Latest news with #Stradale
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Maserati GT2 Stradale Hits the Streets With Race-Bred Performance
Read the full story on Modern Car Collector Maserati has officially introduced the GT2 Stradale, a road-legal evolution of its GT2 race car, bringing high-performance motorsport engineering to the streets. After making its global debut at The Quail during Monterey Car Week last August, the GT2 Stradale is now set for European deliveries starting in April. The new model builds upon the track-only Maserati GT2, which has made an impact in the Fanatec GT2 European Series. While refined for road use, the Stradale retains its race-inspired DNA, blending elements from the MC20 supercar with competition-grade aerodynamics and power. To celebrate its arrival, Maserati hosted an exclusive test-drive event in Andalusia, Spain, where select customers and stakeholders experienced the GT2 Stradale's capabilities firsthand. The journey began in Marbella, winding through the scenic Sierra de las Nieves National Park, and concluded at the Ascari circuit—named after Formula 1 champion Alberto Ascari, who once competed with Maserati. Under the hood, the GT2 Stradale features Maserati's twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter Nettuno V6, now tuned to deliver 640 horsepower—10 more than the MC20. The car's lightweight construction enables a blistering 0-62 mph sprint in just 2.8 seconds, with a top speed of 201 mph. A rear-wheel-drive setup, advanced aerodynamics, and race-tuned handling ensure the Stradale remains true to its motorsport roots while offering surprising road-going comfort. Maserati's Fuoriserie personalization program allows GT2 Stradale buyers to select bespoke liveries, reinforcing the car's exclusivity. At the Andalusian launch event, Maserati showcased its motorsport history alongside the GT2 race car, emphasizing the lineage that inspired the Stradale's design. By bringing track-level performance to the road, the Maserati GT2 Stradale signals a bold new chapter for the brand, redefining what a road-going Maserati can achieve. With limited production and deep racing pedigree, this high-performance machine is set to become a sought-after collector's piece for enthusiasts and speed aficionados alike. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Maserati GT2 Stradale: Race-Car-Inspired Special Could Be Racier
Maserati might be thought of more as a luxury brand than a racing brand today, but for many, many years it built dedicated race cars, even competing in Formula 1 in the 1950s—its rivalry with Enzo Ferrari set up the first act in Michael Mann's Ferrari. And the 111-year-old company isn't completely done racing. It builds and sells GT2 race cars based on the MC20 for the GT2 European Series, and to celebrate this—including a series-best 12 wins in 2024—Maserati constructed the roadgoing GT2 Stradale. Limited to 914 examples worldwide, the Stradale takes some elements of the race car and applies it to the road car, but most is MC20 carryover, including the carbon-fiber tub and aluminum subframes (front and rear), suspension arms, and eight-speed dual-clutch transaxle. Even the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6, with its novel prechamber ignition, is the same as the regular MC20, save a token 10-hp bump to 631 horses Chassis changes are as you'd expect with a racy model. The springs are 8 percent stiffer in front and 10 percent stiffer in the rear, and engineers recalibrated the bushings. A large part of the spring-rate increase is due to the Stradale making a lot more downforce than the MC20. What is 320 pounds at 174 mph in the MC20 is 1102 pounds of downforce at the same speed in the Stradale thanks to a carbon-fiber rear wing, extended spoiler, reworked underbody and diffuser, fender vents, and an S-duct-style front end that eliminates the regular MC20's frunk. Of course, the adjustable dampers are retuned too. Forged aluminum wheels 42 pounds lighter than the MC20's have a center-lock nut. Fun fact: The last Maserati to have center-lock wheels was the Ferrari Enzo–based 2004 MC12. Aside from the wing, the biggest visual difference is the rear fenders. The intercooler and air intakes on each hock are much larger and look like they actively grab the air passing by, rather than merely letting gravity and Bernoulli pull the air in. This was required because Maserati situated the heat exchangers more vertically to increase their efficacy by 20 percent, something it deemed necessary for track driving. Maserati also did lots of small aero tricks—such as a mesh on the front-fender vents that directs hot evacuated air away from the rear intakes—to make sure that the coefficient of drag (0.38) increases by as little as possible: a bump of 0.005, according to engineers. The carbon-fiber cocoon that is the cabin lacks carpet; instead the exposed structural tub is on display. And while there are more surfaces covered with Alcantara, Maserati used a thinner (thus lighter) version of the faux suede to keep weight down while letting the material help with interior noise abatement. Standard carbon-fiber buckets do an excellent job of keeping you in place at the expense of comfort in