Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale 2011 Review

Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale

As its name implies, the Maserati GranTurismo was always intended to be more of a grand tourer than a sportscar. But this hasn't stopped the Italian maker from stretching the big coupe's capabilities.

When it was released in 2008, the GranTurismo came with a 4.2-litre V8, an engine it shares with the Quattroporte sedan on which the coupe is based.

But within 18 months of its debut, Maserati answered the call for more power, creating the GranTurismo S powered by a 4.7-litre V8.

For some, however, even this was not enough. And so now we have the GranTurismo MC Stradale – a lighter, more powerful version of the company's most popular coupe, and the fastest Maserati road car of all time.

Shedding 110kg and adding more grunt is always a good combination when chasing performance and the MC Stradale is no exception – especially when some of its parts have had a helping hand from its parent company Ferrari.

Just 15 cars are planned for Australia and New Zealand at this stage – and most are already spoken for, the company says.

At $364,400, the MC Stradale is the most expensive model in the Maserati line-up in Australia.

The 4.2-litre V8 coupe costs $288,800 and the 4.7-litre V8 version costs $318,500. The MC Stradale is even dearer than the Quattroporte sedan which ranges in price from $286,000 to $328,900.

Maserati, of course, isn't the first manufacturer to charge more for a car with less equipment, such as missing a back seat. It's one of the many ways companies can deliver a more exhilarating drive.

But it should also be pointed out that the MC Stradale has had quite an extensive visual makeover. Unique to this model: a new bonnet, front bumper and fenders, side skirts, rear bumper, a discreet rear wing, inboard exhausts and lightweight 20-inch wheels.

But plenty has gone on under the skin, too.

The highly-strung Ferrari-sourced 4.7-litre V8 -- which sounds even more glorious in this guise -- may have only had a modest power increase (up 10hp to 331kW and up 20Nm to 510Nm).

But the higher redline (7500rpm) has enabled the MC Stradale to inch over the 300km/h mark – to record a top speed of 301km/h.

It's the war on weight, however, that really delivers the bulk of the MC Stradale's performance gains.

Maserati has managed to shed 110kg by leaving no corner of the carpet unturned. The sleek alloy wheels are 5kg lighter (for the set of four), 2kg has been saved by using a different type of electrical wiring, the new exhaust system saved 6kg, and 12kg was saved by using a different sealant on the bodywork.

The big cuts included a massive 25kg saving by losing unwanted sound insulation, and the carbon ceramic brake discs trimmed 18kg (for the set of four) from the package.

Ditching the back seats saved 16kg and replacing the standard front chairs with carbon-fibre racing seats saved 26kg.

The end result is a Maserati that tips the scales at 1670kg. This is not light in sportscar terms (Porsche 911s weight 1300 to 1400kg) but is competitive with grand tourer coupes from Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and BMW.

The weight saving also means fuel consumption has come down – to 14.4L/100km.

The other big news under the skin are the changes to the robotised manual six-speed gearbox – which shares its electronics and some of its hardware with the gearbox in the new $1.5 million Ferrari 599 GTO.

The shifts between gears are now quicker than they've ever been: 140 milliseconds in auto mode, 100 milliseconds in sport mode and just 60 milliseconds in race mode.

Unlike other vehicles which have embraced automated twin-clutch gearboxes, the MC Stradale uses a robotised single clutch.

Such gearboxes have in the past been known for their abrupt changes, but the latest iteration (and possibly the last) of this technology is surprisingly impressive (see ON THE ROAD below).

For the first time in a Maserati, you can downshift several gears in one pull of the lever – another piece of technology it borrowed from the Ferrari 599 GTO.

The three gearshift modes also change the sound of the exhaust – and the threshold of the stability control settings.

In auto (or commuting) mode, the bimodal exhaust is in its quietest setting, in sport mode it opens its lungs beyond 4000rpm and in race mode the exhaust is wide open at all revs.

All this wouldn't be complete without a suspension overhall, and Maserati has delivered with unique, sports-tuned springs and dampers which also lower the ride height of the car (by 10mm up front and 12mm at the rear) and a thicker front anti-roll bar (25mm).

Given the rear transaxle gearbox, weight distribution is a near perfect 48:52 front to rear – another large contributor to the overall balance of the car.

Then, of course, there is the brake package. The MC Stradale is the first Maserati to come with carbon ceramic brakes (380mm x 34mm up front and 360mm x 32mm at the rear) with six- and four-piston calipers respectively.

The finishing touch: Pirelli P Zero tyres that have had their sidewalls tuned specifically to match the suspension setting on the MC Stradale.

At least your briefcase or travel bag won't scuff the leather on the back seat of the MC Stradale. It doesn't have one. Instead there is a large carpet area where the back bench used to be.

In true sportscar fashion, the dashboard is lined with padded, suede leather and highlighted by a (genuine) carbon-fibre spear that runs across the dash.

This deft touch is matched nicely with the (genuine) carbon fibre gear shift levers behind the steering wheel, and elsewhere in smaller touches in the cabin.

The race seats look intimidating but are actually quite comfortable. A larger version of the same seat will be introduced shortly to accommodate those with larger frames.

