Maserati

3200 GT

With the 3200 GT in 1998 Maserati returned to its roots. The luxury coupé was styled by Italdesign, whose founder and head Giorgetto Giugiaro penned, among others, the classic Ghibli, Bora and Merak.

The 3200 GT shared the Quattroporte IV's and Shamal's twin-turbo 3.2-liter V8, revised and tuned to 370 bhp while the 3200 GTA was equipped with an automatic gearbox and its engine delivered 368 bhp. Presented to the public at the Geneva Show in 2001, the "Assetto Corsa" was a limited-edition, run-out version of the GT with a special handling package. The 3200 GT was sold mainly in Europe.

The most remarkable detail of its design were the tail-lights consisting of the LED diodes placed in the shape of boomerang. The car was replaced in the beginning of 2002 by similarly designed successor Maserati Coupe, when Maserati decided to turn back on the US market. The original boomerang tail-lights had to be replaced because they did not fulfill the US requirements for better visibility of the car's rear end during driving at night.

Coupe

In 2002, Maserati launched the Coupe and Spyder, based on the 3200 GT, which is not sold in the United States. Both models have a normally aspirated 4.2 L engine producing 390 bhp (291 kW). The top speed is 177 mph (285 km/h), while 0-60 time is 4.9 seconds. The V8 engine was designed by Ferrari but built by Maserati. It has variable valve timing on the intake side only, while a highly developed version of this engine used in the F430 had variable valve timing on both intake and outlet sides.

MC12

The Maserati MC12 is a super car produced by Maserati as a road car (for homologation) from which they developed a FIA GT Championship racing variant. Despite Maserati calling it a grand tourer, the MC12 qualifies as a super car, meeting all criteria. The car entered production in 2004 with 25 cars produced (5 additional cars were also produced in 2004 however they were not for sale), a further 25 were produced in 2005 making a total of 50 cars available for customers.

All 50 were pre-sold for €600 000. Maserati designed and built the car on the chassis of the Enzo Ferrari but the final car is much larger. The MC12 is longer, wider and taller than the Enzo Ferrari however the Enzo is faster accelerating and has a higher top speed.

The MC12 was developed to signal Maserati's return to racing after 37 years. 3 GT1 race cars were entered into the FIA GT with great success. Maserati began racing the MC12 in the FIA GT toward the end of the 2004 season, achieving a victory at the Zhuhai International Circuit. The racing MC12's were entered into the American Le Mans Series races in 2005 but had exceeded the size restrictions and consequently paid weight penalties.

The MC12 is a mid-engine, rear wheel drive, powered by a V12 engine in a two door coupe with a targa top roof, however the detached roof cannot be stored in the car. The mid-engine design helps keep the centre of gravity near the middle of the car and the standing weight distribution is 41% front : 59% rear, however the downforce of the rear spoiler affects this at speed so that at 200 kilometres per hour (125 mph) the (equivalent) weight distribution is 34% front : 66% rear.

The MC12 sports a 232 kilogram, 6 litre (5998 cc) Enzo Ferrari derived V12 engine mounted at 65°. Each cylinder features 4 valves, lubricated via a dry sump system and with a compression ratio of 11.2:1. All of this combines to provide a maximum torque of 652 Newton metres (481 lbf·ft) at 5500 rpm and a maximum power of 463 kilowatts (621 bhp) at 7500 rpm.

The redline rpm is indicated at 7500, despite being safe up to 7700, while the Enzo has redline at 8200 rpm. The Maserati MC12 is capable of accelerating from 0-100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) in 3.8 seconds (though Motor Trend Magazine managed 3.7 seconds) and on to 200 kilometres per hour (125 mph) in 9.9 seconds.

It can complete a standing (from stationary) quarter mile in 11.3 seconds at 198 kilometres per hour (124 mph) or a standing kilometre in 20.1 seconds. The maximum speed of the Maserati MC12 is 330 kilometres per hour (205 mph). All of these figures are slower than those of the Enzo Ferrari.

Maserati MC12 Video

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