traffic. By comparison, Porsche's carbon seats are more comfortable day to day, but no worse at holding you in place. The standard MC20 seats can be substituted at no cost. Collectors will pursue the $13,750 Performance Pack option. It swaps Bridgestone Potenza Sport tires for Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2Rs and slightly upsizes the carbon-ceramic rotors—fronts increase 0.3 inch in diameter and 0.1 inch in thickness, but the rears grow 0.8 and 0.2, respectively. The upsized brake hardware uses the same calipers and is largely employed to take more advantage of the 2R tires, but the option's biggest feature is an electronically controlled limited-slip differential. We didn't get a chance to drive a car without the optional diff, but we can say that with it the car never struggles with grip, even in corners. The Performance Pack also includes a few more drive modes, which are set up very much like GM's Performance Traction Management. There's Wet, GT, Sport, and Corsa for all Stradales, but the Performance Pack unlocks a graduated series of Corsa Evo modes (4, 3, 2, and 1) that eventually disable all the stability nannies, leaving a track-focused ABS program on. Wonderfully, in all modes, Maserati lets the driver choose the suspension firmness independently (Soft, Mid, or Hard). You can get the GT2 Stradale in any color you want, but any outside the base color palette fall under the Fuoriserie program, which is akin to Mercedes Manufaktur or Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, meaning it'll cost you unadvertised amounts for personal flourishes. But you shouldn't look past the Matte Digital Aurora paint. It's a bright blue base coat with a translucent red applied on top before the matte finish. In low light it looks like a deep purple, but in direct sun it's bright blue, and the sharp edges where you'd normally find glare produce red spots surrounding a gradient fade back to bright blue. It's not the same color-changing tech found on a mid-'90s Ford Mustang Cobra painted Mystichrome, but the dramatic effect is similar and will certainly make people look twice. Despite the carbon-fiber construction and weight-savings measures, the GT2 Stradale is but a claimed 132 pounds lighter than the MC20, which, based on our previous test, means the GT2 Stradale weighs at least 3600 pounds (though Maserati says it weighs a few hundred pounds less). Acceleration to 60 mph should be just a hair over three seconds and should you want to, it'll go 201 mph given the room. So, a bit lighter and about the same horsepower for a roughly $80,000 premium? This is the question many a Maserati salesperson will face when trying to sell the $313,995 GT2 Stradale. When you add GT2 to the name of a car, people expect big power or greatly reduced weight. Better yet, big power and greatly reduced weight. The Stradale doesn't really check either of those boxes. It feels nimbler with the Michelins providing some mega grip in corners, but its steering is a bit numb although accurate and responsive. The brakes are powerful but touchy, and the transmission shifts with an unnecessary jolt. It's fun and lovely to look at, but it just doesn't feel as fast as something this pricey should. Full disclosure: Our exposure to the car was very limited and with a tight leash choking us from the passenger seat. Given a place to drive it without a passenger, the GT2 Stradale could come alive in the way a track-focused car should. We can think of one such place in Virginia. The last time Porsche made a GT2, it added 160 horses to a 911 Turbo. Mercedes-AMG went full ballistic missile with the 720-hp GT Black Series. Sure, the Merc didn't have a two in its name, but it might as well have. Unless you already have a garage filled with some of those trident-wearing race cars from the 1950s and 1960s, you'll be back at the dealership asking for the power that was left behind. This engine, after all, makes 724 horses in the track-only MCXtrema. You Might Also Like Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades How to Buy or Lease a New Car Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Maserati GT2 Stradale Is Almost Great
This should be it. The definitive formula for creating one of the world's most exciting cars. Take a supercar from Italy, dial up the noise, remove unnecessary luxuries, and swing the use case from kinda everyday to pure driving fun, whether on road or track. Then sprinkle liberally with carbon fiber and motorsport-derived components, and stand back in awe in wonder. From the Lamborghini Miura SV to the Ferrari 812 Competizione via Scuderia, Speciale, Superleggera, STO, SVJ, and even outliers like the Bugatti EB110 Super Sport, this tried-and-tested path is an almost surefire route to an unforgettable driving experience. Maserati has ticked almost every box. The Stradale has greater power, less weight, and more downforce than the MC20. Thanks to a new underbody, front splitter, and three-position adjustable rear wing, as well as other smaller changes, Maserati claims the Stradale can make up to 1100 pounds of downforce at 174 mph. The Nettuno twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6, with its Formula 1–derived prechamber ignition system, now