Carabinieri's first-ever Maserati is an MCPura
Of course it is - nothing says 'maximum efficiency in medical missions' like 630hp...
Amazing though it sounds, Maserati has never previously provided vehicles for the Italian Carabinieri. You’d have thought a good few Quattroportes and Ghiblis might have been handy for La Benemerita over the years, though apparently not. Still, better late than never and all that, so here’s the first Maserati ever used by Italy’s national gendarmerie in its 200-plus years of existence: a new MCPura.
While mechanically standard, the mid-engined Maser does benefit from sirens and lights - and there’s not a car yet made that isn’t made cooler for those upgrades. It’s been kitted out ‘with special equipment for the rapid and safe transport of organs and blood’; there’s not very much detail on what that might be, but given there isn’t very much carrying capacity in these Maseratis - and the boot tends to get pretty hot - it was perhaps a more involved overhaul than just getting a fridge in. But you’d have to feel good about your life prospects if vital supplies arrived in a Maserati that looked this good.
The Carabinieri MCPura is being joined on the force by another Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio. It too gets the suave dark blue and red livery, plus the blues and twos; in stark contrast to the Maserati, there’s been an Alfa saloon serving as a Gazella, or emergency response car, since the 1950s. Imagine how happy the boys and girls in blue were when the 159s were replaced by V6, rear-wheel drive Quadrifoglios…
Certainly, the 520hp Alfa seems a more practical option for transporting blood and organs around, though there’ll surely be no shortage of volunteers to be on MCPura duty. The cars have been provided as part of a strategic collaboration between Stellantis and the Carabinieri Corps, an agreement which aims to show off just how good the cars are (they’ve certainly picked, by a margin, the best two Stellantis models out there, so it’s nice that they’re Italian) as well as remind the country of everything that the Carabinieri does.
“We are proud to provide to the Carabinieri two cars that represent the best of Italian technology and design,” said Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa. “The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and Maserati MCPura are not only symbols of performance and style, but concrete tools to ensure speed and safety in missions of vital importance. This collaboration testifies to our commitment to combining automotive excellence and social responsibility.”
All very well-meaning, though surely only in Italy could a 200mph supercar serve a medical purpose - long may it continue. And if you’re like us, you’ll be thinking that a Giulia Quadrifoglio and MCPura (or MC20, as it used to be) together sounds like a fantastic two-car garage for anything and everything up to organ transportation. At current values, it’s possible to buy both for around £160,000, going off this MC20 and this Alfa. As the Carabinieri are about to find out, it’ll never be a dull day with those two around.
They do get used, but obviously don’t make it to the news every time.
Don’t hate me, but I think the 159 and Giulia in carabinieri livery remain undefeated in terms of coolness
Reminds me - my best friend’s dad drove an ambulance while serving in the Italian air force. One day he made a bet with a colleague that he could get a patient to the dentist in town in record time. When they arrived and opened the rear doors, the patient was just about upside down and green from motion sickness.
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