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CARS TO WATCH

These are the cars to look forward to and soon to see, the eye-catchers of 2021. Varying from space, luxury and silence wrapped in a beautiful costume to a 6.5-liter V12 that screams out a maximum of 830 hp.

Online Editor: Natasha Hendriks
Text: Werner Budding

Maserati MC20

There was once a Maserati MC12, the legendary racer for public roads. Equipped with the 6.0-liter V12 from the Enzo Ferrari, Maserati built only fifty of them. Now the glorious Maserati has something new, equally special, with wild performance again. A new halo car, in which a midship-mounted, mud-flat 3.0-liter V6 bi-turbo combines an output of no less than 630 hp with a car weight of only 1,500 pounds. At least that shoots, with a top speed of 325 km/h. For the next five years, Maserati will launch a new model every year anyway. For 2021, that's the new GranTurismo, note heart-stoppingly electric. While an electric variant of the MC20 will also appear, in addition to the version with the twin-blown V6. And then there is also a compact SUV ready to conquer the world. Its name: Grecale, which obviously refers to a Mediterranean wind, just as so many Maserati cars have a name that comes from an earthly air current. The Grecale is said to be the fastest SUV in its class, and is a fraction more compact than the Levante. One to look forward to.

BMW iX

BMW came out with a serious electric car back in 2013, the i3. According to many, it was ahead of its time. And it shows, because now, seven years later, that same i3 is still heartily popular and anything but obsolete. In the coming years, BMW will add many electric cars to its sales program. Delivery of the iX3, the electric version of the X3, will begin early next year. Also going on sale will be the i4. Indeed, the electric version of the BMW 4 Series. In addition, BMW will launch the revolutionary iX. A car ahead of its time, just like the i3. The characteristics of the iX, which we learned about as the BMW iNEXT concept car, are: electric, extremely safe and very autonomous. All current BMWs can brake independently when the situation calls for it, as well as accelerate and adjust and sometimes even park automatically. The iX sets new standards when it comes to autonomous driving. The so-called level 3 autonomous driving applies to the car that has the size of the BMW X5. This means that as a driver on highways, you can take your hands completely off the wheel. The iX5/iNEXT achieves 600 kilometers of driving range on a full battery and can put up to 200 kW on a fast charger.

Lamborghini Essenza SCV12

The wait is on for the promised four-seater Lamborghini. But to ease that wait, the club from Sant'Agata is coming out with something very special: the Lamborghini Essenza SCV12. A raw racing machine produced by Squadra Corse, the racing arm of Lamborghini. Although in Lamborghini's SUV, the Urus, hangs a V8 with a duo of turbos, in the Essenza the brand of the angry bull stays true to the atmospheric engine. And what a one: a V12, with 6.5-liter capacity that violently screams out up to 830 horsepower. The racing Lambo with Le Mans aspirations has an Xtrac six-speed transmission, Pirelli slicks on wheels made of magnesium. And to bring things to a halt, you can rely on a solid set of discs and calipers from Brembo. The Lamborghini Essenza SCV12, if you're not scared out of your wits.

McLaren High-Performance Hybrid

The year of the new Sports Series, that's 2021 for McLaren. For now, McLaren is keeping most of the information at its home base in Woking, but what is certain is that the 540, 570 and 600 series will get a successor. If you're a big fan of the typical mid-engine design, a relatively short front end and a slightly longer rear end to house the engine, then once again you're in the right place with McLaren. A new carbon fiber architecture and an equally brand-new powertrain form the basis of the new Sports Series, which once again houses the engine behind the front seats. If one brand does not shy away from innovation, it is McLaren. In Formula 1, they have been ironclad for decades. For street models, Sports Series technology runs in line with F1; the new series gets a hybrid powertrain. Combined with a new, super powerful V6, the hybrid sports machine even offers the possibility of covering short distances completely electrically. If a lot of power is desired, the electro unit assists the gasoline engine, and if not much power is desired, for example in urban areas, then you can drive the new McLaren purely on the electric motor. Emission-free, in other words. The hybrid McLaren is a car with two faces, insanely fast, or extremely efficient.

Masters #44

MASTERS #44