makes 631 hp at 7500 rpm. The MC20's interior has gained single-piece carbon-fiber seats which, with other lightweight changes, cut mass to a claimed 3003 pounds without fluids. Suspension is still double wishbones at each corner, but with stiffer springs (8 percent at the front, 10 percent at the rear) and revised dampers. Brakes are bigger, the software controlling the eight-speed double-clutch gearbox is new, and the traction- and stability-control systems are claimed to be more sophisticated than in the regular car. In short, the GT2 Stradale, created with lessons learned from the championship-winning GT2 race car, would appear to be a new hero-in-waiting. So why, before driving it, do I feel concerned about what my reaction will be? Well, first, because the GT2 is not cheap. Maserati is planning to make 914 Stradales, with the 1-of-914 interior plaque apparently a reference to the company's founding in 1914, with the U.S.-bound examples set to cost $312,000. That puts it splitter to splitter with the more powerful McLaren 750S and in close proximity to the superb Ferrari 296 GTB, if you want to keep the comparisons Italian. It also represents a chunky $80,000 rise over an MC20 coupe. But there's also the question of how well the MC20 will respond to being turned up. I love Maserati's supercar, but it is a very different experience from a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, or a McLaren. The MC20 has an odd mix of a gravelly, characterful, and sometimes old-fashioned-feeling turbo engine with a supple, laid-back chassis that is gorgeously usable but still delivers bite when you push. It feels left field, yet so well pitched. But it's not crying out to be stripped bare, stiffened up, and turned into a quasi race car for the road. For the full GT2 Stradale experience, buyers will want to pay a further $13,750 for the Performance package, this bringing track-biased Michelin Cup 2R tires in place of the standard Bridgestone Potenza Sports, an electronically controlled differential, and upgraded carbon-ceramic brakes with larger-diameter, thicker discs. In the Corsa drive mode, the Performance pack allows stability control, traction control, ABS, and the e-diff's behavior to be further tweaked through four presets. Maserati has been diligent in stripping out even the modest luxuries of the regular MC20. Climbing into the cabin reveals bare carbon floors, those skeletal ultralight bucket seats, bright yellow pinstriping surrounding the drive controller, and shift lights integrated into the carbon-fiber steering wheel. Door pulls are now fabric, and although some surfaces are trimmed with microfiber, the vibe is pretty much full-on. The V-6 starts with a much bigger boom too. Never the most tuneful engine, the Nettuno now has more menace in its soundtrack. I drove the GT2 Stradale on both road and track in the south of Spain. On road, first impressions were mostly of the refinement of the ride and the smooth, precise, and natural steering feel. Unlike in the regular MC20, each of the Stradale's drive modes brings its own programming for the electric power assistance, but Maserati hasn't been tempted to make huge jumps in terms of weighting to exaggerate the steps between them. Resistance built gently and never lost a lovely clarity. The dual-clutch gearbox is quick and precise too. In GT and Sport modes, the GT2 certainly felt more 'Stradale' than 'Pista.' Maybe, in truth, too much so. Why have the ever-present blare of the V-6 and be staring at the bare interior of a car that feels so much in touch with its Gran Turismo side? Up in the hills of Andalusia, I started to feel some of the benefits. The GT2 stays flatter under cornering loads and has more aggressive body control than the MC20, plus huge amounts of lateral grip thanks to the Cup 2R rubber, stiffer suspension, and improved downforce. The V-6 also hits harder than than the raw horsepower figure might suggest. Maserati claims a 2.8-second 0-to-62-mph time and a top speed of 201 mph. The GT2 doesn't have the manic spaceship feel of the hyperdrive 750S or the instantaneous electrically boosted torque of the 296 GTB, but it is undoubtedly a hugely potent car. The revised gearbox programming is obvious, but I'm not convinced it has improved the car. Clicking from GT to Sport modes—which firms up the dampers and makes the car more stable—also gets the transmission hitting upshifts hard. Selecting the most aggressive Corsa mode turned this into a big, slightly unpleasant jolt. It's a fast way to change gears but is a million miles from the clinical precision of a Porsche fitted with PDK, and it lacks the satisfaction of the measured kick of a McLaren or a Ferrari. Overall, I had a sense that the Stradale is caught between two philosophies. The powertrain doesn't match up with the polish evident in the ride quality and measured steering response, with the thumping gearbox and harsh monotone exhaust note feeling discordant. Some of the characterful turbo percussion so evident in the regular MC20 has also been drowned out by the new exhaust, lost unless you lower the windows. The subtleties and deeper layers that make the standard car feel so special have been blasted away. It is possible that