The Ferrari Enzo and Maserati MC12 are two of the very finest supercars of the 21st century. But which is the quickest?
As you’re probably well aware, the Ferrari Enzo was introduced in 2002 as the automaker’s ultimate road car and a couple of years later, Maserati introduced the MC12. The Maserati is built on the same chassis as the Enzo and uses the same powertrain but adopts an arguably even more outlandish design.
At the heart of both cars is a 6.0-liter naturally aspirated V12. In the Enzo, it produces 651 hp at 7,800 rpm and 485 lb-ft (657 Nm) of torque at 5,500 rpm while in the MC12 it is rated at 621 hp at 7,500 rpm and has 481 lb-ft (652 Nm) of torque.
The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles recently had the chance to drive both and ran them in a series of drag races.
Read: What Would You Do With A Brand New Ferrari Enzo V12 Crate Engine That’s Still In The Box?
To race the two and likely in an attempt to ensure that no damage was done to their powertrains, they were not launched hard off the line. Instead, the races were held from a 20 mph (32 km/h) rolling start.
Neither the quarter-mile times of the Enzo nor the MC12 were particularly impressive. In fact, the Enzo needed 12.83 seconds to complete the quarter-mile in the first race while the MC12 recorded a time of 14.46 seconds. These times came despite the rolling start, indicating that the drivers were taking it easy.
So, while the results aren’t really representative of what these two Italian supercars can do, just watching them storm down a drag strip together is a sight to behold.