Teamspeed.com - GTspirit Road Test: Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale

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Racing blood runs through the veins of many Italian brands. Maserati's racing programs have proved to be an excellent way of sharing the essence of its race cars with road-going models. In the 1990s, the Ghibli Open Cup race car gave birth to the Ghibli Cup and then, a decade later, the Trofeo GranSport gave birth to the GranSport MC Victory. At the pinnacle of the most recent Maserati road-to race story, the FIA GT-winning MC12 was developed directly from the MC12 Stradale. Now there is the GranTurismo MC Stradale, a road-legal super sports car with the looks and feel of a GT4 and Trofeo race car.

Introduced at the Paris Motor Show 2010, the MC Stradale is the fastest, lightest and most powerful car in the Maserati range. It is the first two-seater after the MC12 supercar and Maserati have packed it with weight saving materials such as carbon fiber, improvements to power ratings, handling refinements and a top speed of over 300km/h. MC stands for Maserati Corsa, the factory race shop, and Stradale means road-going. An ideal blend between on-track characteristics and the daily driver specs of the normal GranTurismo? We had to find out, so we positioned ourselves in the carbon fiber front seats with their four-point harnesses and gripped the steering wheel with its column-mounted carbon fiber paddle shifters.

After the first few minutes inside the MC Stradale it becomes clear that the ride comfort, suspension setup and driver involvement have changed. The MC Stradale is a true two-faced sports car with the mindset of a GranTurismo wearing a racing jacket and the abilities of a race-bred sports car available when you ask for it. The extra 10hp over the existing GranTurismo S is hardly noticeable and only there to bring the figure to a nice round 450hp. The 4.7 liter V8 engine produces an additional 20Nm of torque thanks to reduced internal friction and an ECU remap. About eighty percent of the total amount of torque is available at 2,500rpm, which is easily felt at short sprints in lower gears.

Read more here: Road Test: Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale

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GTspirit Road Test Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale - YouTube