Remember when I saw Ralph Lauren and his Bugatti Veyron a few months ago? Well, depending on your view of things, I may have just outdone myself.
A few weeks ago a poster on FerrariChat noted that he had seen a Maserati MC12 at a house in a very nice neighborhood here in Atlanta. He mentioned a few details about the house and after a little detective work I was able to figure out which house the vehicle was parked at. I've driven by the house a few times since then hoping to catch a glimpse of the vehicle but I never have, unsurprisingly. I was starting to give up on the thing since the house is two or three miles outside my normal car spotting grounds - in fact I stopped driving by the house except on Saturdays because during the week rush hour made those two or three miles into a 20-30 minute ordeal. Today, being a Saturday, I drove by naturally expecting nothing, except the impossible happened - the MC12 was sitting in the driveway.
The house is set up so that a photo of the vehicle would've been difficult if not impossible from outside the gates. So I rang the bell to the house which is an intercom outside the driveway gates. I said I noticed the car from the road (true!) and asked if I could come inside to take one photograph. The person answering said abruptly "No", and I said "No?"; she said "No" and before I could even finish "Thanks anyway," she had hung up. Ugh.
So I drove away, a bit depressed. I understand the need for privacy and I was not mad, but just frustrated that this car was going to slip through my fingers. I got about a mile and a half away and my girlfriend (the same one present in the Veyron and recent Vanquish sightings) suggested I go back and try for some ridiculous photo just so I could have a momento of the MC12 spot. So I did. And upon returning to the house, this was the scene...
He waved me by because he was having a little trouble getting the MC12 moving and so I did indeed pass, getting this photo through my mirror:
I realized that I could not have him behind me, though, if I wanted any chance at a good side shot of the car so I pulled over and let him get by. I followed him, coincidentally, back through my normal way out of the area - no crazy stunts this time, no wild driving, no invasive following. I'm not sure if he even noticed me after he waved me by.
We came up to a traffic light and I got a decent chance for some better shots...
...the woman in the Honda Accord (03-07) behind me asked the MC12's driver, who was busy with his cell phone, what it was; the MC12's driver was nice and replied that it was an MC12, one of fifty for the whole world. He's doing that in this shot:
The vehicle stayed with me as I continued on my normal route to the major malls in Atlanta, providing for a few great photo ops:
He eventually made a bizarre lane decision which allowed me to get ahead of him a bit and get some more interesting photos of the car:
From there I was able to go the opposite direction and take some of what I thought would be final photos of the MC12. What was really special about this photo is that I was sitting in traffic trying to get them, and a guy in a Acura TL Type-S noticed me photographing the car and noticed the MC12 and specifically held up his lane so I could get the photos. I waved to him as I drove off and he waved back. Car enthusiasts rock.
I drove away, back to the malls where I usually photograph cars with a great story to tell. I heard an MC12! I saw an MC12! In America! The MC12 spotting wasn't over yet though - checking a mall valet stand where I see some decent cars from time to time yielded this scene...
Folks, if that's not directly out of Monaco, I don't know what the hell is.
So the basic rundown is this: the Maserati MC12 is one of fifty in the entire world, and one of around seven in the United States. Let's take a moment with that one: seven in the United States. He had temporary plates from Maserati of Atlanta that expire tomorrow - a Sunday, which means he'll be expired on Monday since the DMV is closed Sundays... hey, I would put off registration as long as I could too. Presuming a cost of $1.2 million, he's looking at $95,000 for his plates. Not fun at all.
The sound was incredible - one of the better engine notes I'd heard. And the thing really seemed like a race car. Not being street legal, the constraints most vehicles face - even cars like the Enzo - aren't present here and there are no safety bumpers and no exhaust limitations and it shows. It's raw. As for presence, it didn't have as much as I expected given how big I know it is and how expressively styled it is. That said, this is coming from someone who has seen 33 Ferrari 360s - it has been suggested that no car will ever have presence again in my mind. Maybe that's true; I do see a lot of exotics.
All in all, I still think the Lauren/Veyron spot is better, but at the end of the day the MC12 is indeed the less common vehicle, particularly as it's not road legal in the States. Before this sighting I saw a Maserati Coupe and a Quattroporte and passed up photographs. For various reasons, I've never been the biggest fan of Maserati. Let's just say that changed a little today.
I hope, once again, you enjoyed the story and the photos.
