We are at Pininfarina, perhaps the most famous car designers in the world for more than 80 years. This Italian company has worked for every manufacturer you can think of from Austin to Rolls Royce. I'm here to drive the new MC Stradali, a hardcore version of Maserati's Pininfarina designed Gran Turismo.

But first, I wanted to learn more about this car's heritage by looking around the designer's private museum near Turin. Oh, and excuse the croaky voice, but I wasn't going to let the onset of flu spoil this trip. If you want a history lesson in automotive art, this is the place to be, as well as examples of the mass-produced beauties it's designed. There are plenty of one-offs like this unique Ferrari project specially commissioned by guitar legend Eric Clapton. My favorite has to be this wacky design; it's a 1970 Ferrari Modulo and it won 22 international design awards. You can see why the company was founded by Battista Farina, nicknamed Pinin, his luxury designs were a hit amongst international royalty and Hollywood film stars such as Ingrid Bergman.

The firm's reputation also drew the attention of a certain Enzo Ferrari, and in 1952, Ferrari asked Pininfarina to design all of his new GT cars. The deal still stands. The MC Stradali is the latest car with a Pininfarina badge to hit the streets. Is it a worthy addition to the company's impeccable history? Well, for starters, I'm happy to report that the sound of this $110,000 brute more than makes up for my lack of voice. This is the fastest Maserati you can buy, not 62 happens in 4.5 seconds, and it'll go on to 188 miles an hour. It's also the most powerful; it got 443 brake horsepower from a 4.7-liter V8. The MC Stradali has 55 more horsepower than the standard car, and a 30 quicker gear change weight saving measures like carbon ceramic brakes mean Maserati has also managed to chop out 110 kilograms.

But the diet has some downsides. The biggest of which has to be that it's no longer a grand tourer; heck, it's not even a four-seater! It's morphed into this pseudo racing car with a flash paint job carbon fiber seats and a roll cage, fantastic. The car sits lower on beefed-up stiffer suspension to help it stay flatter in the corners, and has its own custom tires wrapped around unique 20-inch wheels. All of that makes it fantastic if you're gonna attack the circuit but makes it a little bit less comfortable if you're just bashing through some B roads. The new suspension isn't the only boy racer upgrade; it's littered with shouty stickers and carbon fiber trinkets that the standard Gran Turismo doesn't have, so has Maserati's accessories department tarnished Pininfarina's good work since my voice was disappearing?

I let the Italian public decide for me what. What do you think to the styling? The color of the red stripes? The grey stripe? Beautiful in Italian? Very good? Good? Bad? Hey, good! It's gorgeous; I love Maserati Grande wheels; it got the roll bars, yeah, in case I flip it, oh, it's beautiful. Are you in and a thrilling drive and you have a very special car indeed?

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwe are at pinon farina perhaps the most famous car designers in the world for more than 80 years this italian company has worked for every manufacturer you can think of from austin to rolls royce i'm here to drive the new mc stradali a hardcore version of maserati's pinon farina designed gran turismo but first i wanted to learn more about this car's heritage by looking around the designer's private museum near turin oh and excuse the croaky voice but i wasn't going to let the onset of flu spoil this trip if you want a history lesson in automotive art this is the place to be as well as examples of the mass-produced beauties it's designed there are plenty of one-offs like this unique ferrari project specially commissioned by guitar legend eric clapton my favorite has to be this wacky design it's a 1970 ferrari modulo and it won 22 international design awards you can see why the company was founded by batista farina nicknamed pinin his luxury designs were a hit amongst international royalty and hollywood film stars such as ingrid bergman the firm's reputation also drew the attention of a certain enzo ferrari and in 1952 ferrari asked pininfarina to design all of his new gt cars the deal still stands the mc stradali is the latest car with a pininfarina badge to hit the streets is it a worthy addition to the company's impeccable history well for starters i'm happy to report that the sound of this 110 thousand pound brute more than makes up for my lack of voice this is the fastest maserati you can buy not to 62 happens in 4.5 seconds and it'll go on to 188 miles an hour it's also the most powerful it's got 443 brake horsepower from a 4.7 liter v8 the mc stradali has 55 more horsepower than the standard car and a 30 quicker gear change weight saving measures like carbon ceramic brakes mean maserati has also managed to chop out 110 kilograms but the diet has some downsides the biggest of which has to be that it's no longer a grand tourer heck it's not even a four-seater it's morphed into this pseudo racing car with a flash paint job carbon fiber seats and a roll cage fantastic the car sits lower on beefed-up stiffer suspension to help it stay flatter in the corners and has its own custom tyres wrapped around unique 20-inch wheels and all of that makes it fantastic if you're gonna attack the circuit but makes it a little bit less comfortable if you're just bashing through some b roads the new suspension isn't the only boy racer upgrade it's littered with shouty stickers and carbon fiber trinkets that the standard gran turismo doesn't have so has maserati's accessories department tarnished pininfarina's good work since my voice was disappearing i let the italian public decide for me what what do you think to the styling the color of the red stripes the grey stripe beautiful in italian very good good bad hey good it's gorgeous i love maserati grande wheels it's got the roll bars yeah in case i flip it oh it's beautiful are you in and a thrilling drive and you have a very special car indeed youwe are at pinon farina perhaps the most famous car designers in the world for more than 80 years this italian company has worked for every manufacturer you can think of from austin to rolls royce i'm here to drive the new mc stradali a hardcore version of maserati's pinon farina designed gran turismo but first i wanted to learn more about this car's heritage by looking around the designer's private museum near turin oh and excuse the croaky voice but i wasn't going to let the onset of flu spoil this trip if you want a history lesson in automotive art this is the place to be as well as examples of the mass-produced beauties it's designed there are plenty of one-offs like this unique ferrari project specially commissioned by guitar legend eric clapton my favorite has to be this wacky design it's a 1970 ferrari modulo and it won 22 international design awards you can see why the company was founded by batista farina nicknamed pinin his luxury designs were a hit amongst international royalty and hollywood film stars such as ingrid bergman the firm's reputation also drew the attention of a certain enzo ferrari and in 1952 ferrari asked pininfarina to design all of his new gt cars the deal still stands the mc stradali is the latest car with a pininfarina badge to hit the streets is it a worthy addition to the company's impeccable history well for starters i'm happy to report that the sound of this 110 thousand pound brute more than makes up for my lack of voice this is the fastest maserati you can buy not to 62 happens in 4.5 seconds and it'll go on to 188 miles an hour it's also the most powerful it's got 443 brake horsepower from a 4.7 liter v8 the mc stradali has 55 more horsepower than the standard car and a 30 quicker gear change weight saving measures like carbon ceramic brakes mean maserati has also managed to chop out 110 kilograms but the diet has some downsides the biggest of which has to be that it's no longer a grand tourer heck it's not even a four-seater it's morphed into this pseudo racing car with a flash paint job carbon fiber seats and a roll cage fantastic the car sits lower on beefed-up stiffer suspension to help it stay flatter in the corners and has its own custom tyres wrapped around unique 20-inch wheels and all of that makes it fantastic if you're gonna attack the circuit but makes it a little bit less comfortable if you're just bashing through some b roads the new suspension isn't the only boy racer upgrade it's littered with shouty stickers and carbon fiber trinkets that the standard gran turismo doesn't have so has maserati's accessories department tarnished pininfarina's good work since my voice was disappearing i let the italian public decide for me what what do you think to the styling the color of the red stripes the grey stripe beautiful in italian very good good bad hey good it's gorgeous i love maserati grande wheels it's got the roll bars yeah in case i flip it oh it's beautiful are you in and a thrilling drive and you have a very special car indeed you\n"