REVIEW

The Maserati Granturismo is one of, if not the most beautiful car on sale. The swooping bodywork is stunning from every angle, conveying power, grace and class in each crease. But, much like Jaguar with the XK-RS, Maserati wanted a piece of the track-day action, and the Granturismo was just that bit too soft and gentle for that. So, Maserati’s Corse race team stepped in and got to work, ending up with the Granturismo MC Stradale, which stands for Maserati Corse Street – a race car for the streets. Weight is lost by more use of carbon fibre and the removal of the rear seats (around 100kg less), and the glorious naturally aspirated 4.7 litre V8 is pumped up to provide 454bhp. This gives the MC Stradale a surprising turn of speed, topping out at 188mph and getting to 60mph from a standstill in 4.5 seconds. The bodywork has received a choice set of modifications too, with new aggressive front and rear bumpers gaining extra cooling vents, a carbon lip spoiler at the rear and some new aerodynamic side skirts. This gives the new Maserati a very aggressive look, but without spoiling the beautiful lines. MC Stradale Vs. XK-RS? We’d like to see that… ** Cash alternative: 80% of the ex-VAT UK RRP **