In the early 2000s, Maserati S.p.A. was determined to return to the FIA GT Endurance Championship. After a 37-year absence, it was time for a comeback. Thanks to slightly relaxed regulations, the company only needed to build 25 production cars for homologation. In Ferrari S.p.A., they found a strong partner right on their doorstep for the development of a racing car.
Maserati employed a bold strategy: they developed and designed a racing car from which the road-going version was then derived. The result was a thoroughbred racing car that dominated GT racing at the time. In seven years, the Maserati MC12 secured an incredible 14 overall titles. Of the 96 races in which the MC12 GT1 competed, it won 46. Ultimately, Maserati succeeded in reviving its somewhat forgotten potential in race car construction with the MC12 GT1.
The Maserati MC12 is based on the Ferrari Enzo and has the same engine, albeit with 27 hp less. Otherwise, the Maserati would have been faster than the Enzo due to its superior aerodynamics and lower weight. The abbreviation MC12 stands for Maserati Corse 12-cylinder.
The originally planned 25 road-going versions eventually became 50. The first 25 had all been sold even before production was complete, but there were still enough potential customers, so a further 25 units were built. They were actually all intended to be delivered in a pearlescent white paint finish with blue side skirts. This colour scheme was designed to evoke Maserati racing cars from the 1950s. However, four potential buyers received a different colour scheme: one in dark grey, one in silver, one in dark blue, and one MC12 in orange.
Thanks to its technical superiority, the Maserati MC12 GT1 won the FIA GT World Championship in its class in 2005. The following year, Maserati was once again highly successful with the VITAPHONE RACING TEAM led by Michael Bartels. They won both the team and drivers’ championships. In August of the same year, they won the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps once again, setting a new record for the most race kilometres covered.
The monocoque, the powerful 6-litre V12 engine and the manual electro-hydraulic gearbox are taken directly from the Ferrari Enzo. The only design feature shared with the Enzo is the windscreen. The bodywork was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and fine-tuned by Frank Stephenson. Compared to the Enzo, it was larger and had a more aggressive aerodynamic design, featuring a long overhang behind the rear axle that is almost reminiscent of the long-tail versions of Porsche and Ferrari from the 1970s.
At the 2026 Spa Classic, three Maserati MC12 GT1s lined up on the grid in the Endurance Legends series. All three were sporting different liveries: VITAPHONE, VODAFONE and RED BULL. They were loud and particularly beautiful to look at. I’m not quite sure if I’ve ever had one in front of the camera before, but they’re certainly worth a close-up look.
