Maserati unveils hardcore GranTurismo

By Paul Bond

September 2010

Meet the fastest, lightest, most powerful Maserati money can buy! This is the new Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale, a more track-focused, tuned version of the current GranTurismo S.

Taking its inspiration from the Italian firm's Trofeo racing models, the standard car's 4.7-litre V8 has been tweaked to give 444bhp, and although that's only a 10bhp increase, Maserati claim the MC Stradale can now achieve a top-speed of over 186mph.

The new car has also been drastically lightened by removing the rear seats and the further use of featherweight materials throughout the cabin, while the exterior has been given some hardcore styling upgrades designed to decrease drag and improve cornering downforce.  

The aggressive looking front-end now features a deeper grille and spoiler, and at the back the chrome twin-exhausts are mounted centrally in the wide rear diffuser, while vertical air vents in the front wheelarches channel air around the car. The MC Stradale also gets a new set of unique lighter, 10-spoke alloy wheels as well.

Maserati claims that the new car will give "razor-sharp handling" without compromising the silky ride quality of the standard car, and that despite the extra performance, fuel economy will be unchanged over the GranTurismo S.

The wraps came off at the Paris Motor Show, and expect the new car to cost over £100,000, am increase of around 15 per cent over the S version.