This is the MC12 Corsa, Maserati’s attempt to outdo Ferrari now that Fiat have separated the two marques and aligned Maserati closer to Alfa Romeo.

And ironically, under the skin, the MC12 is very closely related to Ferrari’s former flagship, the Enzo which ceased production after 400 examples had been made. The MC12 was essentially a re-bodied Enzo that Maserati could homologate to go GT racing. It was clearly more than just a simple re-skin though, as the MC12 GT1 clinched the 2005 FIA GT manufacturers championship.Larger images available at bottom of the page:

However, unlike the GT1 racer, Maserati has no plans to build road going versions of the Corsa as it says this model is not intended for competition or road use but just for the lucky owners to enjoy at private track sessions. At least it has two seats so a passenger can enjoy the ride too. Ferrari recently announced a similar concept in which valued customers are invited to test drive the FXX, a test bed for the next generation of Ferrari flagship. Unlike that project however, the MC12 Corsa will actually go on sale, albeit at an eye-watering £685,000 plus tax, or a nice round one million Euros for our European friends.

Only 12 will be produced each year and it’s only available in one colour, ‘Blue Victory’, unless owners stump up a bit extra for a respray. Maserati say additional options will also be available to allow owners to personalise the car. Whereas the road car boasted 624bhp from its 6.0-litre V12, FIA restrictions meant the GT1 car was restricted to 591bhp. Freed from homologation constraints and the need to make a road-usable super car, Maserati has managed to wring a whopping 747bhp, which should certainly give it jumbo thrust.

Keeping it glued to the ground is a race-developed aerodynamics package which includes a whopping rear wing, diffuser and lip on the 'bootlid' plus an enlarged front airtake and vents on the front wing tops. Only order one in black if your name is Bruce Wayne and you have a large cave to park it in. According to Autocar magazine the GT1 racing gearbox is replaced with a beefed up version of the Maserati Cambiocorsa robotised manual. The magazine also claims that Maserati is organising six events for owners at circuits across Europe for an additional £178,000 which gets you tyres, fuel servicing and branded leisure clothing.

Antarctica, fifth-largest of the Earth's seven continents, located almost entirely south of latitude 66°33' south (the Antarctic Circle), and surrounding the South Pole. It is mostly circular in shape with a long arm—the Antarctic Peninsula—reaching out towards South America, and with two large indentations, the Ross and Weddell seas and their ice shelves. Its total area is about 14.2 million sq km (5.5 million sq mi) in summer. During the winter Antarctica doubles in size because of the large amount of sea ice that forms at its periphery. The true boundary of Antarctica is not the coastline of the continent itself but the Antarctic Convergence, which is a sharply defined zone in the southern extremities of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans between about latitude 48° south and latitude 60° south. At this point, the colder waters flowing north from Antarctica mix with warmer waters moving south. The Antarctic Convergence marks a definite physical difference in the oceans. For these reasons, the water surrounding the Antarctic continent is considered an ocean in itself, often known as the Antarctic, or Southern Ocean.

Antarctica has no native population. Its residents are scientific and support staffs who usually stay no more than a year at a time. The first person born in Antarctica was Emilio Palma, the son of the commander of Argentina's Esperanza Base, on January 7, 1978.

Antarctica is more than 95 per cent ice covered and contains about 90 per cent of the world's fresh water. Because of its thick ice cover, it is the highest of all continents, with an average elevation of about 2,300 m (7,500 ft). The highest point on the continent is Vinson Massif (4,897 m/16,066 ft); the lowest point appears to be the Bentley Subglacial Trench (2,499 m/8,200 ft below sea level) in West Antarctica. This trench is covered with more than 3,000 m (9,840 ft) of ice and snow. Lower points may exist under the ice, but they have not yet been discovered.

Seven nations had announced territorial claims to parts of Antarctica, but since the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, enforced in 1961, these claims have been held aside in the interests of international cooperation in scientific research. (The claims had been made by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Norway.)

crap·u·lence

1. Sickness caused by excessive eating or drinking.

2. Excessive indulgence; intemperance.