Maserati GT2 Stradale Is Almost Great
This should be it. The definitive formula for creating one of the world's most exciting cars. Take a supercar from Italy, dial up the noise, remove unnecessary luxuries, and swing the use case from kinda everyday to pure driving fun, whether on road or track. Then sprinkle liberally with carbon fiber and motorsport-derived components, and stand back in awe in wonder. From the Lamborghini Miura SV to the Ferrari 812 Competizione via Scuderia, Speciale, Superleggera, STO, SVJ, and even outliers like the Bugatti EB110 Super Sport, this tried-and-tested path is an almost surefire route to an unforgettable driving experience.
Maserati has ticked almost every box. The Stradale has greater power, less weight, and more downforce than the MC20. Thanks to a new underbody, front splitter, and three-position adjustable rear wing, as well as other smaller changes, Maserati claims the Stradale can make up to 1100 pounds of downforce at 174 mph. The Nettuno twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6, with its Formula 1–derived prechamber ignition system, now makes 631 hp at 7500 rpm. The MC20's interior has gained single-piece carbon-fiber seats which, with other lightweight changes, cut mass to a claimed 3003 pounds without fluids.
Suspension is still double wishbones at each corner, but with stiffer springs (8 percent at the front, 10 percent at the rear) and revised dampers. Brakes are bigger, the software controlling the eight-speed double-clutch gearbox is new, and the traction- and stability-control systems are claimed to be more sophisticated than in the regular car. In short, the GT2 Stradale, created with lessons learned from the championship-winning GT2 race car, would appear to be a new hero-in-waiting.
So why, before driving it, do I feel concerned about what my reaction will be? Well, first, because the GT2 is not cheap. Maserati is planning to make 914 Stradales, with the 1-of-914 interior plaque apparently a reference to the company's founding in 1914, with the U.S.-bound examples set to cost $312,000. That puts it splitter to splitter with the more powerful McLaren 750S and in close proximity to the superb Ferrari 296 GTB, if you want to keep the comparisons Italian. It also represents a chunky $80,000 rise over an MC20 coupe.
But there's also the question of how well the MC20 will respond to being turned up. I love Maserati's supercar, but it is a very different experience from a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, or a McLaren. The MC20 has an odd mix of a gravelly, characterful, and sometimes old-fashioned-feeling turbo engine with a supple, laid-back chassis that is gorgeously usable but still delivers bite when you push. It feels left field, yet so well pitched. But it's not crying out to be stripped bare, stiffened up, and turned into a quasi race car for the road.
For the full GT2 Stradale experience, buyers will want to pay a further $13,750 for the Performance package, this bringing track-biased Michelin Cup 2R tires in place of the standard Bridgestone Potenza Sports, an electronically controlled differential, and upgraded carbon-ceramic brakes with larger-diameter, thicker discs. In the Corsa drive mode, the Performance pack allows stability control, traction control, ABS, and the e-diff's behavior to be further tweaked through four presets.
Maserati has been diligent in stripping out even the modest luxuries of the regular MC20. Climbing into the cabin reveals bare carbon floors, those skeletal ultralight bucket seats, bright yellow pinstriping surrounding the drive controller, and shift lights integrated into the carbon-fiber steering wheel. Door pulls are now fabric, and although some surfaces are trimmed with microfiber, the vibe is pretty much full-on. The V-6 starts with a much bigger boom too. Never the most tuneful engine, the Nettuno now has more menace in its soundtrack.
I drove the GT2 Stradale on both road and track in the south of Spain. On road, first impressions were mostly of the refinement of the ride and the smooth, precise, and natural steering feel. Unlike in the regular MC20, each of the Stradale's drive modes brings its own programming for the electric power assistance, but Maserati hasn't been tempted to make huge jumps in terms of weighting to exaggerate the steps between them. Resistance built gently and never lost a lovely clarity.
The dual-clutch gearbox is quick and precise too. In GT and Sport modes, the GT2 certainly felt more 'Stradale' than 'Pista.' Maybe, in truth, too much so. Why have the ever-present blare of the V-6 and be staring at the bare interior of a car that feels so much in touch with its Gran Turismo side?
