I'm standing in the pit-lane of Formula One’s newest and most impressive race track, the incredible Yas Marina Circuit, where just a few days earlier, the deafening shriek of the twenty fastest racing cars in the world filled the air. Today, my ears are filled with a different racing car rumble coming from the opposite side of the competition spectrum: Maserati has brought along a Gran Turismo MC for the Middle East press to play with. While Maserati has developed the MC with a one-make series in mind (similar to what Lamborghini has done with the Super Trofeo Gallardo), this particular car is built to FIA GT4 spec.

To meet the FIA entry-level championship’s power-to-weight specifications, the Gran Turismo S’s 4.7-litre engine has been detuned to approximately 400bhp, while weight has been reduced by a shocking 500kg (down to a still rather portly 1400kg). The MC’s crash diet comes in the form of all-carbon bodywork, Lexan windows and a completely stripped out interior. Completing the GT4 conversion is a double-cone racing air filter, high-flow exhaust with removable catalysts, fully adjustable racing suspension and a welded-in FIA approved steel roll-cage.

I grab the top of the cage, lift my legs up and above the diagonal side-impact bar and contort myself sideways into the slim-fit fixed bucket seat. Other than being a bit too tight for my substantial girth, the seat is noticeably pushed back towards the centre of the car to improve weight distribution. In front of me are several rows of buttons and switches protruding from a beautifully crafted carbon fibre centre console. I flick the switch for the ignition, then finger the red starter button and the V8 explodes raucously into life with a tune that only the best Italian engines can make. With my foot on the brake (there are only two pedals in the GT4) I pull the semicolon-shaped carbon fibre paddle towards me and with a mechanical jolt the first of the six forward gears is engaged.

As I trundle down the pitlane and through the unique tunnel exit at slow speed, everything feels very composed. Once out on track and the throttle is nailed I'm a little bit underwhelmed as, despite all the weight-savings, the MC doesn’t feel much quicker in a straight line than the road-going Gran Turismo S.

The acoustics on the other hand are something to savour, as the guttural wail of the high-revving V8 ricochets manically around the bare metal of the stripped-out interior. Accelerating down the 1.2-km back straight (the longest in all of F1) the MC pulls cleanly through the rev range and delivers its power in a linear, user-friendly manner. Gearchanges are perfectly executed as the electro-hydraulic gearbox slams home up-shifts in the blink of an eye and matches the revs perfectly on down-shifts with a delicious blip of the throttle.

Considering that the MC is quite heavy for a racing car, the handling is exceptional. Arriving into a chicane I stamp hard on the non-ABS steel brakes and the Maserati sheds speed convincingly. There is very little dive under deceleration and you can comfortably trail-brake deep into the corner guiding the nose precisely where you want to. Overstep the significant grip of the racing slicks and the GT4 slips gently into mild oversteer that is easily controlled with a bit of opposite-lock. Through the high speed first section of the Yas Circuit the damping feels spot-on, allowing you to aggressively change direction while telling you precisely what is going on underneath. I found the Gran Turismo MC GT4 to be a very well-developed racing car that immediately inspires confidence, and as any racing driver will tell you, driving quickly is all about having confidence in the car beneath you.

Something tells me that this car will do very well in next year’s FIA GT4 championship, and I for one will be rooting for it.