This article expresses the author's disappointment with the Maserati GT2 Stradale, finding it overpriced and unsuitable for road use. The author criticizes its focus on track performance, lack of practicality, and the choice of Ascari circuit for its launch.
Limited edition, limited extra power, limited appeal, right? WrongYou know how actors will often say they’re fed up playing nice guys – that it’s way more fun to be a right git instead? It’s a bit like that with motoring journalists. Well, it is for me at least. I may come across as an affable chap, but I’m basically a seething mass of resentment like the next man. Yet I’ve had to bottle it up, thanks to testing a string of pretty good cars recently. Still, I am fed up with dolling out praise.
MC20s with around 3,000 miles on the clock are available in the PH classifieds for less than £140,000And this, more-focused model costs even more. It’s £273,510, which, on the face of it, is just bonkers. That’s over £30,000 more than the more powerful, hybrid Ferrari 296 GTB. I think the Maserati camp of Modenese car makers needs a reality check.
By all accounts, their work had quite an impact. The brakes are twice as good at removing heat to ensure their longevity on track, and there’s been a dramatic jump up in downforce. The standard MC20 generates 145kg of the stuff at 174mph; at the same speed the GT2 Stradale delivers 500kg, split 130kg at the front and 370kg rear. That’s a lot.
Much of the hardware is the same, though. The GT2 Stradale keeps the same dampers as the MC20, although the spring rates are 10 per cent stiffer. The gearbox is the same Tremec, eight-speed, dual-clutch ‘box, but the shift speeds in Sport and Corsa modes are 0.2 seconds quicker than they are in the regular MC20. And the 3.0-litre, twin-turbo V6 is the same, too, just with more power. Not a lot more, mind.
On the inside, it treads the line perfectly between stripped out and bare. It feels special despite the lack of carpets, and I welcome the cabin’s simplicity in other respects – in fact, I wish a few of its rivals would take note. Yes, there’s an infotainment touchscreen, but it doesn’t dominate. Equally, the digital instrumentation is clear and simple to understand. All the other controls are humble press buttons, including the ones on the steering wheel.
The GT2 Stradale, on the other hand, has a much nicer-sounding engine. Sure, it’s no V12 or flat-plane V8 but, to my ears, it’s the most charismatic of all the V6 supercars – 296 GTB included. It sucks and snorts and wheezes away as the boost rises and falls – like it’s desperate to involve you in its work.
There’s no kickback in the GT2 Stradale’s steering. Just a light pulse when you hit a bump or cat’s eye, accompanied by delicate vibrations telling you about any surface changes. It’s not hyperactive, either, like the 296 GTB’s helm. The gearing is spot on, actually, and while, for my liking, the weighting is on the lighter side, it’s not too light.
Maserati GT2 Stradale Automotive Review Track Car Road Car Supercar
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