The 2012 Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale isn’t just about number
crunching, rather it’s more to do with how you experience it. It’s a car
which can specifically respond to demands of a GranTurismo or can
balance on-road driving needs with race-driving desires. MotorBeam finds
the recipe stimulating in UAE.
Some of us who know about Italian cars will also recall that
Maserati’s track ambitions have been high on its agenda after the
Italian sports carmaker shied away during the dark days of the 70’s and
80’s. At the 2008 Paris Mondial, Maserati introduced a concept version
of what would eventually become the GranTurismo MC, a race-ready variant
of the GranTurismo S. Obviously, Maserati’s inspiration for this has
come Europe’s GT4 racing series, where it wants a dominating presence.
MC – stands for Maserati Corsa. The GranTurismo MC Concept had all the
track-oriented ingredients including the super fast electro-actuated
six-speed gearbox, stripped-out interior, roll-cage, boosted engine,
suspension and ceramic carbon brakes. But that’s an out and out track
car. So question is how does one get all that and also ensure that the
package is perfectly street legal? Well, look no further and this is
where the GranTurismo MC Stradale enters.
Exteriors - Introduced in 2011, the MC Stradale is
not difficult to identify as it is based on the road version of the
GranTurismo. Besides its racy graphics in a familiar profile, there are
aggressive new front and rear bumpers with large air scoops for cooling
the radiators and taking out the heat from the brakes. Most of the car’s
surfaces have aerodynamics signed on them, and we are aware that a car
with such specs and job description would certainly need to cope
efficiently with the aerodynamic down force at high speed without
creating more drag even while it is diverting airflow over and under the
car. The new front splitter and a redesigned rear bumper add an extra
48 mm to the total length to the car which now stands at 4,881mm. While,
wheelbase of 2,942mm and width of 1,847mm remains unchanged, at
1,353mm, the height is lower by 10mm at the front and by 12mm at the
rear. Meanwhile, the tips of the dual exhausts are closer to the centre
of the car and the mean look is rounded off by a new set of flow-formed
20in alloys shod with custom-developed asymmetric front 255/35 and rear
295/35 Pirelli developed ZR rated PZero Corsa tyres.
The chassis has been stiffened, but not too much as this car also has
to go on the road. Hence the use of passive shock absorbers which is
surprising as Maserati usually uses adaptive types on other cars. We
think Maserati’s not so favourable feedback may have prompted this move.
The brakes are carbon fibre.
Interiors - The car’s race-oriented cabin may
confound many initially, but when you spend more time with the car then
you realize that besides some extra buttons on the dashboard and a
missing gear shifter, rest of the layout is virtually similar to a stock
road going car. Unlike the stripped Trofeo version where you have a
Sparco racing steering wheel in front of a GT4 racing instrument
cluster, the rest of the interior has been redefined with minimizing
inconveniences that are usually associated with a high-performance
sports car. Also, the MC Stradale is also the first Maserati in history
to have a dedicated Race mode alongside the upgraded Auto and Sport
modes in its dashboard.
Weight reduction is evident to a keen eye at the right places which
don’t interfere with the general kit of the car. The Stradale is 110kg
lighter than the regular GrandTurismo and yet is not a bare bones
package. For instance, the seat base is made of carbon fibre combined
with high-tech bearings and materials and the Trident logo stitched into
the headrest. The analogue instruments with blue dials have been
clustered in one unit while, the pedals are made out of billet
aluminium. The upgraded exhaust system, ceramic brakes and alloy wheels
are lighter, too and luxury touches include Alcantara, which is used to
trim the centre console, armrest cover, armrests and door handles and
curves in its instrument cluster and the test car had two tone red and
black interior and carbon trim from MC Sport Line.
While the sporty seats with dual race safety harnesses can be
adjusted for rake only, the hip points are convenient for drivers of all
shapes and hence the front view is quite good. The rear seats have been
stripped to help accommodate a factory fitted roll-cage. The car’s boot
is untouched and is pure stock.
Engine - Powertrain, is essentially a tweaked
version of the normally-aspirated 4.7-litre V8 engine that’s used in the
Granturismo S. Remapping has boosted power by 10hp to 444hp at 7,100rpm
and torque from 490Nm to 510Nm at 4,750rpm. Power is fed to the rear
wheels through a versatile electro-actuated six-speed manual gearbox
that can shift gears in 60-240millisecs [depending on mode]. Maserati
claims that it has made the engine more responsive, more powerful and
more economical, thanks to a special “friction reduction program”
including Diamond-Like-Coating of high friction parts inside the valve
train.
