Have you seen the price of a Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale these days? Having hung around £200,000 for a long time, there’s now not one on PH for less than £400,000. Which is some going; perhaps as new Ferraris become ever more powerful and technically advanced, so the rawness and intensity of what’s now the old school appeals even more.
But at that money, the stripped-out Stradale becomes a very different prospect. At twice the value of just a few years ago, you’d surely be less prone to take it out for a thrash and more concerned about how best to preserve it. Or attempt to make a Stradale homage from a standard 360…
Now, we’re not for one second suggesting that a Maserati GranTurismo MCStradale is a 360 alternative. But the mindsets are similar; if you’re a fan of the Ferrari, if you like a high-revving, glorious-sounding flat plane crank V8, a fizzier chassis and a bit more excitement to every drive, chances are the Maserati appeals as well. What was cool at launch, a GranTurismo with some extra edge and a noise to die for, looks extra special less than 15 years later.
The Stradale ticked all the road racer boxes: lighter, lower and firmer than standard, with exotic materials aplenty and actually just the two seats at launch. This is one of the later, 460hp cars that got the two rear seats back in, because even a motorsport-inspired Maserati GranTurismo is still a GranTurismo - it can’t really have just the two seats.
More expensive than the rest of range yet no more powerful, the Stradale was a bit of a tough sell when new, despite probably showing off the GT’s talents to their fullest. The benefit of that is sturdy residuals, with the best ones still commanding £60k despite their age. They seem unlikely to budge a great deal, either, given the latest GranTurismo’s turbo V6 and another Stradale looking unlikely. It isn’t going to appreciate like its Ferrari namesake, but an MC won’t drop to the alluring depths of some less special GTs.
This one is £50k, a 2013 car with special order paint, loadsa carbon, and an ECU tickle from specialists AV Engineering. That’s said to bring between 10 and 15 per cent more power and torque, as well as benefit driveability, so it sounds well worth having. There’s plenty of green in the MOT history, a GranTuismo looks as divine as ever, and the mileage is fine. Of course, there are plenty of alternatives, much as there always was for Maserati’s best 2+2, though it’d probably be hard to think of anything else once you’ve set eyes on this. Or heard it…
SPECIFICATION | MASERATI GRANTURISMO MC STRADALE
Engine: 4,691cc V8
Transmission: 6-speed automated manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 460@7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 376@4,750rpm
MPG: 20
CO2: 337g/km
Year registered: 2013
Recorded mileage: 46,246
Price new: £110,110
Yours for: £49,950
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