Ferrari Enzo & Maserati MC12: The V12 Twins That Defined New-Age Supercars

In 2004, something remarkable happened. A Ferrari-powered Maserati beat Ferrari at their own game. And it did not happen once, but repeatedly. Both cars shared identical hearts, the same carbon bones, even matching engineering DNA. Yet one was built to honor a legacy. The other was designed to win over competition in racing.

This is the story of automotive twins with completely different destinies.

A Tale of Two Legends

The early 2000s brought a supercar revolution. Yes, those were the times! Manufacturers gave up on the wing-heavy excess of the 1990s and opted for smarter performance by using advanced materials and advanced aerodynamics.

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Ferrari's answer was the new Enzo car, which was a tribute to their founder, Enzo Ferrari. Maserati had been absent from racing for 37 years. Their comeback weapon? The MC12, a homologation special built for one purpose: winning championships.

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Both emerged from Maranello sharing components, construction methods, and philosophical approaches. But these cars have different histories that we will cover in depth below.

Ferrari Enzo

Ferrari unveiled the Enzo at the 2002 Paris Motor Show. Named after company founder Enzo Ferrari, this machine represented peak early-2000s automotive technology.

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Ken Okuyama's Pininfarina design broke conventional aesthetics. Sharp edges replaced flowing curves. Functional air intakes dominated styling. Those distinctive butterfly doors opened like fighter jet canopies. Every line served aerodynamics first, beauty second.

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The results were measurable: 343 kilograms of downforce at 200 km/h (756lbs / 124mph), escalating to 775 kilograms at 300 km/h (1,709lbs / 186mph).

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Ferrari planned to produce 399 units but built 400. That final car has a story on its own. More about it later in our article.

The F140 V12

Both supercars shared the F140 V12, a 65-degree, dual overhead cam masterpiece that redefined naturally aspirated performance.

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Here are the key F140 specifications:

• Displacement: 5,998.8 cc (6.0 liters)
• Configuration: 65° V12, DOHC
• Valvetrain: 4 valves per cylinder, variable timing
• Fuel system: Bosch Motronic ME7 injection
• Construction: All-aluminum block and heads

In the Enzo's F140B configuration, this engine produced 651 horsepower at 7,800 rpm, which was the most powerful naturally aspirated road car engine at launch. Unlike Ferrari's previous F50, which used a detuned Formula One V12, the F140 was purpose-built for road use.

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The design emphasized durability over peak performance. Titanium connecting rods, forged aluminum pistons, and sophisticated oil systems ensured reliability across the rev range. This approach proved prescient as F140 variants still power current Ferraris, from the 812 Superfast to limited Monza SP models.

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Maserati, however, had different plans.

Maserati MC12

While Ferrari built the Enzo as a technological showcase, Maserati approached their project with singular focus: return to racing and dominate the GT competition.

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The MC12, which means "Maserati Corse" plus "12 cylinders", was conceived as a homologation special. The plan was very straight-forward: start by building 25 road cars in 2004, race the competition version, and win championships.

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To get here, it was important to introduce significant platform modifications. Maserati stretched the wheelbase, widened the body, and completely redesigned aerodynamics. The MC12 measured as long as a Bentley Bentayga despite having a BMW 3 Series wheelbase. It was two inches wider than a Chevrolet Suburban yet only as tall as a flat-tired Mazda Miata.

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These dramatic proportions served aerodynamic efficiency. Frank Stephenson's design, refined from Giorgetto Giugiaro's original concept, prioritized airflow over aesthetics. The massive rear wing, which measured six and a half feet wide, generated enough downforce to shift weight distribution by seven percentage points at 125 mph.

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Maserati's F140 variant, designated M144A, received important endurance racing modifications. They replaced timing chains with gear-driven camshafts. It made the car louder but stronger. Redline dropped to 7,500 rpm. Power output was deliberately reduced to 630 horsepower.

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Why all these changes? Maserati was all about lasting 24 hours at Spa-Francorchamps.

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Only 50 road cars were produced across two batches in 2004-2005, plus 12 track-only Versione Corsa variants. Total production: 62 units, making the MC12 significantly rarer than the Enzo.

Why Maserati Raced While Ferrari Didn't

Here lies the fundamental difference. Ferrari never raced the Enzo because the car was conceived as a tribute car. Maserati threw themselves into GT competition with remarkable success.

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The MC12's racing debut came at the 2004 FIA GT Championship round at Imola. It immediately claimed second and third place. But it was not without an initial homologation controversy. Rumors had it that Maserati hadn't built the required 25 road cars, which prevented early victories from counting toward championship points. By the season finale at Zhuhai, the FIA approved homologation. That’s when the MC12 promptly won its first officially recognized race.

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Between 2005 and 2010, MC12s collected:

• Six teams' championships
• Two constructors' titles
• Six drivers' championships

In 2005, they beat Ferrari in FIA GT competition with nearly twice as many points as their next closest competitor - Ferrari themselves.

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Driver Andrea Bertolini, the original MC12 test pilot, claimed three championship titles. German driver Michael Bartels added three more. The success extended to the American Le Mans Series, Japan's Super GT championship, and various national GT series.