In Europe, four-point racing harnesses are optional but in Australia they are not allowed; a regular three-point seatbelt is standard.

There is ample head, shoulder and knee room in the front of the MC Stradale – but you can feel a little hemmed in at times by the close windscreen pillar (which, as with many modern cars, can momentarily obscure visibility in tight corners on winding roads).

I had only two other (minor) gripes. The elegant Maserati analoge clock in the middle of the dash can reflect sunlight into your eyes (at the right – or the wrong – time of day). And a sportier-looking steering wheel would have been a nice finishing tough.

We will never know how an exotic car like the MC Stradale will perform in a Euro NCAP crash test – because buying cars like this would likely bankrupt the independent self-funded body.

But the MC Stradale is clearly built to a high safety standard, as evidenced by the thick windscreen pillars and what must amount to a big development budget.

It may lack some of the radar and laser crash avoidance gadgetry but it provides preventative safety measures the old-fashioned way: secure road holding, high grip tyres and among the best brakes in the business.

If you – or another driver – gets it wrong then two front airbags and two side airbags (mounted in the doors) will leap into action.

Front and rear sensors are standard, to help with driveway safety and parking. But given the limited visibility at the rear (because of its elegant coupe shape) a rear camera would be on our wish list.

It is genuinely difficult to pigeonhole where the MC Stradale fits in the automotive landscape.

In size, it is effectively a rival to the BMW 6 Series, Jaguar XK and Mercedes-Benz CL coupes.

But all of those vehicles have a greater focus on luxury long distance travel – whereas the MC Stradale is a sportscar trapped in a grand tourer's body.

Given the weight saving measures, you could say it fits the mould of one of Porsche's lightweight track specials. But that's not quite right either.

The MC Stradale is, therefore, in many ways in a class of its own.

Its $364,400 pricetag makes it a little more expensive than a Mercedes-Benz CL500 ($337,000) but much less than a CL63 ($423,300) – and about $100,000 dearer than a Jaguar XK-R or a BMW 6 Series.

But none of them have the MC Stradale's character, exclusivity – and sound…

It's hard not to be taken aback by the crisp sound of the V8 and the bark of the exhaust from the moment the key is turned.

Maserati has given the MC Stradale a deliberate, electronic dab of the throttle on start-up – so even if your foot is nowhere near the accelerator, your imminent departure is announced to those around you.

You can try to be discreet by pushing the auto button which attempts to hush the V8 burble by closing off part of the exhaust. But it's too late, the point's been made. This is not a car for those wanted to travel incognito.

Leaving Maserati's head office in Modena – and being set free in the bump and grind of peak hour traffic – it becomes apparent that the MC Stradale isn't quite the track-focused monster it's made out to be. It's surprisingly normal and driveable around town and at slow speeds.

Even the gearshifts are smooth in stop-start traffic – despite this being a robotised single clutch as opposed to automated dual clutch transmissions.

In the sport and race modes, the gearshifts become quicker and come with more of a thump – but unlike earlier versions it doesn't sound like the transmission is in any pain.

The other pleasant surprise is that for all its racing intent, the suspension is actually quite comfortable on bumps and thumps.

The third surprise was that it wasn't as noisy as I was expecting. With most of the sound insulation removed it was fair to assume there would be tyre roar at freeway speeds and on back roads. But this simply was not the case.

It's not as quiet as, say, a Lexus – but it's not as noisy as a Porsche 911.

Instead, many people will probably buy the MC Stradale simply for the aural fanfare that the engine and exhaust provide. In spades.

The engine sound is really hard to describe. Roar sounds unrefined. High-pitched sounds squeaky. It's kind of a cross between a deep bellowy V8 and a Formula One engine, which makes sense when you consider the curators of this engine: Ferrari.

It's so addictive you find yourself driving in a much lower gear than is necessary, even dipping back to first. For roundabouts.

The throttle is also incredibly responsive – but this is a combination of the engine's flexibility (80 per cent of peak torque is available from 2500rpm) and short gearing.

The MC Stradale simply punches out of corners – but the downside to this is that it is revving at close to 3000rpm in sixth gear at 110km/h. The short gearing is also one of the reasons the MC Stradale has a 0 to 100kmh time of 4.6 seconds.

The steering is quite unusual at first. There is little difference in the resistance in the wheel whether in a tight corner or making a minor adjustment at freeway speeds.

But you soon learn to have confidence in the car's high level of ability. You expect the car to understeer or run wide, but there is just so much grip, it gets on with the job without argument.

Indeed, it feels like a more compact sportscar – not a big coupe based on the underpinnings of a large sedan. Maserati have mastered this disguise.

The brakes are phenomenal, fade free and seemingly there is no end to their stopping ability (100km/h to 0 in 33 metres if you're curious). There is some squeal at low speeds but this is par for the course.

Most of the drive, which took us past the MC Stradale engine's maker – Ferrari in nearby Maranello – and into some winding mountain roads, was consumed by trying the different exhaust settings. Most of the time we stayed in sport. Only through small towns did we feel the need to switch it into quiet mode so as not to upset the locals.

The only real downside to the drive was that, eventually, it had to come to an end, I had to extract myself from the car, and I had to face the realisation that the MC Stradale is well and truly out of my price range.

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