Strident Trident

An homage to the GT2 race car, the Maserati GT2 Stradale needs more punch behind its promise.

- K.C. Colwell

TODAY’S MASERATI IS OFTEN thought of more as a luxury brand, but for many years it built dedicated race cars, competing successfully in Formula 1 in the 1950s and carrying Juan Manuel Fangio to notable wins. Maserati’s rivalry with Enzo Ferrari set up the first act of Michael Mann’s Ferrari. And the 111-year-old automaker continues to dabble in motorsports, building and selling race cars based on the MC20 for the GT2 European Series. To celebrate this endeavor, Maserati is offering the roadgoing GT2 Stradale based on the MC20.

Limited to 914 examples worldwide, the Stradale applies some elements of the race car, but most of the bits carry over from the MC20, including the carbon-fiber tub, the aluminum subframes (front and rear), the suspension arms, and the eight-speed dual-clutch transaxle. Even the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6, with its novel prechamber ignition, is the same as the regular MC20’s, save a token 10-hp bump to 631 horses.

Suspension changes are as you’d expect with a racier variant. The springs are 8 percent stiffer in the front and 10 percent stiffer in the rear, with recalibrated electronically controlled dampers to match. Downforce is up, a lot. The regular MC20 creates 320 pounds of downforce at 174 mph, and the Stradale more than triples that figure, thanks to fender vents and a reworked underbody and diffuser, plus a carbon-fiber rear wing, extended spoiler, and S-duct-style front end that eliminates the MC20’s frunk. Maserati claims the center-lock aluminum wheels save a combined 42 pounds over the MC20’s wheels.