Driving impressions - Our test was done in UAE and
the first thing we note is that the life in this car is a bit different
than your regular motor car. Despite its apparent complexities [going by
the numbers of switches in the dashboard and console], Maserati have
made operational aspects a bit easy in the Stradale, thanks to the
introduction of a simple and intuitive one-touch interface system.
Starting is normal key operated and by default, the car will start in
Auto mode, but it’s the Sports or Race modes that we are more interested
in. One of the nice and reassuring things is that even with the gear
engaged and foot off the brake pedal, the car doesn’t move. It needs a
bit a cajoling to get it moving and this element also ensures that the
car is very much in control and safe in this stage of operation.
To enjoy the other characteristics, one just has to engage the
driving mode by just a simple push of a button. Rest of the shifting is
done via paddle-shifters mounted on the steering column. In normal mode,
gears take 240 millisecs to shift, which is also fast for a normal road
going car. In sports mode, this time is reduced to 100millisecs and in
race mode, shifting is four times faster – which gives an incredible
feel for a road car.
While the Stadale has exactly the same power and torque of the
Trofeo, the 110kg lighter than the GranTurismo S car is fast in straight
line acceleration, but its extra 10hp and additional 20 Nm of torque
ensures that the 1,830kg car takes 4.6secs to reach the 100km/h mark.
Although, some may think this being tad short of the blistering pace of
some supercars, the finer moments with the car are appreciated and
enjoyed more depending on how it is driven. For instance, in city drives
[in default and in even in sports mode] the car can run lazily at
80km/h in top gear without batting an eyelid or missing a beat. Slowly
push the throttle and it will hold gear while speed builds up. However,
blip the throttle and the ECU recognizes the need for more torque and
hence there’s a two-gear drop. This also means that the engine mapping
is fine tuned to the driver’s inputs and it will penalize the driver if
he doesn’t sync his driving pattern soon enough. The electro-actuated
gearbox is simply superb in its super smooth upshifts and highly
entertaining to operate via the steering wheel mounted paddle shifter.
Downshifts in Sport model will open up the exhaust baffles over 4,000rpm
and the resonance is awesome. It’s actually the Race mode that
literally brings home the difference between the stock GrandTurismo and
Stradale. In racing mode, the ECU mapping allows the engine to rev
harder, and that prompts more of that intoxicating exhaust note with the
baffles permanently open.
Overall, handling is crisper, thanks to a suspension that gets
thicker front and rear anti-roll bars and has also been lowered to
ensure better centre of gravity. The suspension’s performance also
merits an extra mention as its contribution in keeping the car planted
on road at all speeds cannot be ignored. During standstill, the car
boasts 48:52 front:rear axle weight distribution which is considered as
being optimal. And as we all know, this changes with acceleration and
speed and could have counter effects on the car’s overall performance.
And this is where we feel that Maserati’s racing experience has been put
to the best test. In the Trofeo, there’s a giant carbon-fibre rear
spoiler which is among one of the most obvious reasons why car’s
performance is so good when pushed to the limit on track. Initially, we
had some reservations with Stradale’s high speed performance. The
Stradale’s aerodynamic efficiency is exemplary and we had no problem
poking the car at times in low or high speed corners with the support of
the Pirellis. As a road car, the way the engine and gearbox has been
synchronized, one actually doesn’t miss the double-clutch gearboxes in
some similar cars and the assurance from short distances during braking
also doesn’t go unnoticed.
Steering weight and feel is perfect for both roles and the transition
from light to heavy is well choreographed. What we found with this new
arrival from Maserati that it also quite capable like a Porsche 911 GT3 Rs. or
Aston Martin V8 Vantage S when it comes to point and shoot. With
brilliant road manners one can drive straight to a track, hot laps all
day long, and drive back home with most of its consumables such as tyres
or brake pads intact. And it’s also great to experience the wonderful
integration between the mechanical elements – the chassis, suspension
and carbon-ceramic brakes, which all feel at home – perfectly
complementing each other.
Conclusion - One thing’s for sure. We don’t mind
that it’s strictly a sporty raw carbon-fibre trimmed two-seater with a
bit luxury thrown in. We simply love its fast throttle response, louder
exhaust, sporty gearbox and fine handling. Actually, it’s not surprising
not to end up reveling in each one of those revs bands, and not wanting
for low-end torque or more power, but to feel that more road miles
would be always welcome. As good to drive as it is to look at with very
close track performance [in race mode when compared with the Trofeo],
the Stradale is still as comfortable as other models in the GranTurismo
range. At US$115,000 it is cheaper than the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, but more
expensive than the entry-level Granturismo model.
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