Guide: Maserati MC12
Background
37 years after Maserati’s last victory in an international championship, the firm returned to top flight motor sport with a GT racing car based on the renowned Ferrari Enzo.
Since Pedro Rodriguez had won the 1967 South African Grand Prix in a Maserati-powered Cooper T81, the house of the trident had been through three different owners and survived going out of business by the skin of its teeth.
The Citroen era that began in 1968 started with great optimism. However, the economic downturn of the early 1970s saw Maserati cut loose as Citroen tried to save itself from bankruptcy.
Maserati was purchased by Alessandro de Tomaso in 1975. Flush with cash from Ford’s buyout of his own car company, de Tomaso received considerable financial assistance from the Italian government and gradually turned Maserati’s fortunes around.
In 1990, de Tomaso sold 50% of Maserati to Fiat. The remainder was purchased in 1993, at which point Maserati joined Ferrari, Lancia and Abarth as one of Fiat’s subsidiaries.
In a racing sense, the years that followed the Rodriguez victory at Kyalami had been a fallow time for Maserati. Tentative plans for a Group 4 Bora were ultimately abandoned after which any competition endeavours became privateer concerns.
This left the Grantrofeo Monomarca Barchetta one-make championship of 1992-1993 as the only arena in which factory built Maserati racing cars appeared.
Around this time, GT racing was undergoing a revival. It soon began to attract interest from major manufacturers.
Ferrari officially came on board with the Michelotto-prepared 360 GT for 2002 and the less successful 575 GTC for 2004.
The Fiat Group’s participation was then stepped up a notch when a top flight version of the Ferrari Enzo was sanctioned to race under the Maserati banner.
A road-going iteration of the resultant Tipo M144S MC12 was subsequently displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2004.
As the MC12 was conceived for use in the GT1 class, 25 road-going versions would have to be built for homologation.
The Ferrari Maserati Group’s wealth of technological resources were poured into its design. This was necessary as the MC12 would contest the most competitive GT racing scene for decades. To emerge victorious, it would have to take on the Ferrari 550 GT and new Aston Martin DBR9 (both built by Prodrive) plus the Chevrolet C6 Corvette and a smattering of Saleen S7s.
In addition to redesigned bodywork that was both longer and wider than the Enzo, the MC12 differed principally by way of the construction method for its monocoque.
Additionally, steel was used instead of carbon for the brake discs, there were new gear ratios and the redline was lowered.
Chassis
The MC12’s wheelbase was 150mm longer than that of the Enzo (2800mm compared to 2650mm).
The Maserati’s tub was manufactured from carbonfibre and Nomex whereas the Enzo used carbonfibre with aluminium honeycomb.
Aluminium subframes were installed at either end.
Both cars shared a similar suspension layout: double wishbones all round with pushrod-operated progressive-rate steel dampers and coaxial springs. Anti-dive / anti-squat geometry was also installed.
Whereas the Enzo used carbon brake discs, FIA GT regulations precluded the use of non-ferrous metals. Consequently, the MC12 was equipped with cast iron cross-drilled and ventilated discs.
As per the Enzo, these were supplied by Brembo. 380mm discs with six piston calipers were installed at the front and 335mm discs with four piston calipers were fitted at the rear.
The Enzo’s Bosch 5.3 ABS system was imported without modification.
New 19-inch alloy wheels measured 9 and 13-inches wide front to rear. The centre lock wheel nuts were colour coded red on the left-hand side and blue on the right-hand side. They were originally shod with Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres and gave identical track dimensions to the Enzo.
The fuel tank had a capacity of 115-litres.
Engine / Gearbox
In the engine bay was essentially the same Tipo F140B six-litre all-alloy 65° V12 as the Enzo.
For this application (Tipo M144A), the redline was lowered to improve reliability. Whereas the Ferrari unit developed 650bhp at 7800rpm, the Maserati variant pumped out 630bhp at 7500rpm.
The torque rating was also slightly inferior: 481lb-ft compared to 485lb-ft at an identical 5500rpm.
Both units incorporated dry-sump lubrication, an aluminium crankcase, titanium con rods, four-valve cylinder heads, drive-by-wire throttle and dual overhead camshafts.
