Throughout the history of the automobile we have come across – and still find – numerous cases of “twin cars separated at birth”. One of the most recent is that of the Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ, but I am sure that none was as satisfying and exciting as that of the Ferrari Enzo and Maserati MC12, two supercars with the same DNA, the same philosophy and that Faces have been seen in a lavish race that, believe me, you are not going to want to lose.
And although it is true that in terms of design they took very different paths, as far as pure and simple mechanics are concerned, there is no variation whatsoever except for power. This translates into a colossal 6.0-liter V12 that would make anti-pollution institutions tremble today and that is in charge of developing over 600hp for both MC12 and Enzo.
The Ferrari Enzo and the Maserati MC12 face off in a drag race
However, those of the Prancing Horse wanted to give some differentiation to their offspring, and that is why the atmospheric twelve-cylinder produces 660 hp and 657 Nm of torque in the Ferrari Enzo. In this way, the one with the trident settles for a more “modest” 630 CV and 652 Nm of torque, figures that are equally high even today and that make a race between masters very even, at least on paper.
And it is that the Maserati MC12 completes the 0 to 100 in 3.8 seconds and reaches a top speed of 330 km/h. The Ferrari Enzo, for its part, covers the sprint in 3.6 seconds and declares a top of 346 km/h. In the same way they are very similar numbers to each other but, Far enough apart to make a big difference between the two supercars?
At the end of the day we enter some land and a performance so extremely close that aerodynamics, weight, tires and driver will be in charge of determining a winner. And that is why the guys at the Petersen Automotive Museum they have taken the twins to a track to carry out a drag race and determine which of the two was born with better running qualities.
However, the race is not carried out by launch control, but by rolling at 30 km/h until reaching a certain point and sinking the right pedal. In this way, in all attempts the Ferrari Enzo wins with a time of 11.9 seconds in the quarter mile. Thus, the MC12 loses covering the same distance in 13.05 seconds, making it clear that its performance is slightly reduced make it slower.
Although in other circumstances and carrying out a race from a standstill, the situation could change to the point of leaving not only a more even result, but also making the MC12 the winner. Be that as it may, the truth is that it is appreciated to see two automotive jewels of such caliber outside garages and museums doing what they are supposed to do: roll on the road and unleash its performance on the track.