, crisp, and engaging experience in Corsa mode. Between those extremes, there are Wet and Sport modes, while ESC Off is similar to Corsa but with the traction control entirely disengaged - in a powerful RWD car, the latter is best ignored unless you are in a controlled environment.

At the heart of the Maser is the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged Nettuno V6 with technology derived from Formula 1. Specifically, it's the pre-chamber combustion system with twin spark plugs that is now available on a regular production car. With a specific output of 207 hp per liter, the V6 produces even more powerful than the twin-turbo 4.0L V8 mill in the Ferrari Portofino V8, with the engine in the Maserati MC20 Cielo delivering 621 hp at 7,500 rpm and 538 lb-ft of torque from 3,000 rpm.

Paired with this V6 is an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission from Tremec with paddle shifters. An electronic limited-slip differential is available as an option.

Nobody expects a high-end sports car to have great gas mileage, but the MC20 Cielo isn't the worst gas-guzzler of its kind. It achieves 15/25/18 mpg city/highway/combined, with that highway figure being quite good for a powerful car like this.

With a fuel tank capacity of 15.9 liters, the MC20 Cielo will be able to cover around 286 miles between refills in a mix of city and highway driving.

The driver and passenger face a simplified dashboard layout that could have looked a little more interesting than it does for a car of this nature; that said, some may prefer the uncluttered layout, and you can spice things up with some of the more exciting color choices. Dual digital displays cater to the instrument cluster and infotainment displays, while the start/stop engine button is found on the sporty steering wheel. Leather and Alcantara are among the high-quality materials found around the cabin. One of the highlights of the Cielo, of course, is the retractable power roof that can be lowered at the touch of a button.

There are just two seats in the Maserati MC20 Cielo's interior, so your friends must take turns riding shotgun. The seats are quite comfortable; even occupants over six feet tall will find enough legroom and headroom, wide footwells, and reasonable shoulder room. Overall, the interior space feels snug but not at all claustrophobic.

Ingress and egress are always an event thanks to those butterfly doors, but as usual for a sports car, you have to stoop down a bit lower to drop down into the seat. Otherwise, no extreme acrobatics are required to climb in and out of the Maser.

Interior materials are finished to a high standard in the MC20 Cielo, a mix of leather and Alcantara striking the right balance between sportiness and luxury. Various bits are also finished in matte carbon fiber. The steering wheel has a chunky rim with Alcantara, and the large paddle shifters behind it have a dark aluminum finish or can also be had in carbon fiber.

Nero (black) is the default seating upholstery color, but customers can also go for Cuoio (brown), Blu (dark blue), Grigio (grey), Rosso (red), Giallo (yellow), or Blu Cielo (a more vivid blue). All of these are paired with black to a lesser or greater degree, but Ghiaccio (a lighter grey) gives the cabin an airier feel as this color covers the seats, center console, and lower dashboard. We'd definitely recommend going for one of the contrast colors for the Maserati MC20 Cielo, considering that the cabin's design is quite conservative.

The few customers who get their hands on the PrimaSerie Launch Edition will get a Cielo with ice-colored Alcantara and leather paired with Aquamarine on the dashboard (matching the exclusive paint) and PrimaSerie script on the headrests.

An available Interior Carbon Fiber Package includes the lightweight material for the cluster cap, paddle shifters, and door sills. A carbon fiber seat back and the Maserati Trident stitched into the headrests can also be found on the options menu.

There is minimal cargo space in the new Maserati MC20 Cielo convertible, with the rear luggage capacity measuring only 3.5 cubic feet. That's because Maserati had to squeeze in this space in the same vicinity as the engine, so it's only large enough for a few shopping bags or perhaps two soft bags. The Cielo also has a frunk but this comes in at under 1.8 cubes, so it's roughly half the size of the already small rear luggage area.

The cabin has a narrow center armrest that conceals a small storage compartment that can hold wallets and a bunch of keys but not much more, while a single cupholder is positioned between the seats. Besides the glovebox, that's about it; the doors don't have conventional bins since they open upwards.

For the price, the Maserati MC20 Cielo is hardly overloaded with features, but those that are there, are generally designed to tailor the driving experience. To that end, the convertible comes with paddle shifters, buttons on the steering wheel for starting/stopping and the launch function, and a rotary dial on the center tunnel that allows the driver to switch between one of the five drive modes.

