Mastretta MXT History
You've likely never heard of Mastretta - I hadn't - but they've been around for years. When the Mexican company brought the MXT to the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show for its North American debut, they brought a bit of history with them. In the mid-1950s, Mastretta built the Faccia Feroce, and in 1993 designed the MXA and MXB.
In 2006, Mastretta set a goal to create the first sports car designed and built in Mexico. Company President Carlos Mastretta and designer Daniel Mastretta worked with Tecnoidea, an engineering firm located near Mexico City, to create and build the production-ready Mastretta MXT, which started on its auto show circuit in 2010.
While Mastretta did achieve its goal of designing and building Mexico's first sports car, almost all the suppliers for the car are in the United States. With only two exceptions (brakes and headlights), the MXT is a product of North America, with final assembly at a plant located about a half hour from downtown Mexico City.
Deliveries of the MXT start in early 2012, with a price tag of about $60,000. In the first year, Mastretta plans to build 100 cars, with production to ramp up to about 500 cars per year as soon as they can make it happen.
Engine
The MXT uses an aluminum inline four-cylinder engine mounted behind the cockpit. Taking a page from Colin Chapman's book of sports car design at Lotus, Mastretta kept the weight down and the power up, even though the engine is small by supercar standards. The lightweight, 2-liter engine is fuel injected and uses turbo and an intercooler to maximize power. With a total, loaded weight of 2600 pounds, the 260 hp the engine puts out can take the MXT to a maximum 160 mph. The Mastrettas mentioned at the LA Auto Show that the MXT uses an engine and transmission (5-speed manual, by the way) from an American supplier, but didn't specify which one.
Design
Daniel Mastretta, lead designer of the MXT, cited many sources of inspiration for this car, none moreso than La Carrera Panamericana, a race that ran from Chiapas in southern Mexico to Juarez. He noted that after an American car won the first year, small, nimble, European cars took first place every year after. Like the Panamericana cars of the 1950s, the MXT was designed to take on the sometimes harsh, demanding roads of Mexico and still be a quick, sporty car.
Though many sports cars over the past fifty or so years had something to offer Mastretta's final design, he specifically mentioned cars like the Ferrari Dino 206, a compact race car with distinctive curves. He also liked the rarely referenced Stanguellini 750S for its use of off-the-shelf parts put to their best use to increase performance when assembled as a whole. And of course the low-weight, high-power Lotus Exige.
Interior
In keeping with the small, nimble, low-cost sports car aesthetic, the MXT is a two-seater with a small cockpit. Likewise, the driver is the focus of the cockpit, with all controls and information focused on the person piloting the car. Mastretta wanted the car to be more than a track-day toy, so the MXT has leather and Ultrasuede seats for luxury and comfort on the daily drive. It's got all the latest tech stuff, too, like GPS, Bluetooth, and iPod compatibiity.
Mastretta MXT Specs
- Engine: 2-liter I4
- Horsepower: 260 hp
- Torque: 257 lb-ft
- Top speed: 160 mph
- 0-62 mph: 5.9 seconds
