The Maserati Barchetta is a mid-engine racing car,[2] like the 350 and 450S, that was designed by Carlo Gaino[3][4] of Synthesis Design,[5] an Italian design house.
The Barchetta was designed and developed for the one-make racing series Grantrofeo Barchetta[6] which was held in 1992 and 1993 throughout Italy and Europe. It featured sixteen races in total, most of them in Italy. The Barchetta had a backbone chassis made of aluminium which was unusual for a Maserati automobile for a time considering that the cars offered by Maserati had a steel unibody construction. It had a Formula 1 suspension geometry and body panels made of carbon fibre which resulted in a total weight of 775 kg. The Barchetta was one of the last Maserati models built under De Tomaso ownership.[7] 16 examples of the racing model[8] were produced by hand at the De Tomaso factory in Modena, plus two prototypes (one racing-corsa, one street-stradale model). It featured a mid-mounted Maserati AM501 V6 engine displacing 1,996 cc and was shared with the local 2.0 L engine offered in the Italian market on the Biturbo and the Ghibli. The engine had a peak power output of 319 PS at 7,250 rpm. The engine was mated to a 6-speed manual transmission manufactured by ZF Friedrichshafen and having straight cut gears. These modifications allowed the car to attain a top speed of 180 mph. Having a true open top design, driver protection was provided only by a small air deflector.[9]
The central-frame concept was carried over in the De Tomaso Guarà, but the frame was around 130 mm longer because it was fitted with a larger V8 engine.
This was thought as a way to inject much needed excitement and enthusiasm for Maserati that saw its reputation badly ruined by years of exciting but maintenance sensitive products,[10] eventually culminating in Maserati's withdrawal from the North American market at this time.
External links
References
- Carlo Gaino automotivedesignconference.com, retrieved 11 January 2020^
- Maserati since 1926 by Maurizio Tabucchi ed. ETAI^
- List of articles on Carlo Gaino involvement in projects at Synthesis Design^
- Carlo Gaino website^
- Synthesis design - Maserati Barchetta Synthesisdesign.it, retrieved 2009-12-31^
- Maserati Barchetta and Grantrofeo Monomarca Maserati-indy.co.uk, retrieved 2012-08-30^
- Maserati Barchetta Maserati, retrieved 2019-04-24^
- Panini Museum on Maserati.com, retrieved 2012-08-30^
- Michael Banovsky. The Maserati Barchetta Is The ’90s Track Car You Totally Forgot About Petrolicious, 2016-02-11, retrieved 2019-04-24^
- cf. e.g. Car & Driver, Dec. 1998 issue (Vol. 44, No.6), page 88^