MASERATI MC20 PAYS HOMAGE TO SIR STIRLING MOSS

Maserati_Eldorado_MC20_1A prototype of the Maserati MC20, the new Maserati super sportscar, will pay homage to Sir Stirling Moss, the British motor-racing ace who died on 12 April at the age of 90.

The design used for this prototype is taken from the Maserati Eldorado, the iconic single-seater driven on its debut in Monza in 1958 by Stirling Moss himself, at the “Trofeo dei due Mondi”.

It was very fitting that the Trident Brand chose the date of 13 May to recall the great British driver, since there is no doubt that his victory in the Monaco F1 Grand Prix on 13 May 1956, at the wheel of the Maserati 250F, stands out amongst the many trophies in the champion’s collection.

Moss, who recorded 16 victories in 66 starts in Formula 1 Grand Prix racing, is one of the most successful drivers never to have won the world title. He finished in second place four times, and third in three championships. For this reason, he was known as the “King Without a Crown”.

In the 1956 season and some 1957 races, Moss drove a Maserati 250F (“his favourite”, as he often recalled), beaten only by Juan Manuel Fangio. Moreover, Moss’s Argentinian rival took his 1957 title at the wheel of another 250F, confirming the reliability and superiority of the Modena-built car.

Through this MC20 prototype with Stirling Moss’s “signature”, Maserati wishes to commemorate one of the greatest names in the annals of world motorsports, who wrote some of the finest pages in its own racing history. The list of Maserati cars driven by the British driver also includes the Tipo 60 Birdcage, Tipo 61 and 300 S.

The arrival of the MC20 is an important event for the Modena-based company, not only because of the racing comeback, but also because it will be the first car to adopt a new engine 100 per cent designed, developed and produced by Maserati itself.

Sir Stirling Moss would certainly have liked the new MC20: a car that fully embodies Maserati’s truest values in terms of the performance, driving pleasure and innovative contents superlatively expressed in all Trident Brand models.

About Ewan Kennedy

Ewan Kennedy, a long-time car enthusiast, was Technical Research Librarian with the NRMA from 1970 until 1985. He worked part-time as a freelance motoring journalist from 1977 until 1985, when he took a full-time position as Technical Editor with Modern Motor magazine. Late in 1987 he left to set up a full-time business as a freelance motoring journalist. Ewan is an associate member of the Society of Automotive Engineers - International. An economy driving expert, he set the Guinness World Record for the greatest distance travelled in a standard road vehicle on a single fuel fill. He lists his hobbies as stage acting, travelling, boating and reading.
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