Is there space in the supercar world for a successor to the achingly beautiful Maserati MC12?
These past few weeks have been quite interesting in the hypercar department with at least four new contenders coming forward to hold the hypercar torch; and no, we’re not talking about the current Holy Trinity (McLaren P1, Porsche 918 and Ferrari LaFerrari).
To recap, the four contenders in question are the AMRB-001, the speculated 4-cylinder hybrid Mercedes R50 AMG, the most recent (and most controversial) McLaren F1 “replacement”, and last but not least, the Bugatti Chiron.
These vehicles all push the limits of what modern technology is capable of and some will even pave the way for the technology of tomorrow, but like all trends, there is always a pioneer.
One of the most crucial pioneers in the hypercar race was the Ferrari Enzo; a car so special that it was named after the creator of Ferrari himself. Most people consider the Enzo to be the pinnacle of Ferrari, and we don’t blame them, but what most people don’t know is that the Ferrari Enzo had an evil twin; the Maserati MC12.
Now, you may be asking yourself: “Cool history lesson, bro, but what does this have to do with the new hypercars?”
Well, Maserati is considering the possibility of producing another low-volume model, according to boss Harald Wester.
Speaking to press, Wester confirmed that the company “could do a limited edition, but not yet”. (Translation: “We want to build a new MC12 hypercar, but we’re going to wait until the other hypercars come out.”)
As our history lesson mentioned, the last limited edition model to come out of Maserati was the 2004 MC12, a rebodied Ferrari Enzo that managed to sell exceptionally well, despite being priced well above the firm’s regular models. It was also developed as a racing car.
Maserati’s plant in Modena currently produces the carbonfibre-bodied 4C for Alfa Romeo. Before the days of the 4C, it built the limited-edition Alfa 8C, which shared a lot of its DNA with Maserati. Wester pointed out that Maserati has only 1100 staff, making it agile and flexible enough to take on such a project.
The addition of a Maserati into the hypercar race should definitely make things a lot more interesting, considering that Maserati is all about heritage. If the AM-RB001 is anything to go by, then we can expect to find a big, naturally aspirated engine under the bonnet instead of batteries. A couple of turbochargers at worst.
