Maserati GT2 Revealed As Spiritual Successor To The MC12

Maserati has unveiled its latest track-only vehicle, the GT2. With this new machine, Maserati wants to compete in various GT2 classes, starting with the final stages of the 2023 Fanatec GT European Series. It will return for an entire season in 2024.

This is big news for racing fans, as Maserati hasn't been a serious motorsport competitor since 2010. Last time out, it competed with the famous MC12 in the FIA GT1 class, which later evolved into the FIA GT1 World Championship. It also ran in the Italian GT, Super GT in Japan, and the American Le Mans Series.

The MC12 in GT1 guise won 40 races, six teams' and drivers' championships, and two constructors' titles between 2005 and 2010. Basically, the Maserati GT2 has a lot to live up to.

The GT2 will be equipped with the same Nettuno V6 as the MC20 supercar. Maserati is promising to take the 621-horsepower twin-turbocharged V6 to the extreme but failed to provide output figures as these are limited based on the individual rules of the various competitions in which the car will race. Typically, the rules allow for 640-700 hp.

The House of the Trident only says that it is "preparing to chart a new course" and is "determined to write exciting new chapters in the history of motorsport." That could indicate that, where rules permit, some electrification may be involved, as Maserati is carving out a nice niche in that particular segment.

The GT2 will be available to private teams and gentleman drivers. No MSRP was provided, but if you fall into the class of gentleman driver, money is hardly an issue. The average buyer likely already owns a McLaren 720 S GT3 EVO for GT3 racing and has a new Mustang GT4 on order too, for the lower classes.

"Our DNA and our spirit have always lain in racing. Our story began and developed from the track to the road," said Davide Grasso, Maserati CEO. "The decision to return to track racing forms part of a thorough strategic framework, inaugurated this year with the debut in Formula E, to which we have now added our return to the world of GT competitions. Now more than ever, we want to rekindle and nourish that competitive passion that has always characterized and motivated us to achieve major milestones."

Unfortunately, the FIA no longer requires manufacturers to build road-legal versions of its racers, which is the only reason the road-legal MC12 exists. So don't expect the Maserati GT2 to debut as a road-legal supercar special.