Trident

The Numerical Challenge Part Two

by Andy Heywood

Much maligned and oft misquoted - The Maserati Biturbo!

For this, the second part of the numerical challenge, we will be looking at the Biturbo and its variants. UK and RHD only for the purposes of this article (and to cut down the enormous complication of the myriad variations), this is by no means a definitive account of the cars in the UK so please don't stop sending me your details. The response rate to my pleas has always been greatest from owners of Biturbo era cars. The greatest enthusiasts or the greatest anoraks, you decide...

It was the provision of factory figures for right hand drive Biturbo production that set me thinking in the first place. Some of the figures just didn't seem to make sense, especially when I tried to cross-reference between them and the chassis numbering system. I talked to Meridien about their providing me with the details of UK imports but they were unable to be categorical and so I set about compiling a database the hard way.

Working out the chassis number.

At this point a recap on how the chassis numbers work should stand us all in good stead. Every Biturbo from the first Coupe to the last Ghibli uses the same numbering system. ZAM (the VIN code for Maserati), a three digit number denoting model type followed by 'B00' are common to all but it is the last part that is most interesting. An example would be GB 180001. The G is the year of manufacture, in this case 1986. The 'B' denotes the place of manufacture being in this case the Innocenti plant in the Lambrate suburb of Milan as opposed to the only other option, an 'A which denotes Modena. '180' signifies a right hand drive two-door coupe and '001' means that it was the first one built. Therefore, this is the chassis number of the first RHD Biturbo coupe, made in 1986.

The letter per year system carried on until the end of 1994 as follows: V for 1986, 'H' for 1987, 'J' for 1988, 'K' for 1989, 'E' for 1990, 'M' for 1991, 'N' for 1992, 'P' for 1993 and 'R' for 1994. After that the system was modified to '00' which does not help!

The 'A' or 'B' for Modena or Lambrate was fairly constant throughout. All coupes and four door cars were built at Lambrate whereas all Spyders, 228s and Karifs were built in Modena. Already of course, there are problems as the astute will say that Spyders were built at Zagato in Milan but that's another story!

The first three numbers, i.e. the '180' above denotes as we have said, a right hand drive coupe (these three numbers were different for LHD!). For four door cars the right hand drive number is '290' and for Karif, Spyder and 228, the number is '190'. This last part is also confusing as these numbers run concurrently. To differentiate between Karif and 228, you need to look at the model designation at the beginning of the chassis number, i.e. the Karif could be ZAM333B00.JAI90001 whereas the 228 would be ZAM334B00.JAI90001. 334 is the generic number for 228 which all seems logical BUT 333 is not only the generic number for Karif but also Spyder. Surely then, there could be two cars with exactly the same number, one a Karif and one a Spyder? Actually no but only for the reason that the Spyder was launched in right hand drive in 1986 and therefore the first car was ZAM333B00.GA190001 whereas the first right hand drive Karif was in 1988 and was ZAM333B00.JA190001. Nobody said this was going to be easy and frankly folks, we've only just started.

In theory, you now have a grasp of how to interpret the chassis numbers. Now I need to explain the parameters of the database. Taking the Coupe as an example, the first car is a Biturbo Coupe number GB 180001. The last car I have recorded is PB180485, which is a 222 4v - it may not actually be the last one but it must be close!! Therefore one can assume (dangerously!) that there were around 485 right hand drive Coupes including all the 222E and SE cars. The spread of numbers that I have suggests that Maserati were this logical as the numbers rise in relation to the age letter. What I cannot do however is tell you how many of these actually came to the UK as this is worldwide right hand drive production including countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Australia. Currently I have 75 of these cars on my list but there will undoubtedly be more.

The Biturbo Coupe and 222.

We can now explore the numbers of Coupes made year on year and also when the models changed. GB 180 numbers that I have range from #001 to #012. Therefore, there were at least 12 coupes in 1986. The first HB180 number I have though is #018 so there could be up to 17 1986 cars. The last HB180 car I have is #095 suggesting then that there were at least 77 coupes in 1987. Curiously, there is then a huge gap in my numbers I have recorded before the next at JB180201. This is strange for the reason that in the 425 numbers, there is a similar gap at the same time!! Who knows whether Maserati jumped from say #100 to #200 in the numbers and didn't actually make these cars or whether they did make them all for markets outside the UK - I am assuming until proven otherwise that they did make them! Anyway, JB 180201 is the first 1988 Coupe and the numbers are consistent up to around JB180260 when the 222E took over. There was a slight overlap in that #260 is a 222E whereas #262 is a Biturbo Coupe. However, as I have a large amount of information around these numbers it is safe to say that there were around 260 right hand drive Biturbo Coupes, made from 1986 to 1988. Interestingly, out of the cars I have details on, only one car is Automatic (the last one - #262). Most popular colours were red and aquamarine with the majority of the 1987 cars having the cord interior while the 1988 cars are mostly leather.

The last 1988 car I have is JB 180269 before the year letter changed again. Therefore you can see that very few 222Es were produced in 1988. The first KB180 number I have is #276 and the last is #370. They are all 222E variants although some of the Singapore and Malaysia cars are 2.0 litres not 2.8! I unfortunately have a gap between chassis #370 and the first 1990 number which is LB 180399. Therefore there could have been between 94 and 126 222Es produced in 1989. LB 180 numbers take us through to chassis #429 which is logical as this was the year Maserati had no importer in the UK and so sales of cars would have been very slow! However, the other important point to mention here is that only these 1990 cars are real SE specification. A lot of earlier 222s have been retro fitted with the deeper bumpers but a real SE can be spotted by the colour of the plastic trim in the interior, which is black instead of the earlier brown.