Adjusting the dual-zone automatic climate control system requires delving into the touchscreen interface, and you'll have to use this same multi-step process to control the optional heated seats. The car also comes with keyless entry and go, a digital instrument cluster, a suspension lifter system, six-way power-adjustable seats, wireless device charging, remote start, a rearview camera with dynamic gridlines, front/rear parking sensors, and auto-dimming exterior mirrors.

The power-retractable roof is worth a mention, as it can be raised or lowered in only 12 seconds and is a feature that sets the Cielo apart. It also comes with advanced Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) technology for adjusting the transparency.

Dual 10.25-inch screens are found inside the 2023 MC20 Cielo, one being the gauge cluster and one for the center touchscreen. Dubbed the Maserati Touch Control Plus system, it is essentially a lightly reskinned version of the infotainment system found in many far cheaper Stellantis products. While some may see this as a slap in the face when buying a six-figure convertible, the advantage is that the system is easy to understand and features fast responses. The screens are also bright, even with the roof down and when competing with the sun's rays. Our only complaint is that you need to use the touchscreen for the climate controls and the roof, functions that would be much nicer to operate with physical knobs and buttons. Fortunately, there is a physical dial for the volume on the center tunnel.

The infotainment system comes with navigation, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, SiriusXM with 360L, and a standard sound system that can be replaced by a 12-speaker Sonus Faber setup for an added cost.

Despite being such a new car, the Maserati MC20 Cielo has already been subject to one recall for a windshield frame that could detach in a crash, which obviously increases the risk of an injury for occupants. The MC20 coupe was recalled twice for a fuel line sensor housing that could leak and a brake light that could malfunction; hopefully, these problems don't trickle down to the newer MC20 Cielo.

Warranty coverage for the 2023 Maserati MC20 Cielo is nothing spectacular, with cover for four years or 50,000 miles and no complimentary scheduled maintenance.

It's highly unlikely that the expensive Maserati MC20 Cielo will ever be sent for a crash test, so there are no official ratings from the NHTSA or IIHS. The recall relating to the potentially detaching windshield in an accident is worrisome, but Maserati will undoubtedly take swift action to remedy the issue.

Every MC20 Cielo comes with stability/traction control, front and side airbags, front and rear parking sensors, and a rearview camera. Blind-spot monitoring is one of the few advanced driver-assistance features equipped as standard, but the optional ADAS Package will add pedestrian recognition, traffic sign recognition, and a 360-degree surround-view camera system. The rearview camera mirror is essential as it negates poor rearward visibility.

It may often exist in the towering shadows of its Ferrari and Lamborghini rivals, but Maserati has created something special with the MC20 Cielo. This convertible looks and feels wholly unaffected by the weight of expectation that comes with Maserati launching a new halo sports car. Its F1-inspired V6 sounds better with the roof down and provides linear, spirited performance, and the Cielo drop-top retains most of the sharpness and agility of the coupe. Its abilities as a daily driver are also impressive, be it the compliant ride or the clever roof that effectively insulates you from the elements when raised. Its interior design won't blow you away, and the timeless exterior doesn't try too hard, so if you want something more flamboyant, its Italian rivals may suit you better. But the word that comes to mind here is balance; the MC20 Cielo is such a beautifully balanced package in all ways and deserves to succeed.

The price of the 2023 Maserati MC20 Cielo is estimated to be in the region of $240,000 to $250,000. While the official MSRP for the Maserati MC20 Cielo isn't advertised, it does exclude a destination charge of $3,995 in the USA plus any options.

An array of colors, wheel designs, and upholstery finishes are available. In terms of packages, the Exterior Carbon Fiber Package adds dark exhaust tips plus carbon fiber for the front splitter, rear diffuser, under door and fender sill inserts, and hood. The ADAS Package bundles together pedestrian recognition, a surround-view camera, and traffic sign recognition.

Noteworthy standalone options include a power-adjustable steering column, an electronic limited-slip differential, heated seats, carbon ceramic brakes, a 12-speaker Sonus Faber High premium sound system, and carbon fiber seat backs. Maserati doesn't display the price of these options on its website, but you can easily add over $30k worth of options to the MC20 Cielo.

There is only one MC20 Cielo trim to choose from but there are quite a few options to choose from. We'd have ours in one the more vivid colors, so why not the Giallo Genio Matte (yellow) from the Fuoriserie palette? Assuming that the buyer of a car like this has some extra to spend, we'd also go for the ADAS Package with its additional driver-assistance features (pedestrian recognition, 360-degree camera system, and traffic sign recognition). Heated seats are a must and the 12-speaker Sonus Faber High premium sound system is another extra we'd go for. These options are expected to add well over $20k to the base price of the new Maserati MC20 Cielo.