News December 13 2006

Maserati launches million Euro supercar

Maserati has unveiled a million dollar – well $1.68M (Australian) to be precise – supercar at the Bologna motor show in Italy. The MC12 Versione Corse is based on the MC12 Gti which won the FIA GT1 Manufacturers’ Championship in 2005, the Team Championship in 2005 and 2006, the Driver’s Championship in 2006 and the Spa 24 Hours two years running, in 2005 and 2006.

It is a limited edition – in fact only 12 will be produced. But don’t think that you’ll be able to drive it down to the shops – it’s not homologated for road use as it doesn’t comply with standard safety and emission requirements. And it is not eligible for any racing activity aside from track runs during private test sessions or exhibition activities organised by Maserati.

The main differences between the two vehicles are more horsepower for the Versione Corse (563kW compared to 447kW in the Gti, and 710Nm of torque), a different transmission (electro-hydraulic Cambiocorsa in the Versione Corse compared to the manual gear change in the GT1) and a passenger seat.

The MC12 Versione Corse is available in the official ‘Blue Victory’ colour but also can be customised on request with variations in colour, livery, manually adjustable shock absorbers, data acquisition and an annual technical upgrade.

The car has a carbon-fibre monocoque body, a 6.0-litre V12 engine, Brembo steel and carbon brakes (no ABS) and a rollbar. It has a top speed of 325kmh and can sprint from 0 to 200kmh in 6.4 seconds.

The global price is 1,000,000 euros (AUD$1.68M) – plus relevant taxes – and the car is now officially being marketed worldwide.

The MC12 – as noted above - has done very well on the track as we have reported on ItalianCar. Fresh from his victory, Andrea Bertolini came to Bologna to help the Maserati team unveil the Versione Corse at the show.