By the end of 1990, it was almost all over for the 222 anyway. The first number I have for 1991 is #439 and this is definitely a 222 4v. Therefore, we can work out that there were approximately 170 to 180 222 variants produced. From those I have records on, it seems that red and aquamarine were still popular, but the improved choice of colours meant a number of cars appearing in black, silver and even white. A quarter of the cars are now automatic and all have the leather/alcantara mix interior with ivory and black the most popular colours.

The 222 4v chassis #439 is the only 1991 car that I have details on. After that there is another single 222 4v in 1992 and that last car PB180485 in 1993. I conclude from this that there must have been a gap in numbers as the laws of probability suggest that I would have more cars in this area of the list had they been made and the factory state only eleven 222 4v cars in total.

Talking of factory figures, table 1 above shows the factory version of the production in right hand drive. You will see that there was a Biturbo 1 model which we never got in the UK and also the 222 with 2.0 litre engine which again never officially reached these shores both count in the numbers though! Finally, by comparing this to the above, you can now start to see the problem!

I don't propose to go through every model in so much detail as space will not allow it and anyway, most of you are probably asleep already. However, by going through the same exercise for 425/430 and for Spyders the following information can be ascertained.

Biturbo Spyder, E and SE.

The Spyder started in 1986 but the first I have is #005, which is a 1987 car. As the factory states only 1 car in 1986 anyway, this would seem to be correct. For 1987 there were approximately 120 cars built and in 1988 another 25 before the Spyder E arrived giving a total of around 145 Spyders with 2.5 litre engine. All those that came to the UK were carburettor versions although you can see from the factory list that 47 cars had fuel injection which would have been for other markets. All had magnolia leather interior and the vast majority were manual (I only have details of 2 automatics and they were towards the end of the run). Most popular colours were red, black and aquamarine. The Spyder E started in 1988 (earliest number I have is #154) and UK imports would all have had the 2.8 litre engine. The factory says only one car in 1988 yet I have details on at least 8. 1989 takes us from around number #167 to #233 again all Spyder E and 1990 from #239 to #280. After that I have only 3 late Spyders on the list - these are the last of the line cars with catalytic converter and Shamal type headlights. The highest number I have is #305. Again, compare and contrast to the Factory figures.

425 and 430.

The 425 was first made in right hand drive in 1986. The first car therefore was GB290001. I only have details on this and #003 from 1986 before we move on to 1987 when we go from #018 to #102. Then up until recently, we had a similar gap to that described earlier for the Coupe BUT (!) I have recently corresponded with an owner in Singapore who says he has a 430 with the number HB290122. I asked Cozza at the factory to confirm this, which he did. How can this be true, a 1987 430 with a two litre engine? It is though. Maybe this proves that they did make all the cars in the 'gap' in both four and two door form and they just didn't come to the UK. However, before we all get too excited, take a look at the factory production table again under 430 and 1987. Meltdown time. The 425 continued into 1988 albeit numbers starting again at #204 and continuing to around #215 before the 430 took over. The most popular colours were gold and silver and magnolia leather comes out favourite for the interior, although there was huge variation available at the time including the epileptic Missoni cloth version. Again, the vast majority are manual gearbox although I do know of one automatic.

The first 430 we have is actually #216 and a 1988 car but by chassis #227 we are already into 1989. Here we have another mind numbing anomaly. If you are up to speed, you will have worked out that a 1989 430 should be KB290 etc. and most of them are apart from #237 which in the middle of the number run is a JB290. I hope he doesn't mind me mentioning but this is a well known club car belonging to Howard Poole and there are some strange points in its specification. Howard knows from the V5 that the car was first registered overseas but it still does not make sense.

For 1990, the 430 went from around #360 (the last 1989 car I have is #356) to around #400. By the way, the same thing applies to 430SE as 222SE and only genuine 1990 cars are likely to be real SE spec. Then there is another jump to 1993 with details of three 430 4v (a model which doesn't appear on the factory list at all!) the highest number of which is #452. Colours and gearbox options for the 430 mirrored those for the 222E including a quarter automatic.

Karif and 228.

For Karif and 228 models, things are made easier by dint of their relatively low production. The first two Karifs were 1988 cars, both of which I have details for, and chassis #003 was a 1989 model, again documented. The highest number I have for Karif is #032 which is still a KA190 and therefore 1989 car. This is broadly similar to the factory table (though not the same!!!). I have details on 9 cars, all are manual (I don't think there was an auto option on the Karif anyway) and the favourite colour is red. The first 228 that I have is #006 and it is a 1989 car. That the factory quotes two cars only in 1988 seems logical. The last I have is #043 and is still a 1989 car. I have details on 14 of these cars and all but two are automatic. Colours are unpredictable but mostly the more sombre tones such as grey and dark blue.

We have now covered the main bulk of the Biturbo era cars. As you can see, my one reader who is still left awake, this is not an exact science but one thing that occurred to me and may have to you is that how sure am I that the year lettering theory is correct? This information originally came from Richard Jordan, Maserati UK parts manager who has over ten years experience on the subject. I talked to him again recently and he is still happy that it is correct. I do have a further amendment to make to that theory however and that is that while the system works logically for the UK market, maybe the year letter was different for different markets. This would explain the Singapore 430 in 1987 and also Howard Poole's car. I'll leave you with that thought.

This article first appeared in the Summer 2003 issue of Trident

Maserati enthusiasts and collectors who may be interested in acquiring back issues of this highly collectable magazine may do so by contacting Adam Painter of the Maserati Club at

adamkpainter@uk2.net

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