In praise of the Biturbo
The Biturbo is generally regarded as the poor relation or the poor
man's Maserati. It does have certain shortcomings but it still offers luxury interiors and extremely high small car performance for very little money.
 The first Biturbo was presented at Modena on 14th December 1981 which was the anniversary of the founding of the Maserati. It was conceived from various theories of Alexandro De Tomaso's varied advisors. There had been numerous petrol crises during the 1970s and the small car market leader was BMW. There had also been a spate of kidnappings in Italy in the early 1970s. Parking was becoming a nightmare and has remained and cars over two litres are heavily
taxed in Italy. De Tomaso had a range of large cars which originally had Ford V8 engines; some had been fitted with Maserati engines to produce the Kyalami. Citroen parts were about to dry up due to De Tomaso's deal to take over the bankrupt Maserati Company from Citroen, this did not include long term parts supply. Lastly there were not the funds available to develop a new super car.
The Biturbo emerged as a compact understated four seater coupe with frontal reminiscences of the last Quattroporte. There were two engine sizes 2 litre and 2.5 litre both owing some design to the Merak's V6. Initially with three valves per cylinder and one cam per bank. Over the next 15 years the Biturbo steadily developed with the addition
of fuel injection, 4 valve twin cam heads and growing to 2.8 litre. The 2.8 engine with injection providing it is maintained properly is a very reliable engine. They never did become a threat to BMW but they did sell better than any previous Maserati model. For the 222 series introduced in 1988 the original body work was subtly modified with softer curves and more rounded grill and from 1991 the 4 cam engine was available. These cars are now starting to be appreciated it is the car that kept Maserati in business filling a niche in the market and making it attractive to the Fiat Ferrari Empire which led to the resurgence of traditional Maserati.
 All the Biturbos use twin turbo chargers of small diameter and high speed, this cuts down turbo lag and makes the cars practical high performance carriages. Power outputs have increased from the first 2 litre quote 180hp probably 150 to a genuine 285 in the last of the cars. They all use ZF power steering (and the belt arrangement on the air conditioning cars is something to be believed). They all have a Macpherson strut arrangement or suspension well laid out with good brakes and adequate cross section of tyre. The handling is good both in wet and dry. I prefer the 5 speed ZF gear box to the automatic option and particularly if one is able to obtain a spyder, a Karif or the Ghibli, they are already becoming collectors' items. The four door cars still give excellent performance and handling but seem
to be even more prone to the dreaded tin worm. Prices have started to increase across the range in the last couple of years. A good useable four door car can be obtained for under £3,000 but Ghiblis and Karif will fetch £7,000 - £10,000. Also, these cars as they expanded production for Maserati have expanded the membership of the club as they are financially in the reach of young enthusiasts.
 With the Biturbos, although the Cinderella never quite became a Princess it demonstrated how a car company with an illustrious name can come back from bankruptcy, start a new single model existence and develop that model right up to having their own single mark races with the ultimate Ghibli Cup and make a come back so that its arch rival takes them over. DeTomaso has his critics, all of his cars have short comings but he definitely saved Maserati. The development of the 3.2 V8 comes directly from the Biturbo V6. The new bodied 3200 led to the 4200 and a truly glamorous super car.
For those of us who remember the ten years of Citroen ownership
which we all knew would go nowhere to see Maserati associated
with a range of dependable motor manufacturers clearly desirable to
several and with the MC-12 providing serious racing again it is a joy
to be a Maserati enthusiast. None of this would have come about
had it not been for the relatively humble Biturbo and its sales figures.
William J Riley. |