A few weeks ago a poster on FerrariChat noted that he had seen a Maserati MC12 at a house in a very nice neighborhood here in Atlanta. He mentioned a few details about the house and after a little detective work I was able to figure out which house the vehicle was parked at. I've driven by the house a few times since then hoping to catch a glimpse of the vehicle but I never have, unsurprisingly. I was starting to give up on the thing since the house is two or three miles outside my normal car spotting grounds - in fact I stopped driving by the house except on Saturdays because during the week rush hour made those two or three miles into a 20-30 minute ordeal. Today, being a Saturday, I drove by naturally expecting nothing, except the impossible happened - the MC12 was sitting in the driveway.
The house is set up so that a photo of the vehicle would've been difficult if not impossible from outside the gates. So I rang the bell to the house which is an intercom outside the driveway gates. I said I noticed the car from the road (true!) and asked if I could come inside to take one photograph. The person answering said abruptly "No", and I said "No?"; she said "No" and before I could even finish "Thanks anyway," she had hung up. Ugh.
So I drove away, a bit depressed. I understand the need for privacy and I was not mad, but just frustrated that this car was going to slip through my fingers. I got about a mile and a half away and my girlfriend (the same one present in the Veyron and recent Vanquish sightings) suggested I go back and try for some ridiculous photo just so I could have a momento of the MC12 spot. So I did. And upon returning to the house, this was the scene...
He waved me by because he was having a little trouble getting the MC12 moving and so I did indeed pass, getting this photo through my mirror:
I realized that I could not have him behind me, though, if I wanted any chance at a good side shot of the car so I pulled over and let him get by. I followed him, coincidentally, back through my normal way out of the area - no crazy stunts this time, no wild driving, no invasive following. I'm not sure if he even noticed me after he waved me by.
We came up to a traffic light and I got a decent chance for some better shots...
...the woman in the Honda Accord (03-07) behind me asked the MC12's driver, who was busy with his cell phone, what it was; the MC12's driver was nice and replied that it was an MC12, one of fifty for the whole world. He's doing that in this shot:
The vehicle stayed with me as I continued on my normal route to the major malls in Atlanta, providing for a few great photo ops:
He eventually made a bizarre lane decision which allowed me to get ahead of him a bit and get some more interesting photos of the car:
From there I was able to go the opposite direction and take some of what I thought would be final photos of the MC12. What was really special about this photo is that I was sitting in traffic trying to get them, and a guy in a Acura TL Type-S noticed me photographing the car and noticed the MC12 and specifically held up his lane so I could get the photos. I waved to him as I drove off and he waved back. Car enthusiasts rock.
I drove away, back to the malls where I usually photograph cars with a great story to tell. I heard an MC12! I saw an MC12! In America! The MC12 spotting wasn't over yet though - checking a mall valet stand where I see some decent cars from time to time yielded this scene...
Folks, if that's not directly out of Monaco, I don't know what the hell is.
So the basic rundown is this: the Maserati MC12 is one of fifty in the entire world, and one of around seven in the United States. Let's take a moment with that one: seven in the United States. He had temporary plates from Maserati of Atlanta that expire tomorrow - a Sunday, which means he'll be expired on Monday since the DMV is closed Sundays... hey, I would put off registration as long as I could too. Presuming a cost of $1.2 million, he's looking at $95,000 for his plates. Not fun at all.
The sound was incredible - one of the better engine notes I'd heard. And the thing really seemed like a race car. Not being street legal, the constraints most vehicles face - even cars like the Enzo - aren't present here and there are no safety bumpers and no exhaust limitations and it shows. It's raw. As for presence, it didn't have as much as I expected given how big I know it is and how expressively styled it is. That said, this is coming from someone who has seen 33 Ferrari 360s - it has been suggested that no car will ever have presence again in my mind. Maybe that's true; I do see a lot of exotics.
All in all, I still think the Lauren/Veyron spot is better, but at the end of the day the MC12 is indeed the less common vehicle, particularly as it's not road legal in the States. Before this sighting I saw a Maserati Coupe and a Quattroporte and passed up photographs. For various reasons, I've never been the biggest fan of Maserati. Let's just say that changed a little today.
I hope, once again, you enjoyed the story and the photos.
Damnnnn....Doug, you have outdone yourself once again. 
I mean first was the Veyron, now the MC12. Great shots none the less. With all that effort to get a photo of the car is just immense! I don't know how you do this for a living. You must be one of the luckiest photographer that i know of. Well i hope you do get even better photos in the future. Maybe even a Maybach Exellero? (or however you spelled it)
