Manufacturer's philosophy revealed through awards around the world

Each industry in the world has its own prestigious awards. In the film industry, film festivals are held at the Academy Awards and Cannes, and in the music industry, it is around the Grammy Awards. Miss Universe is a famous competition for female beauty. Of course, such awards exist in Japan as well. The M1 Grand Prix and Buzzword Award must also be symbols of their respective industries.
There are many such awards in the automobile industry. Japan Car of the Year, for which I serve as a selection committee member, is one such event, and the car of the year is selected from among cars released that year. The 60 members of the selection committee will hold the steering wheel and carefully examine the selection based on their own specialized knowledge. From a selection standpoint, it is quite difficult.

Regardless, I have a personal favorite award. The Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este is held every year in Lake Como, Italy. Literally translated, it means "competition of elegance." It's like evaluating a car based on its aesthetic sense. By the way, "Villa d'Este", as the name suggests, is the name of the villa where the event will be held, located on the shores of Lake Como. The nominated classic cars are lined up in the garden and evaluated by the judges. Car owners are aristocrats, millionaires, and celebrities from all over the world. Collectors, so-called celebrities, are in attendance. Ralph Lauren is one of them.

The year I visited in 2014 was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Maserati, the prestigious Italian brand. To mark the 100th anniversary of the company's founding, plans were made to create a division dedicated to Maserati. Of course, overall Maserati's entry rate was high, and they placed high in various categories. I'm sure many collectors took advantage of this timing to enter. Since it is the 100th anniversary, the attention is much higher than in previous years.
So what kind of models were entered? In the case of Maserati, most of them were racing cars. The 1956 Maserati 450S that won "Best of Show" was a racing car of which only nine were produced at the time, and the Maserati category award went to the 9 V1929 Sport, one of only two racing cars produced at the time.
As you can see from this, Maserati has been famous as a racing car manufacturer for more than half a century since its birth. The place of battle at that time was the Grand Prix race, the predecessor of the F1 Grand Prix. Before the war, its rivals were Alfa Romeo and Bugatti, and after the war, it was Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz.
There is a model that expresses this. It's a Maserati Quattroporte. Quattroporte means "four doors" in Italian. In other words, the default is 4-door, and since 2-door is a rare model for the manufacturer, we chose the model name as is. I have never heard of any other manufacturer like this.

Maserati MC20 cello is a racing car that reflects the times

I would like to introduce this Maserati MC20 cello with a long introduction. This model is a modern interpretation of their philosophy and footprint. The wide and low body is truly lacy.

The concept of this car as a racing car is expressed in the name. “MC” is the initials of Maserati Corse. Corse means racing. But “20” means 2020. This year marks the beginning of a new generation of Maserati with BEVs (battery-powered EVs without an engine) in mind. Taking this car as an example, the engine has been downsized to a V6 engine while maintaining high output, and they have announced the addition of a BEV using the same platform. In other words, we are building cars using a different logic than before.

Just because of the name, it's a racing car. The same goes for the low driving position and the engine sound you hear from behind. A 2-seater with a mid-engine layout is guaranteed. Moreover, the door is a butterfly door that opens diagonally upwards. I'm sure there's no boy who wouldn't be excited about this.

Furthermore, this is an open top model. The “cello” in MC20 cello means sky in Italian. The top is a glass roof, which is stored at the rear. Opening/closing time is approximately 12 seconds. In an instant, the blue sky spreads out above my head.
Car manufacturers, not just Maserati, sometimes release iconic models like this. Its role is to show the direction of new design languages, interfaces, and power sources. In fact, the Grecale SUV released after this car has a similar front mask.
When I look at this brand from that perspective, I get excited. In other words, the MC20 is Maserati's future projection. A two-door coupe GranTurismo will also be added soon, so the future becomes clearer.

Image provided by: Maserati Japan
Text by Tatsuya Kushima

Tatsuya Kushima

Motor journalist and columnist. Currently, he is the media site editor-in-chief and media business producer for the surfing magazine "NALU." She has previously served as editor-in-chief of many men's magazines, golf magazines, car magazines, airline in-flight magazines, etc. In addition to media activities, he is a member of the Japan Car of the Year selection committee, a member of the Japan Cigar Association, a Japan Boat of the Year selection committee, and the creative director of men's golf wear ``The Duke's Golf.''