Mexican automaker Mastretta has been getting a lot of buzz with its independently developed high-performance sports car. Will the semi-local automaker warm the hearts of car American car enthusiast with the MXT?
You’d be forgiven for looking at the Mastretta logo and confusing it for an Italian car — what with the green, white and red adorning the Mexican flag, the Masretta badge and the Italian flag. It would seem though, that the Mastretta MXT high performance two-door sports car hailing from south of the border has more to share with Italy than the colors of its respective national banners.
Apparently the father of Carlos Mastretta (General Manager of Mastretta), attended the polytechnic university in Milan, Italy, in 1931 and ’32, and was taught by none other than engineering professor Enzo Ferrari. And the Italian influence found in the MXT clearly shows in its design.
Powered by a rear-mounted turbocharged 2.0-liter Ford Duratec four-cylinder engine, the Mastretta MXT pumps out a solid 247 horsepower, 257 pound-feet of torque, and will sprint to 60 in around 4 seconds, largely in part to its lightweight design. The Mastretta weighs in at just 2,100 pounds and features a body that is full composite construction with a ground-hugging frame.
The MXT is currently only available to Mexican and European markets with hopes of making it available to the rest of North American too. Right now it sells for the equivalent of $58,000 and the plan is to keep that price point intact when it finally does make its way north.
What do you think? Would you consider driving a Mexican-made sports car with an interesting pedigree? Sound off in the comments below.
