Fraternal Twins |
I'm talking about the Enzo and the MC12. Sure, they are the finest achievements two Italian carmakers can ever think of. Both of these are more fun on the track but the feeling of owning and driving them in reality can be somewhat frustrating but I don't care. First off, let's start with the MC12...
Maserati MC12:
The MC12 from Maserati was used to compete in the FIA GT Championship and this was based on the Enzo Ferrari. The road-going version of the MC12 was produced in 2004 with 30 cars produced (five of which were not for sale). A further 25 were produced in 2005 making a total of 50 cars available for customers, each of which were pre-sold for €600,000.
It uses the same 6.0L V12 engine from the Enzo but it produces a maximum torque of 652 newton metres (481 lbf·ft) at 5500 rpm and a maximum power of 630 PS (460 kW; 620 hp) at 7500 rpm, while being mated with the Maserati Cambiocorsa semi-automatic transmission which has the final drive ratio of 4.10:1 and provides a shift time of just 150 milliseconds.
Jeremy Clarkson reviewed the MC12 on Top Gear and he disliked it more like the BiTurbo that he crushed. "Is it a racer? Is it a GT car? Is it a de-tuned Enzo in a fat suit? You can't really tell." he said but when handed to The Stig, it set a lap time of 1:18.9, 0.1 seconds faster than the Enzo Ferrari.
The MC12 crossed the line in 1:17.787
Enzo Ferrari:
The Enzo Ferrari was the ultimate Ferrari ever built in 2002 in celebration of Ferrari's 55th anniversary and it is limited to 399 units.
Originally, it supposed to be called the F60, in line with other anniversary models such as the F40 and the F50, but it was announced that before its launch, this car has to be named after the founder of Ferrari, ENZO FERRARI.
Designed by a Japanese named Ken (Kiyoyuki Okuyama), the Enzo was heavily influenced by its Formula One-style nose, providing better aerodynamics. Little known fact that Michael Schumacher was contributed for this car.
Powering the Enzo was its 6.0L V12 engine that generates 651HP of power and 484.8lb-ft of torque, armed with a semi-auto transmission called the F1-matic. Top speed is 350kph.
Jeremy Clarkson borrowed Nick Mason's Enzo for a review on Top Gear and when handed to The Stig, it set a lap time of 1:19.0. The Enzo was one of the cars contributed for the challenge when James May tries to recreate the Top Gear theme song using car engines.
The Enzo Ferrari did it in 1:17.981, a few seconds slower than the...MC12(?)
Enzo's Time |
Strange that despite the MC12 is somewhat a de-tuned Enzo in a fat suit, how can it be more quicker than the Enzo in terms of lap times? Doesn't matter though because what I'm driving those were works of art. The MC12 is all about being as delicate as a piano concerto but it takes skill to master the handling because such brutal speed may cost you more. The Enzo though, that is truly a knife-edge combatant I truly love about. Although both of these cars have no luxury equipment, the freedom to drive those cars are highly immense. I wanna drive one of these more than hanging on my last breath.