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The Enzo's competitive achievements were modest. On the rare occasions both cars met in testing, the MC12 proved marginally quicker. According to an ISSIMI's test and review, "The MC12 beat the Enzo by a 10th around Top Gear's track and by a second around the Nürburgring."

Design Divergence

The aesthetic differences reflect divergent purposes. Okuyama's Enzo prioritized visual aggression: sharp angles, prominent intakes, dramatic butterfly doors. Every surface appeared functional, even purely stylistic elements.

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Stephenson's MC12 prioritized aerodynamic efficiency. The proportions were, as one journalist noted, "insane", yet every dimension served downforce generation and drag reduction. Traditional doors (butterfly mechanisms wouldn't work with the removable roof) and smoother surfacing created cohesive airflow patterns.

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Color choice reinforced each car's identity. Enzos came in traditional Ferrari shades allowing individual expression. MC12s offered no choice: every car wore identical Pearl White and Maserati Blue two-tone, emphasizing their homologation special status.

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The MC12's party trick was removable roof panels, making it essentially a convertible Enzo. This served practical and experiential purposes: teams could quickly access components during racing, while road users could fully experience that magnificent V12 soundtrack from above.

Driving Experience

Behind the wheel, these platform twins revealed their differences most clearly.

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The Enzo delivered a raw, uncompromising experience that required constant respect. The F1-style gearbox provided 150-millisecond shifts with a lot of mechanical brutality. The suspension, tuned for track performance, transmitted every road imperfection directly to the driver.

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The MC12 took a more balanced approach. The suspension settings meant for endurance racing's extended sessions were surprisingly compliant on public roads. The longer wheelbase and wider track enhanced stability, while aerodynamic efficiency made high-speed cruising remarkably smooth. As an automotive journalist noted: "The whole car just works as a whole, and it masks speed ridiculously."

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Single-clutch automated manual transmissions were present in both cars, which felt outdated when launched and appeared primitive by modern standards. In the period context, these systems were a direct transfer of cutting-edge racing technology.

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The MC12's removable roof added sensory dimensions unavailable in the Enzo. With panels stowed, occupants experienced full acoustic drama of that gear-driven V12. According to one reviewer: "You can pull the roof off, which means you can listen to the intake and the exhaust outside, something you can't do in an Enzo."

Anecdotes from the Field

Beyond specifications and lap times, both cars generated memorable stories that illustrate their characters.

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The Vatican Enzo's Journey 

The final Ferrari Enzo, the 400th unit, was built as a gift for Pope John Paul II in 2005, but the Pope requested it be auctioned for tsunami victims. His request was carried out after his passing with the funds going to Pope Benedict XVI. The unique car sold for $1.1 million in 2005 and was re-auctioned in 2015 for $6.05 million.

The Malibu Split That Proved Engineering Excellence 

In 2006, a Ferrari Enzo crashed on Pacific Coast Highway at an estimated 162 mph. The car split completely in half, causing debris to scatter for hundreds of yards. The driver escaped with only minor injuries. This dramatic accident demonstrated the strength of the Enzo's carbon-fiber safety cell, which kept its occupant protected.

Michael Schumacher's Secret MC12 Testing 

Michael Schumacher, a former Formula One star, secretly tested prototypes at Ferrari's Fiorano track during the development of MC12. These sessions, although not officially acknowledged, were instrumental in refining the car's handling characteristics. Schumacher's input, gained through years of F1 experience, influenced the MC12's surprisingly balanced road manners.

Performance Comparison

The specifications show how two cars that share the same platform achieved different performance characteristics through different engineering approaches.

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While the Enzo had paper advantages in terms of power and speed, the MC12's track success proved that engineering balance might trump raw numbers.

The Twin Influence on Modern Performance

The F140 engine family continues to power current Ferraris, a testament to fundamental design soundness. Modern 6.5-liter variants produce up to 819 horsepower in the 812 Competizione while maintaining naturally aspirated configuration.

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Both cars established templates persisting in modern supercars. The Enzo's technological showcase approach led directly to the LaFerrari hybrid hypercar. The MC12's homologation special concept influenced Maserati's recent MCXtrema track car.

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Their racing philosophies evolved differently. Ferrari eventually returned to GT competition with 488 and 296 GT3 programs. Maserati continued developing track-focused specials like the MC12 Corsa and MC20 racing variants.

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Most significantly, both cars captured the final moment of the naturally aspirated supercar era. The V12 twins are becoming more special as the automotive industry embraces electrification and autonomous systems. They represent the final evolution of purely mechanical performance, without hybrid assistance or electronic intervention, just naturally aspirated power delivered through carbon fiber and aluminum.

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The Enzo and MC12, with their shared excellence and divergent missions, captured what is fundamental about automotive passion: the constant tension between tribute and tool, between celebrating legacy and creating new legends.

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Only 462 examples exist between them, which makes these cars so special and important to preserve.

About Curated

At Curated, we understand that cars like the Enzo and MC12 represent pivotal moments in automotive evolution. Since our founding in 2015, we've specialized in preserving significant supercars from the golden era spanning the 1970s through early 2000s.

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