MC12

The Maserati MC12 is a grand tourer produced by Maserati to allow a racing variant to compete in the FIA GT Championship.
The car entered production in 2004 with 30 cars produced (five of which were not for sale).
A further 25 were produced in 2005 making a total of 50 cars available for customers, each of which were pre-sold for €600 000.

Maserati designed and built the car on the chassis of the Enzo Ferrari but the final car is much larger.
The MC12 is longer, wider and taller than the Enzo Ferrari, which has faster acceleration and a higher top speed.
The top speed of the Maserati MC12 is 330 kilometres per hour (205 mph) whereas the top speed of the Enzo Ferrari is 350 kilometres per hour (217.5 mph).

The MC12 was developed to signal Maserati's return to racing after 37 years.
The road version was produced to homologate the race version. One requirement for participation in the FIA GT is the production of at least 25 road cars.
Three GT1 race cars were entered into the FIA GT with great success. Maserati began racing the MC12 in the FIA GT toward the end of the 2004 season,
winning the race held at the Zhuhai International Circuit. The racing MC12s were entered into the American Le Mans Series races in 2005 but exceeded the
size restrictions and consequently paid weight penalties.

Development of the Maserati MC12 began while Maserati was owned by Ferrari in order to create a race car for Maserati that would be eligible to compete
in the FIA GT. Its initial name was the MCC, meaning Maserati Corse Competizione, and development under the direction of Giorgio Ascanelli was planned
to be simultaneous with that of the MCS, the road going version. The body shape was developed from an idea by Giorgetto Giugiaro during wind tunnel
testing, though the majority of styling was by Frank Stephenson. The MCC had a very similar body shape to the MC12 but there were several key
differences, most notably the rear spoiler. Andrea Bertolini was the chief test driver throughout the development (although some testing was done by
Michael Schumacher), frequently testing the MCC at the Fiorano Circuit. As the MCC was developed further, word of the MCS ceased and eventually the
final name, MC12, was announced.

The car is based heavily on the Enzo Ferrari, sharing the same Ferrari Dino V12 engine with slight modifications, the same gearbox
(but renaming it Maserati Cambiocorsa) and the same chassis and track (length of axle between the wheels).

The Maserati MC12 has its own bodywork which is wider, longer and slightly taller leaving the windshield as the only externally visible
component shared with the Enzo.[1] This extra size allows for greater downforce across the whole body, adding to that of the two metre spoiler.

FIA GT
In 2004 Maserati completed three MC12 GT1 race cars intended for the FIA GT GT1 class. The AF Corse factory-backed squad debuted the race at Imola,
yet the FIA did not allow the MC12 to score points due to its debated homologation. Even with this setback, the team managed to take second and third places.
At the next round at Oschersleben, the MC12 of Andrea Bertolini and Mika Salo won for the first time. At the final round of the year at Zhuhai, the FIA
finally agreed to homologate the MC12s and allow them to score points towards the championship. With this, the MC12 again took victory, allowing it to score
enough points to finish 7th in the teams championship.

In 2005 Maserati won the FIA GT Manufacturers Cup with 239 points: almost double the score of next team (Ferrari with 125 points). The two teams that entered
MC12s into the FIA GT, Vitaphone Racing and JMB Racing, finished first and second respectively in the Team Cup, with Vitaphone winning by a considerable
margin. Four of the MC12 drivers were in the running to win the FIA GT Drivers' Title at the Bahrain International Circuit at the start of the final race
of 2005: Karl Wendlinger and Andrea Bertolini each on 71 points and Timo Scheider and Michael Bartels on 70. Gabriele Gardel of Ferrari was also on 70 points,
however, and in the crucial race he placed ahead of the all of the Maseratis, driving an older Ferrari 550 Maranello. Gardel took the title leaving all of
the Maserati drivers within four points of first place (Scheider and Wendlinger receiving four points for the race).

In 2006 the only team representing Maserati was Vitaphone Racing. On September 30, 2006 Vitaphone secured the Teams' Championship for the 2006 season despite their
drivers placing 5th and 7th in the Budapest 500km race with weight penalties of 85 kilograms and 105 kilograms respectively.[28] Bertolini and Bartels also
shared first place in the Drivers' Championship on 71 points but the manufacturers cup went to Aston Martin.

Vitaphone Racing again won the GT1 Teams' Championship in the 2007 season on 115 points, followed by fellow MC12 team Scuderia Playteam Sarafree on 63 points.
JMB Racing also entered two MC12s, but they were used by amateur drivers competing in the Citation Cup, which was won by JMB's driver Ben Aucott.
Maserati also won the Manufacturers' Cup by a significant margin while Thomas Biagi won the Drivers' Championship. Fellow Vitaphone drivers Miguel Ramos and
Christian Montanari tied for sixth, while Playteam's Andrea Bertolini and Andrea Piccini were just behind.

For 2008, Vitaphone Racing returns with a pair of MC12s for drivers Andrea Bertolini, Michael Bartels, and Miguel Ramos, as well as newcomer Alexandre Negrão.
JMB Racing will retain a single MC12 for 2007 Citation Cup winner Ben Aucott and drivers Peter Kutemann and Maurice Basso, although they will not be competing
in the Citation Cup again.


Well, I picked this model in September last year. It's by IXO with fairly descent finishing. The MC12 was run by team "BARTELS BIAGI Maserati MC12 team Vitaphone racing" as raced in 2007 FIA GT round 2 Silverstone - where emerged as winner.

The real MC12 in action...