Maserati GT2 gets new 640hp Stradale road variant

Maser targets stripped out supercar elite with track ready, road legal MC20

By Matt Bird / Friday, 16 August 2024 / Loading comments

The latest derivative of the Maserati MC20 has debuted at The Quail as part of Monterey Car Week. The 640hp GT2 Stradale promises ‘in-depth technology transfer of the purest performance, typical of a racing car, combined with the intrinsic qualities of the MC20.’ Which doesn’t sound half bad, given how good a standard car is. Encouragingly, too, Maserati suggests that the Stradale will be able to thrill on road as well as a circuit.

With a tad more power and 60kg less weight, the Stradale is said to reach 62mph in 2.8 seconds and do more than 200mph. Maserati also talks of ‘sophisticated aerodynamics and attractive design inherited from its racing sibling’, though doesn’t yet make any downforce claims or shout too loudly about lap times. This is Monterey Car Week, after all, far better to grab the attention with a purple supercar than suffocate with stats. And it would be fair to say that the Stradale does that - no more little meek MC20 here, with the vented carbon bonnet, centre-lock wheels and towering rear wing. Check out those seats, too - proper road racer.

The only limit to the Stradale’s appearance will be the imagination (and budget) of the customer, with a huge raft of options set to be available. As well as offering the potential of a ‘bolder aggressive aesthetic’ through Maserati’s Fuoriserie personalisation department, there will be packages and upgrades and packages dedicated to improving performance. It surely won’t have escaped Maserati’s attention how much can be charged for a Weissach Pack on a Porsche RS, an Assetto Fiorano on a Ferrari 296 GTB or a Clubsported McLaren Longtail and will be following suit.

Davide Grasso, Maserati CEO, said: “Maserati GT2 Stradale is a unique product, bringing together as it does the brand's greatest sporting heritage, and at the same time representing evolution of one of Maserati's most iconic vehicles, the MC20 halo car.

He continued: "This model intended for everyday driving was created based on the desire to offer our customers more and more in terms of technical mastery, innovation, design and emotions in road driving: on the one hand, we find sophisticated solutions reserved for models designed for track use only, the epitome of Maserati's racing DNA; on the other, we can guarantee optimal comfort paired with all the most advanced driver assistance systems. Maserati GT2 Stradale is a product that can fulfill the requirements of the most discerning enthusiasts, a new creation that expresses the brand’s entire essence.”

The GT2 Stradale will be on display at Monterey alongside a 2004 MC12 Stradale and the MC20 Icona it has inspired. In addition, the first MC XTrema will be handed over to a customer on Sunday at Laguna Seca. Quite a show from Maserati then, with four mid-engined cars, only one of them a classic, and all with more than 600hp from combustion engines. Let’s hope the GT2 Stradale builds on the solid foundation established by the standard MC20. Can’t have too many track-focused supercars now, can you?