Guide: Maserati MC12 Pininfarina Birdcage 75th

Jan 19

Jan 19 Guide: Maserati MC12 Pininfarina Birdcage 75th

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Background

At the Geneva Motor Show in March 2005, Pininfarina unveiled a stunning Maserati design concept to celebrate their 75th anniversary.

The Birdcage 75th was named to honour a highly successful line of Maserati sports racing cars from the 1960s. This series of vehicles had been nicknamed Birdcage on account of their enormously complex spaceframe chassis that used a seemingly infinite number of small diameter tubes.

Pininfarina’s latest machine was built on the chassis and running gear of a Maserati MC12. Arguably the most extreme road car ever offered by Maserati, the MC12 was a Ferrari Enzo-based model created to homologate the ultimate GT1 racing car of its time.

Bodywork

The Birdcage 75th design team (led by Ken Okuyama) took inspiration from Pininfarina’s dream cars of the 1960s and 1970s. This was the era that produced arguably the most exciting styling concepts ever seen.

Of particular influence was the futuristic Ferrari 512 S Modulo displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in 1970. Like the Birdcage 75th, the Modulo did without conventional doors and instead relied on a forward-hinging canopy that opened up like a spaceship.

The Birdcage 75th’s Perspex canopy had a teardrop profile that ran almost the entire length of the car. Its leading edge was necessarily advanced in order for the driver to see out.

The rest of the uncluttered bodywork was fashioned from carbonfibre.

Either side of the central nose intake were slim LED headlights developed in conjunction with OSRAM Opto Semiconductors. The light housings were milled from solid aluminium and doubled as cooling ducts for the heat-intensive LEDs.

At the back of the car, the centre of each light housing was ventilated to aid engine cooling.

Mounted upon the tail’s upper surface were a pair of active aero panels that automatically adjusted to produce the required levels of downforce. When raised, these spoilers revealed engine cooling vents which also served to lower air pressure underneath the wing surface.

Twin exhausts were stacked one above the other either side of enormous diffusers fed by channels located down each flank.

Whereas the standard MC12 had enormous front and rear overhangs, those on the Birdcage 75th were minimal. This led to a 487mm length reduction. The concept car was also 115mm lower, despite its prominent roof-mounted engine cooling scoop.

Interior

The hi-tech interior was created in conjunction with Motorola and incorporated the very latest in mobile technology.

An unconventional steering wheel housed most of the switchgear and a central LED readout.

Instead of a traditional dash, Pininfarina installed an aircraft-style head-up display. Information was projected on to a transparent central panel supported by a triangulated structure that evoked the radical tube frame construction of the original Birdcage racing cars.

Seats were upholstered in bright blue alcantara and came with four-point safety harnesses.

Chassis

The MC12 chassis was a carbonfibre / nomex monocoque with aluminium subframes at either end.

Suspension was via double wishbones with push-rod operated coil sprung dampers.

The Brembo brakes had 380mm diameter discs with six-piston calipers at front and 335mm diameter discs with four-piston calipers at the rear. ABS, traction control and the engine management software was supplied by Bosch.

Pininfarina created a new set of centre-lock wheels for the Birdcage 75th which featured stylised Maserati Tridents. The rims had a 20-inch diameter at the front and 22-inch diameter at the rear (up from 19-inches all round on the standard MC12). A similar style of wheel was later adopted for the 2007 Maserati Gran Turismo.