things would come into sharper focus with more miles. But, sadly, I didn't get the chance to find out—my extremely limited time was spent on roads that were too busy and congested to unleash the car fully. I've had worse days, but it was still frustrating to drive such a car in an environment that didn't allow full exploration of its dynamic character. Which is where the chance to drive on the celestial Ascari race resort should have helped. The standard MC20 is not a natural track star, being less circuit oriented than most other supercars of a similar recipe. Yet it is also a huge amount of fun on track, the balance sweet and the way it transitions to oversteer easy to predict. Beyond brakes that easily overheat, it's a highly entertaining experience. So the question for Ascari was whether the GT2 could improve response and increase limits without losing the lovely progression. Sadly, my time on this amazing track was also short. Accompanied by an instructor who ordered which drive mode the car had to be in at all times, I was limited to a pace well short of the car's capabilities. This definitely wasn't the day I discovered the GT2 Stradale's ultimate limits. But there were some revelations. The track had been given markers for braking, apex, and corner exit—but also, interestingly, on some of the straights well before the braking zone to show where the driver had to lift off the throttle. In Formula 1 or endurance racing, this is 'lift and coast,' done to save fuel. Yet at Ascari, it seemed designed to give the GT2's brakes a breather—something that called into question whether the new system has the endurance necessary for long track stints. Certainly the pedal is quite long, as on the MC20, and although I liked the modulation this allows, it didn't bring the reassurance of the firmer setup of a Ferrari or a McLaren. Nor did the Stradale show the lightning responses common to track-tweaked performance machinery. It seems strange to compare a mid-engine supercar to the Porsche GT3, but as the benchmark car that excels on both road and track without feeling compromised, it feels like a valid benchmark. One the Stradale can't match in terms of control, agility, or even the sense of being willing to be hustled. The Maserati is physically larger, but it also feels heavier and less fluid. Overall my impression was of a car that is efficient, composed, and very fast—but lacks the sparkle, feel, and fireworks of the very best. I left Spain with many questions, and I hope that longer exposure at a later date will reveal a greater depth to the GT2's true capabilities. But I also found myself thinking back to my first drive in the regular MC20, in pouring rain in Modena on a bleak winter's day. Despite the weather, it was immediately obvious that I was in a different, special car—a new alternative flavor that didn't simply copy the established players. Depreciation has, sadly, hurt the MC20's reputation, but as a driving experience, the car remains wonderful. The GT2 Stradale impressed me at times but never gave the moment of clarity the more basic car delivered even under unpropitious testing conditions. My fear is that the GT2 will be stuck somewhere between the beguiling character of the MC20 and the elite derivatives mentioned at the start of the piece, not quite hitting the peak. The GT2 Stradale is a very good car. But at this level, only exceptional will do. A car-lover's community for ultimate access & unrivaled NOW Hearst Owned You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Dallara Stradale
Rarely do we welcome a true debutant to the road-test pages of Autocar, and rarely do we test cars with genuine motorsport pedigree, but some days are simply better than others. This car represents the first time Italian chassis manufacturer Dallara has fixed its name to a road-legal machine. As a project, it has been a long time coming, and as a prospect, it is nothing short of mouth-watering. At least it is for those aware of what the company has achieved since a young, ex-Lamborghini engineer set up shop in the Emilia-Romagnese town of Varano de' Melegari in 1973. Gian Paolo Dallara studied aeronautical engineering at Milan Polytechnic and in 1959 was hired by Ferrari to work for the Scuderia. A sojourn at Maserati preceded a move to Sant'Agata Bolognese, where the then-27-year-old Dallara led the team behind the Lamborghini Miura. In the decades since, Dallara Automobili da Competizione has established itself as one of the world's leading motorsport chassis constructors, even though many don't recognise the name. But if you have watched IndyCar or the Formula 3 racing that has propelled so many hotshots to the highest single-seater heights, you've seen Dallara's work in action, because its chassis dominate each of those grids. Equally, if you've ever lusted after the Maserati MC12, the Alfa Romeo 8C or 4C, KTM's radical KTM X-Bow, the Bugatti Veyron or its Bugatti Chiron successor, then you've lusted after Dallara know-how, because the company's expertise in carbonfibre and aerodynamics has benefited them all, along with too many other notable road cars to list here. Dallara has earned the right to build the Stradale, saying it's nothing less than a sincere