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Maserati MC20 Icona and Leggenda special editions channel the MC12

Maserati is celebrating 20 years since the introduction of its legendary MC12 launched and took to the circuit with a couple of special edition MC20 supercars. Named the MC20 Icona and MC20 Leggenda, each takes after a specific look originally applied to MC12s. The MC20 Icona uses the MC12 Stradale’s best-known look with the white and blue two-tone on the exterior. Maserati says it consists of Bianco Audace Matte and Blu Stradale on this MC20. YouÂ’ll also notice the Maserati Fuoriserie logo in Bianco Audace on the side of the car and the Italian flag just behind the front wheels, reminiscent of where it sits on the MC12. Maserati matched the wheel finish of the MC12 with a silver look on the MC20, and the blue-painted calipers really pop behind said wheels. As for the interior, Maserati equips both cars with the optional lightweight four-way racing seats. The Icona specifically enjoys a black and blue two-tone interior colorway with “Icona” embroidered onto the headrests. As for the Leggenda (directly above), this MC20 takes after the Vitaphone Racing teamÂ’s livery for its MC12 GT1 race car. ItÂ’s finished in Nero Essenza and Digital Mint Matte. Interestingly, Maserati throws a splash of yellow at the Leggenda with yellow trident logos on the doors, grille and C-pillars. The trident wheels are then done in Nero Lucido with Digital Mint accents, and the calipers are painted in black to complete the package. Inside, you get a black and silver two-tone interior with “Leggenda” embroidered on the headrests. Maserati is only making 20 of each special edition model, called out by “UNA DI 20” on a badge in the engine bay. All of them are specÂ’d with a number of options such as the carbon fiber interior package, electronic limited-slip differential, nose lift, carbon fiber engine cover, Sonus Faber sound system, blind-spot monitoring and premium carpets. Related video:

Watch Edo Competition pit a Ferrari FXX against a Maserati MC12 Corsa on the 'Ring

High-zoot supercar tour organizer Gran Turismo Events held its annual Nürburgring track day last month, and in addition to the amateur punters the gates were opened to two tuned supercars from Edo Competition: A Maserati MC12 Corsa and a Ferrari Enzo ZXX. The ZXX, in case you've forgotten, is the same love child of Edo Competition and Zahir Rana's ZR Exotics that belly flopped into the Atlantic during the 2011 Targa Newfoundland.
We get a trip around the Nordschleife with both cars during a no-doubt quick but not insane lap, on board with driver Patrick Simon in the 755-horsepower MC12 and 'Ring queen Sabine Schmitz following in the 840-hp ZXX.
That should be all the build-up you need when the action's in the video below.

Maserati reorganizes, tries to sharpen the trident

When's the last time we posted on a run of comprehensive success at Alfa Romeo or Maserati? True, Maserati nearly tripled its U.S. sales from 4,768 in 2013 to 12,942 in 2014. However, the brand's been stuck around that number ever since, selling 13,711 units in 2017. Worse, those figures highlight how far Maserati has fallen behind its own goals. In the last five-year plan, the brand targeted 75,000 global sales this year — then downgraded the target to 50,000 in June this year. At 26,400 units through the first nine months of 2018, short of Poseidon surfacing to work some deus ex machina, even that reduced goal won't be met. New Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley is working to give Maserati the leaders and support it needs to point the trident in the right direction. On an analyst call at the end of October, Manley said, "With hindsight, when we put Maserati and Alfa together, it did two things. Firstly, it reduced the focus on Maserati the brand. Secondly, Maserati was treated for a period of time almost as if it were a mass market brand, which it isn't and shouldn't be treated that way." In October 2016, FCA named Reid Bigland to head Alfa Romeo and Maserati; this was back when Alfa Romeo dreamed of selling 400,000 cars annually by 2018. When Manley named his new executive teams last month, after assuming the CEO post following Sergio Marchionne's death in July, Manley separated Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Tim Kuniskis, who had taken over from Bigland, now heads Alfa Romeo and Jeep. Manley then restored Harald Wester to the head of Maserati. Wester ran Maserati from 2008 to 2016, after which he became FCA's chief technology officer, a role he maintains in the latest shuffle. Wester poached Jean-Philippe Leloup from Ferrari. LeLoup ran Ferrari's Central and Eastern European business operations; he now heads a concern called Maserati Commercial. Al Gardner, head of Maserati's North American dealer network since 2015, keeps that role and takes over as head of Maserati North America. Maserati has favorable brand value, but the leadership will confront almost every other problem a brand can have. Half the automaker's sales come from China, and the economic slowdown there is a serious drain on the numbers. In Europe, the WLTP emissions protocol, bloated inventories, and the need for incentives have dulled the edge. Sales worldwide are down 26 percent this year.