There are many that say the car is just a re-badged Ferrari Enzo but it is far more than that with many bespoke changes and modifications. Maserati MC12 Stradale (road-going version) was the road-legal version of the GT-racing car back in 2004, from from the Italian carmaker. Maserati made their historical return to the International GT-racing after a 37 years break. And it was a highly successful campaign for the company. They also made a GT1 version of the car which dominated every race tracks all over the world. MC12 shares its core technology with the Ferrari Enzo Model with significant modifications to the Engine, Chassis and Aerodynamics which made the car produce lower Drag Co-efficient than the Ferrari Enzo. After making the GT1 version of the car, they made another model called MC12 Versione Corsa in late 2006.
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GALLERY
OVERVIEW
In its year of production 2004, only 25 were built and another 25 were made in 2005. There were totally 50 MC12s ever made available for customers. And for racing purpose, another 12 were made. Hence, only 62 cars only made. Though, MC12 was made using the chassis of Ferrari Enzo it had lower top speed, Quicker acceleration and longer braking distance. This was because. the MC12 was taller, longer and wider than the Enzo.
The reason for making particularly 25 cars in 2004 was that, to participate in the FIA GT Championship there should be at least 25 cars should have been produced. This proves how passionate is the Italian car maker into the competitives.
The car was majorly tested by ANDREA BERTOLINI on various tracks throughout the development and sometimes tested by MICHAEL SCHUMACHER in the Fiorano Circuit.
It is a two-door sports car with a Targa top with mid-engine set up that helped the Centre of gravity be in the centre of the car which provides equal weight distribution. These features made the MC12, so Agile in cornering.
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INTERIOR DESIGN
As you know, MC12 was a homologation of a racing car but the interior styling was intended to be luxurious. The interior majorly made from "Gel-coated Carbon fibre" and "Brightex" which is a very luxurious material in the fashion industry. The interior is filled with the colour called "Royal blue". The interior of this car was featured with Air condition, Paddle shifters, Highly comfortable racing seats, etc... but there was no Radio, Stereo and did not even have a place for installation of aftermarket sound systems.
EXTERIOR DESIGN
The technology of the MC12 was based on the Ferrari Enzo but significant modifications were done to the body.
The Windshield is the only component used externally that is same as the Ferrari Enzo.
Chief Designer FRANK STEPHENSON
The body of the MC12 was entirely designed by Frank Stephenson. He has not only designed the MC12, but he is also the one behind some of the bespoke cars like the McLaren P1, Ford Escorts Cosworth, Ferrari F430, etc... He may not have received as much fame like Pininfarina or Giorgetto Giugiaro but his bespoke designs do the justice. The entire body of the MC12 was made out of Carbon-fibre extensively. The car has a spoiler that is as wide as a Hummer H2, the actual width of the spoiler is 2 metres and it is just 7 cm lesser than the Hummer H2's width. It also has Diffusers at the bottom rear end to make utilise of the Ground effect. There is also an Air intake that is placed at the top of the roof, to increase the power of the car and this is the one component that makes the MC12 taller than the Enzo.
The MC12 only had a single colour scheme called the "FUJI WHITE" or "BIANCO FUJI" and this particular colour was made available by the company in order to pay tribute America Camoradi racing team that drove the Maserati Tipo class cars in the 1960s.
Watch Stephenson explain his experience and challenges in designing the MC12 on his youtube channel "How I designed".
He is also the designer of a number of BMW's like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 series and some of the X series
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TECHNICAL SPECS
DESIGN Maserati Centro Stile
ENGINE 6.0L Ferrari/Maserati F140 65° V12
DISPLACEMENT 5,998 CC
TORQUE 630 HP @7,500 Rpm
TORQUE 652 Nm or 481 lb/ft @5,500 Rpm
TRANSMISSION 6-speed Maserati Cambiocorsa Automated manual
CURB WEIGHT 1,335 Kg or 2,943 lbs
TOP SPEED 330 Kmph or 205 Mph
TIRES Pirelli P Zero Corsa
The engine is the same as the engine in the Ferrari Enzo but it was radically modified which is longitudinally mounted. The engine is lubricated via a dry-sump system that makes the engine more powerful than it was in the Enzo. The redline of the engine is 7,700 Rpm which is 300 Rpm lesser than the engine in the Enzo's 8,000 Rpm. The MC12 was capable of reaching 200 Kmph of speed in under 10 seconds. The gearbox is the same as the transmission used in Ferrari Enzo. The monocoque was not only made from Carbon but with another highly durable and flame resistant material called Nomex and the sub-chassis is made of Aluminium. The tires of the car are made by Pirelli and the breaks were made by Brembo, six-callipers at the front and four-callipers at the rear provided with Anti-lock braking system (ABS) by Bosch.
GT RACING
The Italian carmaker made their return to GT racing after 37 years with their MC12 model that was highly successful than its predecessors. Soon after their return, the GT racing was fielded by the "Vitaphone racing team" and "JMB racing". The MC12 won the race with 239 points which were almost double the points scored by the Ferrari(125) in the year, 2005. The MC12 won 5 team Championships and 3 driver's Championships in GT racing division. The MC12s were allowed by the FIA to compete only on the final round of the year at Zhuhai. In 2006, the only team representing Maserati was the Vitaphone racing. Being a heavier, taller, longer, car, the MC12 had to pay weight penalties for being 85 kilograms and 105 kilograms. Therefore, the car faced a downfall with 5th and 7th positions in the Budapest 500 Km race. After being victorious in GT series, the company entered the GT1 Series with the same team(Vitaphone). Bertolini and Andrea placed first among drivers but the Manufacturer's cup was won by the Aston Martin team. They won the GT1 championship in 2010 with the MC12 driven by Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini
Watch the three MC12 GT1 run on the track.
ITALIAN GT
Maserati has had a huge success with the MC12s in racing in Italy and eventually they replaced the "Maserati Trofeo Light" in the GT3 category as Maserati's representative in the Italian GT championship. In 2005, two MC12s were introduced in the Italian GT under two teams "Scuderia Playteam" and "Racing Box". Both the teams were victorious in which the Scuderia team placed first and the Racing Box placed third. Continuing this success, Maserati again returned in 2006 with the same teams and they were again victorious in which the Scuderia secured overall victory and the Racing box team coming in the second position. The MC12's success reign was not long-lasting, as the GT1 cars were restricted from participating in the Italian GT Championships in 2007. So, Maserati withdrew from the Italian GT racing.
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SUPER GT
Maserati also took part in Super GT series with the MC12 in 2006 in Japan. The "Team Goh" a Lemans winning team from Japan were intended to race the MC12s in Super GT series in Japan. But, this did not go as planned and eventually withdrew from the series. It was because the driver "Jan Magnussen" who was falling ill suddenly says before the series and returning to Denmark. This hit hard the whole team, therefore, the MC12 made disappointing laps in the "Suzuka Circuit" during the test runs and the car was slower and losing one second in the corners because of its poor Aerodynamics. Although, the MC12 was faster than the Super GT prototype in straight lines.
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Nowadays, seeing the MC12 in person is as rare as one can see a snow leopard in a zoo. It earned its name and became one of the most sought-after cars of all time. It's hard to see one for sale as it is now a highly collectable car, The Italian manufacturer currently developed the successor for the MC12s with the name of MC20 Supercar.
Written by: Porselvan M
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