expression of motorsport engineering for use on road and track. But is the driving experience divine or inaccessible? Can it reward the casual driver like little else or, as with so much of Dallara's back catalogue, need only racing drivers apply? Let's find out. Strip away the Stradale's carbonfibre body and you'll find aluminium subframes mounted to a lightweight central carbonfibre monocoque. Suspension is by double wishbones controlled via coilover struts, with the dampers adjustable for compression at both low and high speeds as well as for rebound. In terms of architecture, the overall approach is not dissimilar to that of those mainstream supercars whose makers are experienced in motorsport. McLaren springs to mind. The Stradale, however, is much lighter on its tyres than even the trimmest Woking missile. At 855kg without fluids, it weighs less than the Lotus 3-Eleven, which is pertinent because a young Gian Paolo Dallara idolised Colin Chapman chiefly on the basis of the Brit's 'simplify, then add lightness' mantra. With so little mass there's no need for power-assisted steering, and the Brembo brakes use cast-iron rather than carbon-ceramic discs. Neither did Dallara need to shoehorn a big brute of an engine into the small chassis to achieve the desired power-to-weight ratio. The car's mid-mounted four-cylinder is the relatively compact 2.3-litre 'Cleveland' motor built by Ford and recently used in the Focus RS. Fettled by Bosch Engineering, it's now switchable between outputs of 295bhp and 395bhp and drives the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox and a mechanical limited-slip differential. A robotised version of the transmission with paddle-operated shifts is also available, albeit for a 40kg penalty. But all these physical elements merely prepare the ground for the Stradale's central tenet, which is vast downforce. The floor of the car, again made entirely of carbonfibre, is perfectly flat and ends with deep venturi tunnels. In the Stradale's basic form, Dallara will stall the front diffuser for good aero balance. With the optional rear wing fitted, the top speed drops from 174mph to 165mph but the wind-tunnel-honed body is able to generate some 820kg of vertical load. The compelling upshot is a car with downforce potential comparable to a McLaren Senna and the power-to-weight ratio of a Porsche GT2 RS but a footprint resembling that of a typical C-segment hatchback. Beyond hitting aero targets, what freedom there was to style the car was undertaken by Turinese consultancy Granstudio. A dramatic melange of organic curves and hard edges is set against the backdrop of a surprisingly long wheelbase. This car wants nothing for presence, and from some angles takes on the aura of a historical sports prototype racer. Nothing the sane side of BAC's single-seater BAC Mono channels such a heady motorsport ambience as the Stradale. In the interests of chassis rigidity there are no doors, so you're expected to vault over the low sills and aim one foot at a landing zone cut into the seat base and marked 'STEP HERE'. The driving position demands you then thread your legs down deep in the tub, engendering a sense of security that is augmented by four-point harnesses, the high transmission tunnel and a 320mm steering wheel complete with centre marker and a column generously adjustable for reach. But before all this, you have a choice, and not simply for the colour of the stitching. The Stradale is offered in three styles. In its purest configuration it functions as a barchetta, with no roof, windows or windscreen. At the other end of the spectrum it can be fully enclosed, with a T-frame roof that attaches to the windscreen and rear bulkhead, plus doors. Our test car offers the midway option, with the windscreen and leather-trimmed dashboard-top but nothing else in the way of protection from the elements. We'd argue it is this roadster configuration that feels the most evocative: the glass is dramatically domed with a central wiper for full Group C effect. With only the sky above your head, the windscreen's carbonfibre frame sits generously inboard, its edges resting atop a polished carbonfibre tub that curves back beyond your field of vision. There are controls for the ESP and ventilation on the transmission tunnel, but that space is otherwise reserved for the Ford-sourced manual handbrake and gearlever. In general there are few distractions, but while the cockpit is spartan, it's also beautifully finished, with supple leather and pleasing uniformity in the carbonfibre and stitching. Some testers, however, felt the gearlever was fractionally too close for comfort and the driving position a touch too high. Over-the-shoulder visibility is close to non-existent and, with no adjustability in the angle of the exterior mirrors, parking anywhere other than in the open expanse of a racetrack paddock isn't for the faint of heart. The Stradale's digital array is sparing – certainly more so than you'll find in the Lotus Exige Sport 410, which uses analogue dials but pairs them with a decently sized, centrally mounted touchscreen display supplied by a third party. Dallara's approach has much more of a motorsport feel, with a modest, carbonfibre-rimmed digital