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Slot.it Maserati MC GT3 #38 - 1st Vallelunga 2012
#1

   

Slot.it CA43b Maserati MC GT3 #38 - 1st Vallelunga 2012 - Gabriele Gardel & Alessandro Pier Guidi. RRP £62.95. Release date: 30 August 2021

This is the MC GT3 livery Slot.it should have produced first. Much as I like the CA43a Salita Del Costo hillclimb car... these red, white and black Swiss Team colours are where it all started for the GT3 version of the Maserati GranTurismo MC. And it is an absolutely cracking livery. Slot.it have produced both a GT4 and GT3 moulding - and they are completely different cars both in the real world and in 1:32 scale. The GT4 cars (see here) were simply converted from the one-make MC Trofeo fleet. The GT3 was an entirely separate evolution - giving a wider, more muscular, but lighter car.

       

Swiss Team, led by Guido Bonfiglio, began to develop the GranTurismo MC GT3 at the end of 2011. With Maserati supplying parts and some support, it was left to the team's new technical director Giuseppe Angiulli to steer the project. Angiulli had an impressive CV, including F1 experience with Osella, time in DTM with Alfa, plus a decade preparing GT cars for Maserati, Ferrari and their customer teams. His first task at Swiss Team was preparation of the new Maserati Quattroporte Evo, which won the International Superstars Series in 2011, with works driver Andrea Bertolini at the wheel.

       

The GT3 project drew on the experience of building and racing the Quattroporte Evo - especially in terms of tuning the 530bhp V8 engine. Exploiting the GT3 rules, extensive use of carbon fibre shed nearly 200kg from the overall weight and the track was widened to the permitted maximum. The GranTurismo also had every aerodynamic tweak allowed by the FIA regulations, including a flat bottom and rear diffuser. Here's some video from an early test...



Guido Bonfiglio was suitably optimistic about the Swiss Team MC GT3 project...

Quote:We wanted to develop the Maserati GranTurismo MC GT3 version because we believe it is a winning project, stimulating for all involved. We are perfectly aware of the difficulties we’ll face in tackling such an ambitious project, but challenges are the heart of a team’s dynamics, whether on the track or the design table. Our direct competitors are manufacturers who, disguised to a greater or lesser degree, participate directly in the development of the vehicles and actual racing; we are a small outfit but we have great hopes of being a thorn in the side of these giants of motor sport.

It started well... Not yet ready to be presented for GT3 homologation, the first phase of race development saw the car travel to the Spanish GT weekend at Jarama in May 2012 for a non-competitive shakedown. In September, the MC GT3 took part in its first race at the Hungaroring. Driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi and Gabriele Gardel, the car qualified in the middle of the GT Open Series field, finished fifth in race one, but was withdrawn from race two. Its next test was at Vallelunga, outside Rome, for a GTSprint Series event. The car won the first race and finished thirteenth in race two. This is the livery modelled by Slot.it.

       

Unfortunately, Swiss Team and Maserati had to wait until November 2013 for the FIA to homologate the GranTurismo MC GT3. The plan for 2013 had been to compete in the prestigious Blancpain Endurance Series, but the delay in being granted FIA GT3 status meant that never happened. The team had to make do with three outings in the lower-tier GTSprint Series. Having eventually gained homologation, the MC GT3 did not reappear until April 2015 - a revised car making a single outing at the GT Open event at Paul Ricard. The car failed to finish.

       

Although there are plenty of livery options for the GT4 cars, only a tiny handful appeared on the single GT3 - mostly the red, white and black of Swiss Team, plus the yellow and black colours from Paul Ricard in 2015 - and then the white of the car's later hillclimbing career.

Despite the lack of potential liveries, I think I understand why Slot.it have produced this GT3 Maserati. First, I agree with Maurizio that it's one of the most beautiful GT cars ever produced - and I also really like historical oddities and rarities made as slot cars. However, I reckon the main reason is for slot racing purposes. There are clubs and series around the world who demand a GT3 car for their GT3 classes - that's a slot car homologation issue. There's also the fact that the Slot.it MC GT3 has a nice fat 64mm rear track - 2mm wider than the GT4. That's Maurizio's demand for scale accuracy and premium track performance. In Slot.it's new 'Modern GT' range the MC GT4s with their varied and colourful liveries will be perfect for collectors and home racers - the more muscular GT3 favoured by club racers. That's my hunch, anyway.

       

As you can see, the car comes with a sidewinder 23k S-Can - challenging the UK GT club racing norms. A switch to anglewinder won't be a problem for racers - and they'll probably want to change what looks like plastic rear wheels on these GT cars. Of course, we'll have to see how the Slot.it GT range develops - the Maserati and the Nissan are a little left-field, but I really like them. They are certainly the most accurately modelled GT cars produced by a 'performance racing' brand.

The race-winning Swiss Team Maserati GranTurismo MC GT3 will be with retailers next week. It's available for pre-order now at all your usual Slot.it stockists.

Many thanks to Jo and the team at Galileo Engineering for sending us these superb photographs of the production model.

   
[+] 5 members Like woodcote's post
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#2

Indeed plastic wheels, but a set of aluminiums are under the base of the car, according to the YouTube video.
[+] 2 members Like Henk's post
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#3

Great write up as always Woodcote.
Looks a very crisply done livery, the real car looks to have a matt/satin finish, the model is gloss but looks better for it IMO.
Tempting ....
[+] 2 members Like Savage GT's post
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#4

Thanks for the reminder Henk…



Lots of great stuff from Maurizio every month.
[+] 2 members Like woodcote's post
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