Introducing the Maserati MC12 for Assetto Corsa

[Paul Jeffrey]

The third 'Ready to Race' Assetto Corsa DLC reveal is a bit of a peach... introducing the sublime Maserati MC12 from the glory days of GT racing.

Evoking memories of the legendary GTR 2 from Simbin Studios, the announcement that Kunos Simulazioni will be bringing one of the all time most beautiful GT machines ever created in the form of the Maserati MC12 has got many a sim racers pulse rate just that little bit higher than is normally healthy...

Coming to the game as a welcome playmate to the equally venerable Porsche 911 GT1, this new inclusion to the steadily growing garage of road and race machines comes from an era that many believe was the very peak of modern day sportscar racing. Making it's competitive debut in the then top tier FIA GT Championship, the MC12 has seen a big name racing stars take to the wheel of this incredibly successful GT car. Drivers of the calibre of Britain's Jonny Herbet and fellow Formula One refugees Mika Salo, Eric van de Poele and Karl Wendlinger, plus GT stalwarts Thomas Biagi and Fabio Babini, the MC12 was very much at the height of modern technology throughout the mid 2000's.

Thanks to the now legendary GTR 2 racing sim, the car also holds a special spot in the heart of sim racers the world over, with many of us having cut our teeth with this car in both the GTR and GTR games that depicted the 2003 and 2004 FIA GT Championship seasons. With the car now coming to a modern simulation in an official capacity, it will be interesting to see how sim game technology has improved the driving experience over the last 10 plus years since GTR 2 was a big deal in PC sim racing.

As part of the reveal post from Kunos, the Italian developers had the following to say of the stunning machine:

The Maserati MC12 entered production in 2004 as a base for the racing variant to compete in the GT Championship. In fact, one requirement for participation in the GT Championship was the production of at least 25 road cars; so 25 cars were produced in 2004 and another 25 in 2005.

The car was based on the Enzo Ferrari chassis and gearbox, mounting a variant of the Ferrari V12 engine.

The racing results of the racing version were magnificent. The Maserati MC12 GT1 team managed... to finish second and third in their debut race and went onto winning the next round's race. In their second year, Maserati won the Manufacturers Cup with a great point gap, and continued to compete at great level in the years which followed. In total, it participated in 94 races, winning 40 of them.

Ready to Race DLC Contents:

• Audi R8 LMS 2016
  
• Audi R18 e-tron Quattro
  
• Audi TT Cup 2016
  
• Audi TT RS (VLN)
  
• Lotus 3-Eleven
  
• Maserati MC12 GT1
  
• McLaren 570S
  
• McLaren P1 GTR
  
• Toyota Celica ST185 Turbo
• Toyota TS040 Hybrid

Alongside the new DLC pack will come the version 1.14 game update which looks set to contain a number of new and improved features. As a little teaser Kunos have revealed some of the following changes will be included in the new build release:

• Added wind algorithm
  
• Added AI Aggression selection
  
• More AI differences within a single lap to generate more battles
  
• Added AI wing setup variations
  
• New AI algorithms for understeer detection and downshifting
  
• Improved Downshift Protection
  
• Updated Steam statistic reader to synchronize steam achievement

Assetto Corsa is a racing simulation designed by Kunos Simulazioni and is available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. The 'Ready to Race' DLC is scheduled to launch on Thursday 18th May.

Oh boy do we like mods! If you do too then we have you covered with our fantastic Assetto Corsa modding archive. From downloads to a place for mod discussion, we have it all for you to enjoy, check it out today! If you don't fancy trying out some of the awesome community created tracks and cars then drop in on our Assetto Corsa sub forum to chat about the game with your fellow fans. Interaction and threads make forums fun, so start one today!

We hold regular league and club racing events across a variety of content found within the game, however to celebrate this mega new inclusion to Assetto Corsa we are holding a very special on off GT1 specification race on Sunday 21st May. Sign up here and get yourself in on the action.

Looking forward to the MC12? Would you like to see other mid 2000's FIA GT Championship spec cars such as the Ferrari 550, Lister Storm, Saleen S7, Chrysler Viper etc? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[tlsmikey]

What's the competition for this car? Vette C7R?

 

[Lorenzo Bonder]

What's the competition for this car? Vette C7R?

Porsche 911 GT1.

 

[Gevatter]

But but but... we need more tracks, more rain and more night!!

Just kidding, I'm very excited about the Maserati! This is a great car

 

[eatyoubrocookie]

Porsche 911 GT1.

i am pretty sure the Porsche 911 GT1 is far off pace of the MC12... its a different era iirc and i dont think these two cars are balanced towards each other.

correct me if im wrong though

 

[Ryno917]

Porsche 911 GT1.

They were separated by several years and a whole class. The MC12 (while never actually legal in any class) raced alongside the DBR9, 575 and C6R. The 911 GT1 was in the "GT1" class in the late 90s, which was actually more of a prototype class if we're being honest, and the rules were quite different.

Seems an odd mention, since they were never competitiors; either in time period or in specification.

Still, nice to have it. Would love to see some more of its competition (and the 911 GT1s competition, for that matter)

 

[Lorenzo Bonder]

Oddly it's the only car that can match speed and pace the MC12.

