The 630-hp Maserati MC12 marked Maserati’s return to true supercar territory. Unveiled at the 2004 Geneva motor show, it was a very exclusive mid-engine model originally intended to be limited to just 25 hand-built units, all of which sold-out before its launch even with its $1 million price – proving Maserati to be one of the few companies that can command such a premium. Due to the MC12’s considerable success, immediately followed up with numerous victories in the FIA’s GT1 class, a second batch of 25 cars was built in 2005.

Designed for high level road use, the MC12 exceeded 330 kmh (205 mph) at full throttle, sprinting from 0 to 100 kmh in just 3.8 seconds, making the MC12 the fastest Maserati ever made and part of an exclusive group of street cars able to exceed 200 miles an hour. The MC12 benefited from the Ferrari-Maserati Group’s most advanced technologies and competition experience. Its naturally aspirated 6 liter V12 punched out a massive 465 kW at 7500 rpm yet offered absolutely excellent drivability, remaining exceptionally lively and fluid even at low engine speeds. An aluminum crankcase, titanium con-rods and extremely efficient four valve cylinder heads were all part of its design. Four gear-driven overhead camshafts provided perfect timing control. The unit was mated to Maserati’s proven six-speed Cambiocorsa transmission, offering computerized gear selection. In Race mode, the system was mapped to deliver much faster gear changes and to activate the ASR.

The MC12’s independent wishbone front and rear suspension with anti-dive and anti-squat geometries and push-rod set-up offered an extremely progressive suspension response for exceptionally precise handling. The stress-bearing chassis was made from a carbon fiber and Nomex honeycomb sandwich, while the two-seater bodywork was constructed entirely from carbon fiber, and featured a removable hard top. The car’s styling, based an idea originally from Giugiaro, was developed in the wind tunnel by Maserati’s own technicians with the invaluable contribution of Frank Stephenson, then in charge of the Ferrari Maserati Group’s Concept Design and Development department. Intensive wind tunnel testing and advanced mathematical computations, combined with work on the track and on the road, resulted in an extraordinarily efficient shape that exudes power and personality. All air intakes, vents and other aerodynamic components had been designed to optimize the car’s internal fluid dynamics and air flows to ensure optimal downforce and aerodynamic efficiency values. The whole underside of the car had been faired in and sealed with the fitting of two generous diffusers for maximum ground effect.

Fully homologated in Europe, the MC12 was Maserati’s first mid-engine road-legal GT since 1982. While never Federalized to meet US motor vehicle regulations, and therefore never officially imported into North America, several Maserati enthusiasts privately imported the MC12 into the US and Canada where they have been delighting fans at shows and track days.  In June 2004, Maserati’s CEO Martin Leach personally demonstrated the car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and among the lucky few worldwide clients was Jason Kay, lead singer of British pop band Jamiroquai.

PRESS

Road & Track reviewed the MC12 in May 2005 and described it as “A jawdropping showstopper… Sleek, powerful and supremely purposeful.”

“This street car’s sole purpose is not to impress wide-eyed onlookers, but to pave the way for a championship-winning racer… A spectacular blend of sport and elegance… On the road, this potent melding of street car and race car is pure exhilaration… Stomp on the gas in the lower gears and the massive rear Pirellis hook up so fast that it takes a sharp eye on the tach to grab the next gear in time… Each pull on the Cambiocorsa system’s right paddle produces a lightning-fast upshift and another ear-pinning surge of acceleration… It’s insanely expensive, but also extremely exclusive… It’s blindingly fast, surprisingly livable, tenaciously tied down and a proven race winner.”

Jeremy Clarkson reviewed the MC12 in The Times (UK) in February 2005

“Then I first put my foot down. Oh. My. God. …You just get a savage punch in your kidneys as the huge rev counter explodes round the dial. Bang, you pull the righthand paddle and in a couple of milliseconds you have a new gear and a new kind of agony… In less than 4sec you are past 60mph and on your way to 205mph.”

(The MC12 also held the lap record, with the infamous Stig behind the wheel, of the test track for Jeremy Clarkson’s Top Gear television program)

John Simister of The Independent (UK) reviewed the MC12 in March 2005, describing it as “a ballistic people-pod.”

“The sound, as I pass under a bridge at 150mph with a window open, of an engine so fierce it seems there's a disembodied Formula One car overtaking me… Into the curving section again, and the Maserati just points as I think. There's no sense of momentum with which to battle, no need to "set the car up" for the corner. Flick, flick, every tiny adjustment of steering and accelerator having an instant, proportional effect, every gear change near-instant, and if I turn off all the stability systems on a tight bend, I can squirt the tail out as I power through the exit.”

Robb Report reviewed the MC12 in August 2005:

“It was conceived, designed, engineered and born to run far faster than 200 mph straight out of the box and to lead the field at world-class enduros… Enormously fast, flat, glued-down, perfectly braked, beautifully balanced, and brilliantly responsive performance… Hang on as 630 horses are let out of the barn and the car rockets from a canter to a full-blown stampede before you can count to four… Rapid and incredibly stable… You are given new limits by a racecar designed not just for power, but for ultimate performance.”