02.03.2004 WELL WORTH THE WAIT, THE STUNNINGLY AGGRESSIVE LOOKING MASERATI MC 12 STARS IN GENEVA

The car everybody had been waiting for over the last few months did not disappoint when the covers were pulled off in Geneva today. Maserati's Targa topped and shockingly aggressive, Ferrari Enzo-derived MC 12, stunning onlookers.

Back in January Maserati gave us a preview of the racer, codenamed MCC, that they will unleash to take them bouncing back into top-flight sportscar racing after an absence of many years.

This no-compromise sportscar needed a production version to gain homologation approval so Maserati have given us the no-compromise MC 12 and just 25 of these stunning looking road cars will be built to satisfy the regulation makers at the FIA, which Ferrari-Maserati President Luca di Montezemolo announced at the press conference, had all been already sold.

Large air intakes which deeply rake the frontal area on either side, and huge side intakes to cool the 6.0-litre V12 engine, dominate the lines of the car, lines whose only purpose is to create maximum aerodynamic effect. A large rear wing which wraps around to the bumper, a tight sportscar-prototype shaped cockpit and wheelarches which hug the contours of its massive alloy wheels complete the effect.

The cockpit is a mix of fabrics, leather and composites. The single car on show here, which is finished in Maserati's corporate blue and silver livery, extends this colour scheme into the cabin, with blue leather seats and dashboard, both padded in carbon fibre effect fabrics.