Up in the hills of Andalusia, I started to feel some of the benefits. The GT2 stays flatter under cornering loads and has more aggressive body control than the MC20, plus huge amounts of lateral grip thanks to the Cup 2R rubber, stiffer suspension, and improved downforce. The V-6 also hits harder than than the raw horsepower figure might suggest. Maserati claims a 2.8-second 0-to-62-mph time and a top speed of 201 mph. The GT2 doesn't have the manic spaceship feel of the hyperdrive 750S or the instantaneous electrically boosted torque of the 296 GTB, but it is undoubtedly a hugely potent car.
The revised gearbox programming is obvious, but I'm not convinced it has improved the car. Clicking from GT to Sport modes—which firms up the dampers and makes the car more stable—also gets the transmission hitting upshifts hard. Selecting the most aggressive Corsa mode turned this into a big, slightly unpleasant jolt. It's a fast way to change gears but is a million miles from the clinical precision of a Porsche fitted with PDK, and it lacks the satisfaction of the measured kick of a McLaren or a Ferrari.
Overall, I had a sense that the Stradale is caught between two philosophies. The powertrain doesn't match up with the polish evident in the ride quality and measured steering response, with the thumping gearbox and harsh monotone exhaust note feeling discordant. Some of the characterful turbo percussion so evident in the regular MC20 has also been drowned out by the new exhaust, lost unless you lower the windows. The subtleties and deeper layers that make the standard car feel so special have been blasted away.
It is possible that things would come into sharper focus with more miles. But, sadly, I didn't get the chance to find out—my extremely limited time was spent on roads that were too busy and congested to unleash the car fully. I've had worse days, but it was still frustrating to drive such a car in an environment that didn't allow full exploration of its dynamic character. Which is where the chance to drive on the celestial Ascari race resort should have helped.
The standard MC20 is not a natural track star, being less circuit oriented than most other supercars of a similar recipe. Yet it is also a huge amount of fun on track, the balance sweet and the way it transitions to oversteer easy to predict. Beyond brakes that easily overheat, it's a highly entertaining experience. So the question for Ascari was whether the GT2 could improve response and increase limits without losing the lovely progression.
Sadly, my time on this amazing track was also short. Accompanied by an instructor who ordered which drive mode the car had to be in at all times, I was limited to a pace well short of the car's capabilities. This definitely wasn't the day I discovered the GT2 Stradale's ultimate limits.
But there were some revelations. The track had been given markers for braking, apex, and corner exit—but also, interestingly, on some of the straights well before the braking zone to show where the driver had to lift off the throttle. In Formula 1 or endurance racing, this is 'lift and coast,' done to save fuel. Yet at Ascari, it seemed designed to give the GT2's brakes a breather—something that called into question whether the new system has the endurance necessary for long track stints. Certainly the pedal is quite long, as on the MC20, and although I liked the modulation this allows, it didn't bring the reassurance of the firmer setup of a Ferrari or a McLaren.
Nor did the Stradale show the lightning responses common to track-tweaked performance machinery. It seems strange to compare a mid-engine supercar to the Porsche GT3, but as the benchmark car that excels on both road and track without feeling compromised, it feels like a valid benchmark. One the Stradale can't match in terms of control, agility, or even the sense of being willing to be hustled. The Maserati is physically larger, but it also feels heavier and less fluid. Overall my impression was of a car that is efficient, composed, and very fast—but lacks the sparkle, feel, and fireworks of the very best.
I left Spain with many questions, and I hope that longer exposure at a later date will reveal a greater depth to the GT2's true capabilities. But I also found myself thinking back to my first drive in the regular MC20, in pouring rain in Modena on a bleak winter's day. Despite the weather, it was immediately obvious that I was in a different, special car—a new alternative flavor that didn't simply copy the established players.
Depreciation has, sadly, hurt the MC20's reputation, but as a driving experience, the car remains wonderful. The GT2 Stradale impressed me at times but never gave the moment of clarity the more basic car delivered even under unpropitious testing conditions. My fear is that the GT2 will be stuck somewhere between the beguiling character of the MC20 and the elite derivatives mentioned at the start of the piece, not quite hitting the peak. The GT2 Stradale is a very good car. But at this level, only exceptional will do.
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