In 2004, Maserati built a Ferrari Enzo-based supercar called the MC12 (above). Though it didn’t have as much power as the Enzo, the MC12 did hold the lap record on the Top Gear UK test track for some time. Only 50 MC12s were ever built and they carried a $775,000 price tag.
Well, Maserati is at it again. This time they are considering a LaFerrari-based flagship supercar, according to CAR Magazine.
Just like the MC12, the LaMaserati, as it’s been unofficially dubbed, would share the underpinning of the LaFerrari but not include the hybrid bits. This would make the LaMaserati a bit less powerful but also lighter.
It seems Maserati has two ways to go: it can either leave the V12 Ferrari engine as-is, sans the hybrid stuff, and tune it to produce more low-end torque or it could go a much more distinctive and interesting route.
Maserati could take its newly developed twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8 – found in the new Quattroporte – and strap two more turbos to it ala Bugatti Veyron. The standard 3.8 V8 makes 523 horsepower and 523 pound-feet of torque. Adding two more turbos could push the aluminum V8 to around 900 horses.
Though we figure it’s unlikely that Maserati will go to the trouble, we’d be very excited if they did.
As exciting at the promise of a LaMaserati might be – four turbos or not – the price tag might very well quell the thrill of such an Italian beast. The LaMaserati will most likely push past the $1.3-million mark.
