The Maserati MC20 Dakar is the unofficial answer to the Lamborghini Sterrato

Off-road supercars saw a marked return to form in 2023 with the release of the Porsche 911 Dakar and the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato, but what if a third option existed? Say, a Maserati MC20 that’s been through car renderiser Siim Parn’s school of 3D modelling madness?

Let’s start with the substantial and entirely digital underbody protection. Up front, this means a revised front bumper with some cladding, a less aggressive bonnet and a pair of square tow hooks for when its driver (inevitably) needs rescuing from their overambitious approach.

Along the flanks, the cladding continues across both wheel arches and is met in the middle by strengthened side skirts. The original alloys do remain, but will likely need to be swapped out if the MC20 Dakar was ever to make the leap from digital fantasy to real-life-sand-stormer. Steelies, anyone?

Out back, the diffuser has also been remodelled while the miniature wing is painted to match the new suit of armour. Looks clean. Robust. And perhaps somewhat difficult to see out the back of, what with the rear windows hiding behind a closed-shield to restrict visibility to all of four per cent. There's also some sort of square box on top with additional lights bolted to the front. A strange contraption to add to a rally raid car.

No word on any theoretical mechanical changes, so we expect the MC20’s 621bhp and 538lb ft of torque to be retained, though the eight-speed transmission will likely distribute that power - in theory - to all four wheels as opposed to just the rear two. Heck, it only exists in the digital realm so it could also be powered by a cosmic Viking wielding a magic hammer.

Which'd surely make a triple test between this and its two natural rivals something of a must-watch. Anyone got a closed rally stage available?