Both are GT1s, even though from total different eras, as such the MC12 wasn't even supposed to be a road legal car, that looked more much of a prototype of a Prototype than anything else, they only made 50 (25 per year) so they could match what was requested in the FIA GT Championship for the GT (GT1 spec cars) back then.

 

[Epistolarius]

Yeah, not the same GT1 era. Good thing we'll be able to pit all the cars against each other though and see which one's faster.

 

[eatyoubrocookie]

The 911 GT1 has the same pace as the GT3 cars.. its pretty slow for being a GT1 class car, because of its era.

i reckon the MC12 GT1 will be a bit faster than that, not by that much though.

For instance, Lap Times at Spa

2016 GT3 class --> 2:20
2010 MC12 GT1 --> 2:18

 

[protonv5]

I'll be happy to have this car. I loved racing from that era. I'm also hoping though that not just new cars are introduced, but more depth to the game also. Perhaps that's yet to come.

 

[Trezoitao38]

I would like to see F550 GT1 from BMS Scuderia Italia.

 

[Cristian Haba]

The 911 GT1 has the same pace as the GT3 cars.. its pretty slow for being a GT1 class car, because of its era.

i reckon the MC12 GT1 will be a bit faster than that, not by that much though.

For instance, Lap Times at Spa

2016 GT3 class --> 2:20
2010 MC12 GT1 --> 2:18

The 911 GT1 is not slower than GT3 cars, especially on tracks like LeMans, Paul Ricard, Monza. Without looking into specifics for downforce levels for both the current GT3 and extinct GT1 category, paper stats would suggest 911 GT1 is very quick ~900kg , 600bhp, 1998 prototype levels of downforce (sans lift off option ). The advantage of present day GT3 cars is better tires and downforce.

PS I'm biased, love the '98 GT1.

 

[mclarenf1papa]

The 911 GT1 has the same pace as the GT3 cars.. its pretty slow for being a GT1 class car, because of its era.

i reckon the MC12 GT1 will be a bit faster than that, not by that much though.

For instance, Lap Times at Spa

2016 GT3 class --> 2:20
2010 MC12 GT1 --> 2:18

AC's version of the Porsche seems a bit slower than reality...in real life the cars ran 2016 LMP2 pace around the red bull ring (1:22s for the best of the 90s cars, 1:24s for the Porsche). The 2001 GT1 cars were 5+ seconds a lap slower at the same track (current GT3 pace)... The Maserati should be a little quicker than that, but still slower than the the Porsche on most tracks. That said, the lack of pace of the AC porsche means that they may indeed be comparable.

 

[Andy_J]

Well whatever is fastest or legal or whatever...........this was one of my most driven cars in GTR2. I love it. Looking forward to hot lapping with this beauty.

 

[Epistolarius]

The 911 GT1 has the same pace as the GT3 cars.. its pretty slow for being a GT1 class car, because of its era.

i reckon the MC12 GT1 will be a bit faster than that, not by that much though.

For instance, Lap Times at Spa

2016 GT3 class --> 2:20
2010 MC12 GT1 --> 2:18

If I look at this
http://www.assettocorsa.net/forum/index.php?threads/car-time-ranking.22389/

Across the board the 911 GT1-98 is faster than GT3 cars, as I would expect it to be. The 911 GT1 is between the C9 and 962's in performance, below that the Zonda R and 599XX, then a whole train of GTE, GT2 and GT3 machinery, then the old 1995 F1 GTR GT1. All of them are still close to each other but I wouldn't expect the MC12 to run away here.

 

[eatyoubrocookie]

The 911 GT1 is not slower than GT3 cars

i dont know where you read that in my post...
also of course it is faster on pure power tracks like lemans due to its better top speed.
I also love the 911 GT1, however - and i dont want to spoil it for you - it was actually crap
it was pretty uncompetitive and only won LeMans once, because all of its rivals failed to finish due to several reasons.
Looks great though, and visuals are the only important thing on a racecar, right?

 

[eatyoubrocookie]

If I look at this
http://www.assettocorsa.net/forum/index.php?threads/car-time-ranking.22389/

Across the board the 911 GT1-98 is faster than GT3 cars, as I would expect it to be. The 911 GT1 is between the C9 and 962's in performance, below that the Zonda R and 599XX, then a whole train of GTE, GT2 and GT3 machinery, then the old 1995 F1 GTR GT1. All of them are still close to each other but I wouldn't expect the MC12 to run away here.

thats an interesting post you linked there..
must be i just suck with the 911 gt1 then, because i couldnt get much faster than my gt3 times if i remember correctly.
its been a while since i drove it though

 

[Amir Vodokotlic]

So this is the 2005 version?

MC12 GT1 did 1:45.699 at Monza in real 2005 FIA race.

That will make it 4-5 seconds quicker than GT2/GT3 cars in AC.

Probably bit quicker than Porsche GT1 98.

 

[Epistolarius]

What's the competition for this car? Vette C7R?

In terms of real world competition - older machinery like the Lister Storm and 911 GT2 Evo, then current cars like Aston Martin DBR9, Corvette C5.R, C6.R, Saleen S7R, Lamborghini Murcielago RGT, Ferrari 550 GTS, 575 GTC, Viper GTS-R, later also Nissan GT-R GT1, Ford GT1. Mid-2000s GT500 cars are on pace too I think.

 

[Celestiale]

Good old ballast, and you can definitely run the two GT1 cars together