Maserati teases new supercar with Moss tribute

Maserati has chosen to mark the death of Sir Stirling Moss by releasing pictures of its new MC20 prototype in a special Moss livery. Aimed at returning the marque to racing, the forthcoming mid-engined supercar is an evolution of the Ferrari Enzo-derived MC12, which raced successfully in the 2000s, but this time powered by a Maserati-designed engine, thought to be a V8 or V6 hybrid.

Moss’s had close links to Maserati: before landing his works drive with Mercedes-Benz, the British legend galvanised the Formula 1 arena in a private Maserati 250F, achieving his first F1 win in the 1954 Oulton Park Gold Cup and later competing in works single-seaters and sports cars. But what the new Maserati commemorates is his drive in the ‘Eldorado’ 420M/58, the one-off V8 single-seater built for the Race of Two Worlds at Monza in 1958.

Intended to unite European and Indy racing, the two events held on the Monza banking were a US whitewash, but the Eldorado car made history by being painted not in national racing colours but the livery of an ice cream firm. It’s this white, red and black scheme the Modena company’s teaser pictures reflect, with the ace’s name prominent in cartoon-style lettering. It’s a way of keeping the new model, delayed until September, in the news as the photos show a camouflage scheme on disguised panels. Perhaps a more permanent honour would be to name the new car the Maserati Stirling…