The Maserati Barchetta Stradale is a mid-engine racing car, like the 350 and 450S, that was designed by Carlo Gaino of the Synthesis Design, an Italian design house.
The Barchetta was designed and developed for the one-make racing series Grantrofeo Barchetta which was held 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 (1,709 lb).
The Barchetta was one of the last Maserati models built under De Tomaso ownership.
1991 Maserati Barchetta
16 examples of the racing model 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 special engine had a peak power output of 349 PS at 7,250 rpm. The engine was mated to a 6-speed manual transmission manufactured by ZF and having straight cut gears. These modifications allowed the car to attain a top speed of 290 km/h (180 mph). Having a true open top design, driver protection was provided only by a small air deflector
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