Turbo. the concept arguably made popular in petrol cars by Swedish Saab in the 70’s, has come such a long way that it doesn’t get much attention anymore. Yet if you want to challenge the US saying “there’s no substitute for cubic inches”, at least in terms of power output there’s no way around the turbo. Its advantages are obvious in allowing a far larger output from a smaller engine than would otherwise be the case, and a smaller engine means lower weight and potentially lower consumption, a bit dependent on how often you rev the turbo. Over time things have gone from one to two or even three turbos in modern engines, engaging at different revs, and the concept of more than one turbo on a petrol engine actually goes back to the late 70’s as well, and was somewhat surprisingly pioneered by none other than Maserati. In fact, most observers agree that had it not been for the Biturbo engine family, Maserati would have gone under there and then – and that would have been a shame!

There were two reasons times weren’t rosy at Maserati’s HQ in Modena, Italy, in the mid 70’s: firstly Maserati was owned by Citroën at the time in something that was far from an ideal marriage and secondly, various cars were built in small numbers without standardised production methods. Next to that however, much like other sports car brands at the time, Maserati was not helped by Italian taxation law which heavily penalised engines larger than two litres. This led manufacturers to the same thinking that Saab had up in Sweden, albeit for different reasons, namely to get more power out of a smaller engine. The turbo was the answer, but whereas Saab found one turbo to be sufficient, down in Modena the idea was an engine with two turbos boosting power even further. The project was led by a certain Alejandro de Tomaso, the Argentinian who had run his own car brand in Modena since the 50’s (and whose cars until then had certainly not used turbos but rather cubic inches, but that’s a story for another day…).

De Tomaso took over Maserati in 1976 and saw its way back to profitability in cheaper cars through standardised production methods and with sub-two litre engines such as to avoid taxation penalties. The result was on one hand a range of different models over the coming years that we’ll look closer at below, and on the other the six-cylinder Biturbo engine which initially put out 179 hp from only 1996 cm3. That number would later be increased to as much as 245 hp in the early 90’s and siblings to the engine would offer even more power but at larger volume, and were therefore mostly destined for the export market.

The cars Maserati started producing under de Tomaso’s management were comparable to the BMW 3-series of the time in size and came as two-door coupé, convertible/spyder and four-door sedan. At 4.1 metres long and only some 1100 kgs weight, the first generation Biturbo cars that came onto the market from 1982 used carburettors, which combined with the small six-cylinder engine produced a wonderful sound. Initially de Tomaso’s plan seemed to work as sales numbers picked up from around 2000 in 1982 to over 5000 in 1983. By then however, early cars started having pretty important quality and reliability issues, and sales numbers fell regularly over the coming years. Issues were actually so important that Maserati decided to remove the Biturbo reference in car names after 1988, by which time both engines and cars had seen quite an important facelift and had also improved quality-wise.

Be it the two-door coupé, the Spyder or the four-door sedan, what they all have in common are quite an angular design which is far from the the sweeping lines of Italian cars in the 60’s. It’s a matter of taste whether you like it, but the car definitely has more presence than for example a BMW 3-series. And once you open the door, everything changes as you’re greeted by an ocean of leather an alcantara in a cabin that no one on this side of Rolls Royce and Bentley offered at the time, and hardly do today either. The interior could be chosen in different colours and with different mixes of alcantara and leather, and looking at most cars today makes it clear how much better leather stands the test of time than alcantara!

The sharp lines were softened a bit both inside and out with the first facelift in 1987 and perhaps more importantly, the engine was changed to fuel injection. Further improvements over the coming years included the suspension, steering and brakes, and as mentioned, the overall quality improved. In 1991 the two-door Shamal was added to the range with further design changes to other cars as well, generally in the form of more painted plastics in line with what was popular in the 90’s. The 2-litre V6 by now produced up to 245 hp but was only sold in Italy. It was complemented by the larger 2.8 litre engine in other markets, and models in the late 80’s and early 90’s were called 2.24 and 222 (two-door) and 4.24 and 422 (four-door). Next to these the Spyder was still built, featuring the same engines. A couple of years later in 1994, the lights were out for Biturbo engine, although elements of it lived on into later Maserati engines.

It’s a few years since I drove a late 80’s coupé, but it was probably the most Italian driving experience I’ve ever had. As said the car is small, so you sit relatively tight in quite an Italian position, meaning one that requires long arms and short legs, which isn’t really how I’m built. It also made clear that Italians are usually smaller than my 183 cms. it’s not too bad though and when you look closely at the interior, you discover how wonderfully hand-sewn it looks, with uneven stitching here and there which only adds to the charm of the package. It’s a car you can definitely throw around the corners should you want to, but be slightly careful doing so given the engine of course has the same Ketchup-like power delivery as other 80’s turbo engines. Generally though, the car is a pleasure to drive and gives you real 80’s vibes!

The quality issues Maserati ran into with the first series of cars meant values reached rock-bottom on the used car market, and although good cars have started to gain somewhat in value, we’re pretty much still there. This is clearly driven by many cars having been purchased by drivers on a small budget who could buy the cars thanks to the cheap entry ticket, but who have then neglected maintenance or used the car like a hot hatch. Service history is therefore key, as is a thorough inspection of the rust-prone body and the sensible, and today partly irreplaceable interior. Did I mention checking the engine as well? You should, but even if you do it all, a Biturbo will probably not be the problem-free perfect car for those who love German precision. It’s thus important to know yourself in this regard. The best part is of course that you won’t have to spend more than EUR 15-20.000 for really good cars, meaning a bit of investments isn’t all that bad. That’s with the exception of the Shamal though, a car by many considered a the best (and certainly sportiest and most 90’s) of the Biturbos, but which today is very hard to come by, and correspondingly expensive.

The four-door Quattroporte is generally slightly cheaper than the coupés and Spyder, and arguably the least attractive in the range. Later cars after 1987 and into the 90’s are quality-wise the best and most powerful. They don’t have the unbeatable sound of the carburettor six-cylinder though, and have also lost some of the angular appearance of the early cars. Both earlier and late cars in good condition are becoming more difficult to find but if you do your research, you will definitely find a Biturbo that provides plenty of pleasure along with a few frustrations, and the value of which can only go one way from here. Should that not be enough, driving it will also make you feel more Italian than anything this side of Modena!