display mounted behind the steering wheel and, well, nothing else – not even so much as a USB socket. Buttons on the steering wheel are used to navigate the limited menus, which chiefly relate to switching the powertrain and chassis between their default and Race modes. Then there are readouts for water temperature, turbo and oil pressure, and a broad tachometer joined by vivid upshift lights as the redline approaches. Given the price of the car, we might have expected something with greater flair and better legibility, especially for speed, but you can't fault this set-up for authenticity. Never mind the mirrors: you should also think carefully before deploying the Stradale's firepower anywhere other than a racetrack. When fitted with a manual 'box, the light frame and relatively small rear contact patches make it tricky to launch this car off the line, but thereafter little can keep up with the Italian rocket. Torque peaks early, with 369lb ft delivered from 2500rpm, while power arrives late, with 395bhp appearing at 6200rpm, and if a flat spot exists between those points, our testers failed to notice it. Bosch Engineering has clearly earned its commission, because never before has Ford's 2.3-litre Ecoboost four-pot operated with so little turbo lag. The Toyota 3.5-litre V6 found in the quickest Lotus models still exists in another realm of responsiveness, but in this guise Ford's fizzing hardware is clinical enough to avoid undermining the Stradale package. While this choice of engine may still invite questions of the Stradale's £143,500 list price, the performance it enables brooks no argument. Carrying two testers and 52 litres of fuel, the car accelerated to 60mph in 3.7sec. This was the slow bit. Between 40mph and 60mph in second, the Dallara's time matched to the tenth that which we recorded for the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ. Then, between 40mph and 70mph in fourth, it matched that of the Ferrari 812 Superfast, again to the tenth. In fact, all telemetry for in-gear acceleration at real-world speeds illustrated a car quite comfortably able to hold its own among more powerful alternatives, even if it does want somewhat for aural character. In terms of through-the-gears acceleration, the Stradale can't match the pace of top-level turbocharged supercars, and even approaching three-figure speeds the aero hardware starts to hold it back. All of which, allied to the fact that no tester can swap gears with the speed of the a modern dual-clutch transmission, explains why the quarter-mile time was closer to 12 seconds than to 10. The Stradale proved sensational in one aspect, however: braking. The firm pedal action feels considerably over-servoed and its sensitivity can make it difficult to accurately rev-match on downshifts, but there's no doubting how assertively the system kills speed. Even after numerous hot laps of MIRA's Dunlop circuit, stopping from 70mph took just 39.4 metres of road – less even than track day behemoths such as the McLaren 600LT and Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Loris Bicocchi's first major assignment was to help develop the chassis for the Lamborghini Countach, but he went on to tune the dynamics of other great supercars, including the Pagani Zonda, Bugatti Veyron and Koenigsegg CCX. For the Stradale, he co-developed the suspension tune alongside former racing driver Marco Apicella. Apparently Apicella, the younger man, favoured a more uncompromising track set-up, but Bicocchi tempered that approach. Whatever the truth, the chassis is exceptional in its ability to absorb the road beneath it while communicating its intentions. Our test car's dampers were in the middle of Dallara's three presets, and while ride quality could be uncomfortably squared-off at low speeds, once up and running the feeling is always of millimetre-precise wheel control with body movements so beautifully cushioned they make you laugh involuntarily. The suspension clatter often experienced in carbonfibre-tubbed lightweights is also conspicuous by its absence, the Stradale operating with an elegance and flow that entirely justifies its price. The unassisted steering also deserves special mention. Whether it possesses quite the same extraordinary level of feel you'll find in a Lotus Exige is debatable, but on public roads it proves all but impervious to deflection and supremely delicate. Add in a fixed-ratio rack that faithfully ingrains the considerable ebb and flow of suspension loadings into your palms and there are few cars so intuitive to thread fast along British roads. That said, on the road you only get glimpses of the Stradale's ultimate handling capability. Once there is temperature in our test car's optional Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres, the grip on offer is nothing short of phenomenal. The weight distribution feels ever so slightly rear-biased, but in the main the Stradale exhibits mid-engined neutrality in the purest sense. Catch the rubber while it's cool, however, and you'll find a car that indulges in the merest slither of understeer before the rear axle gently breaks away with rare poise, right about your hips. The Stradale feels as though it has just graduated from an eye-wateringly