Similarly, displacement was 5998cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 92mm and 75.2mm respectively.
The 11.2:1 compression remained as did the Bosch Motronic ME7 engine management.
Transmission was via a rear longitudinally-mounted F1 gearbox (rebranded Cambiocorsa). There was also a twin-plate clutch and limited-slip differential.
The paddle-operated ‘box offered two shift modes: Sport and Race. The latter stiffened up the suspension, switched off the traction control and offered faster shift times.
The Cambiocorsa paddle-shift gearbox was tuned to reflect the MC12’s new gear ratios.
Bodywork
The MC12 was 441mm longer and 61mm wider than the Enzo. By virtue of a roof-mounted intake snorkel, it stood 58mm taller.
Only the windscreen was shared by the two cars.
In addition to the new MC12’s imposing dimensions, it featured a removable hardtop (although there was no space for it to be stored in the car).
The MC12’s design was derived from a Giugiaro concept refined by Maserati’s in-house team led by Frank Stephenson.
Unfortunately, the MC12 was offered exclusively in an unflattering white and blue livery that harked back to the Maseratis run by Briggs Cunningham and Camoradi.
Massive new front and rear overhangs were the result of intensive windtunnel tests. The entire underside was enclosed and two huge diffusers were added to increase downforce.
Notable features of the all-carbonfibre bodywork were two large tapering apertures on the bonnet, enormous intakes down each flank, a vast rear spoiler complete with secondary wing and inverted half moon tail fascia vent.
Interior
Inside, while the MC12 and Enzo shared the same basic layout, Maserati restyled the dash, centre console and seats.
The instrumentation was organised around a 9000rpm tach located directly behind a new leather-and-carbonfibre flat-topped steering wheel. Off to the right was a 360kmh speedometer and to the left were three smaller gauges for oil pressure, oil temperature and water temperature.
The instrument binnacle, forward section of the dash and knee roll were upholstered in blue leather to match the steering wheel, door panel centres, edges of the central console and the carbonfibre bucket seats. The seat centres were trimmed with silver Brightex high-grip synthetic fabric.
Aside from rubber floor mats, the rest of the cockpit was left in bare carbonfibre.
A traditional oval Maserati clock was located on the centre console above a blue engine start button.
Air-conditioning, electric windows and electric mirrors were standard, but there was no provision for an audio system.
Weight / Performance
At 1335kg, the MC12 was 30kg lighter than Enzo.
The 0-62mph time was one tenth of a second slower (3.6 seconds).
Because of the more effective aero, top speed dropped from 217mph to 205mph.
However, thanks to its slightly flatter torque curve, improved stiffness and greater stability, the Maserati was more drivable than the Ferrari.
Launch
The first pictures of the MC12 in Competizione trim emerged in January 2004.
The road-going version made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show two months later.
Production
All 25 units required for GT1 homologation were lined up for inspection by the FIA scrutineers in late August.
The entire run was pre-sold at a price of €600,000.
In 2005, a second batch of 25 cars was completed, which took total production to 50 units.
Competition History
In competition, the MC12 went on to achieve great success.
Between 2005 and 2007, a Manufacturers’ title was added to the FIA GT Championship which Maserati won twice. They were pipped to the 2006 title by Aston Martin.
Meanwhile, the Vitaphone Racing Team won the Teams’ championship with the MC12 for five consecutive years between 2005 and 2009.
The Drivers’ title fell to MC12 drivers on four straight occasions between 2006 and 2009.
In 2010, the FIA GT Championship was rebranded the FIA GT1 World Championship. Both Driver and Team championships in this inaugural season were won by the Vitaphone squad.
During 2005 and 2006 (when GT1 cars were permitted to race) MC12s also won back-to-back Italian GT titles.
Unfortunately, as a result of exceeding length and width restrictions for its class, the MC12 was never approved for use at Le Mans. The car was permitted to run in the American Le Mans Series, but only as a guest, which meant it was ineligible for championship points.
In addition to the 50 road cars produced, Maserati also built a dozen track-only Versione Corse iterations based on the GT1 racer (covered separately).
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Maserati - https://maserati.com