expensive finishing school for handling – which, of course, it has. To get the best from the car on track, drop the chassis to its lowest setting (20mm or so below standard, at the push of a button) and disable the ESP, which is lenient but hinders progress exiting fast bends, when downforce gives all the security needed. Fitted with Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres, the car showed exceptional resistance to understeer given the 205-section front contact patches. Through the quickest corners, the Stradale carried a level of speed comparable to that of some hypercars, and did so with disarming security and stability at both ends. The torque output does need managing through slower bends, but the neutral handling proved nothing if not predictable, and the steering is well geared for making corrections. A question mark hangs over the lap time, however. Rarely do we achieve these times with a single set of tyres, but that was the case here. With fresh tyres, the Stradale, we felt, could have shaved off at least another second. There's nothing particularly genteel about travelling in the Stradale. Let's first address 'isolation'. If you expect to be 'isolated' from turbulent air and rainfall, the Stradale is not for you, at least not without the T-frame roof. And yet, as a roadster it compares well to cars of a similar ilk. The windscreen is unusually good at shielding the cabin from the elements, particularly wind buffeting at speed, and if everything does get a bit much, you can always dig your helmet out from one of the conveniently shaped recesses behind the seats. If you can bear it, race gloves will also help you get purchase on the wire-rimmed Alcantara-covered steering wheel. What the windscreen or gloves won't spare you is the loud, off-throttle whining of the differential at low speeds, along with explosive outbursts of the sports exhaust and the constant attention of a gawking public. It is possible to drive longer stints in the Stradale without much fuss, although you'll be ready for an early night afterwards, and in terms of attritional fatigue the lack of a rear-view mirror doesn't help. Meanwhile, comfort levels will be determined by your physiology, because with the shape of the seats dictated by the topography of the monocoque, there's no adjustability. Most testers found the Stradale offered little in terms of lower-back support, although this only became an issue after more than an hour at the wheel. Ride quality itself was generally deemed excellent, the Stradale feeling impressively supple during motorway driving, aided by calm, light steering. With the list price of £143,500 rising rapidly to more than £180,000 with the fitment of options such as the rear wing, sports exhaust, windscreen and special paint, by any objective assessment the Dallara Stradale is expensive for a device propelled by nothing more exotic than a four-cylinder turbo engine from Ford. Except it isn't that simple. These cars are unlikely to depreciate much and may even rise in value as time goes by. Low volumes will help and, with only 600 examples destined to see the light of day, the Stradale is comparable to the McLaren Senna in terms of exclusivity and rarer than big-ticket specials such as the Porsche 918 Spyder. The significance of the project is also likely to generate interest for years to come. The long-awaited Stradale arrives at a time when Gian Paolo Dallara, one of the finest engineer-entrepreneurs of a particularly fine generation, is in the twilight of his career. The company has also cooled speculation concerning the development of any more road-legal models. But while most examples will enter collections – negating the need for owners to be choosy – the Stradale isn't without stern competition. For use predominantly on track, we would find it difficult to look beyond the BAC Mono, while the Elemental RP1 would cost significantly less but offer a similar thrill. There is then Lotus, whose more hardcore Lotus Exige and Lotus 3-Eleven models also cost less than the Dallara and need no further introduction. You may wonder how, against the backdrop of a mighty asking price, a car powered by nothing more momentous than the turbocharged four-cylinder engine from a hot hatchback can earn four and a half stars. The first thing to note is that each Stradale will make Dallara almost no profit. It exists for no other reason than because Gian Paolo Dallara wanted it to, and it costs so much because the materials and construction techniques are direct from the world of motorsport. You'll find interior elements that seem underdone and brakes that lack finesse, but mostly the Stradale simultaneously feels bona fide racing car and true luxury product. It's a trick only the McLaren Senna pulls off with this much confidence. Then there is the magnificent chassis, which on the road perhaps has no equal in its combination of precision and delicacy, while on track it offers insight into the world inhabited by professional racing drivers. Finally, consider that for some the Stradale's handling will appeal every bit as much as a Ferrari's naturally aspirated engine or a Lamborghini's extraterrestrial styling will for another. That, simply, is its level. ]]>
