Maserati are doing pretty well these days. That’s an outlier in the marque’s history though: for most of the 20th Century, Maserati were either about to go under or trying to recover from bankruptcy. This roller-coaster ride took its final dip in the early ‘90s, and it so happens that I’ve scored a few Masers from this troubled time out on the streets lately, so let’s examine the car and the company it almost killed.
After a relatively short (1967-75) marriage with Citroën, Maserati were in their usual state of disarray, eventually getting “rescued” by Alejandro de Tomaso, who revived the Trident with the Biturbo in 1982. Sales shot up dramatically, so much so that the assembly line had to be transferred to Innocenti in Milan using engines and suspension pieces coming from the Maserati works in Modena. Alas, success proved fickle, as the much higher rate of production came at the expense of quality control and reliability, which is what happens when you get a former BL subsidiary to put together an unreasonable amount of (i.e. more than zero) high-performance luxury cars.
The V6-powered Biturbo was initially launched as a two-door (top left), but a stretched saloon variant (top right) was added to the range by late 1983. This was followed by the shortened-wheelbase Zagato Spyder (bottom right) in 1984 and the saloon-based 228 five-seater luxury coupé (bottom left) in 1986.
The frenetic multiplication of Biturbo derivatives carried on like this throughout the late ‘80s and into ‘90s, even as the De Tomaso group sank into a sea of red ink. A limited production variant appeared in the Zagato-bodied two-seater Karif (top right) in 1988, followed by the V8-powered Shamal (top left) in 1990. In 1992, the original Biturbo was heavily facelifted and renamed Ghibli (bottom left) to weather its second decade. The final stretch was to be the Quattroporte IV (1994-2001, bottom right), after which Maserati finally moved on to a new platform.
So we’ll focus on the four-door here, but bear in mind that there was a whole ecosystem of broadly similar Biturbo-based models at Maserati in the darkest days of the De Tomaso era. The four-door was a bit of an oddity, of course, but then when it was created, the only other Maserati saloon was the gigantic (and gorgeous) V8-powered Quattroporte III.
Maserati saw a niche just above Mercedes, BMW and Alfa Romeo in terms of luxury – but well above in terms of exclusivity and price – in the 2-3 litre executive compact field. This particular model of Maserati is so uncommon though, that it’s difficult not to see its competitors in it. The BMW vibe is especially prominent, in my opinion.
It’s a proper five-seater berlina, not a coupé with extra door. The two-door Biturbo’s 251cm wheelbase was extended to 260cm (102.4’’) and the rear overhang also grew a bit to accommodate more cargo space. This transforms the design fundamentally: I’m really not keen on the two-door Biturbo’s chunky profile, but the added length here kind of cures that.
On the other hand, this is the very last and most potent iteration of the breed, and Maserati felt compelled to give it the front end of the Shamal, with a revised grille (which is fine) and headlights (which is really, really not). It looks so amateurish that it feels as if the owner bought a set of aftermarket items and paid a blind mechanic to stick them on the wrong way around. Another facelift gone badly wrong – what else is new?
Partial redemption is to be found inside, with generous amounts of leather, thick carpets and genuine wood veneer. The switchgear and column stalks look a bit Fiat (or just Innocenti?), but one has to make a few sacrifices. The more pressing question is whether it all still works, as the electrics on Maseratis of this era are known to be pretty iffy at best.
But at least, when they worked, these cars packed a punch. The Biturbo saloons naturally had the same engine options as the coupés: a 2-litre (180-205hp) was reserved for the Italian market, exported cars started off with a 2.5 litre OHC V6, known as the 425. In 1987, a 2790cc version of the V6 was created and berlinas so equipped were marketed as the 430, for some reason.
Our feature car is the final incarnation of the 430, with a new 24-valve DOHC V6 providing 279hp, enabling a top speed in excess of 250kph, even allowing for the 4-speed ZF automatic transmission the owner saw fit to order, presumably to keep his left leg rested.
This Biturbo-in-all-but-name should really be compared to AMG Benzes or Alpina BMWs, i.e. the very best European sports saloons, with all the extras. In terms of exclusivity, it’s also right up there: just under 300 units of the 430 4v were made between 1991 and 1993, so I’m really glad I was able to catch this one before its owner returned to free it from its parking space.
Plus, if I had only caught a glimpse of it from afar, I might have mistaken it for a more mundane Mercedes or BMW, depending on the angle. Not the front though – that would have resulted in nausea more than anything. Aside from that sorry face, the rest is actually pretty nice, if a tad anonymous at first glance. The more one looks at it, the more interesting it gets.
Related posts:
Car Show Classic: 1990-96 Maserati Shamal – The Wildest Biturbo, by William Stopford
Curbside Classic: 1986 Maserati Biturbo Spyder – Do You Feel Lucky?, by Tom Klockau
CC Capsule: 1984 Maserati Biturbo Si – Sexy, Immobile, by Jeff Nelson
CC Capsule: 1997 Maserati Ghibli GT – The Last Vulgarati, by T87
I’m not sure if I missed it in the text but what is this car’s name… 430? Or Biturbo? After mentioning the original 2 door it only says “a stretched saloon variant was added”.
I forgot or didn’t realize how stubby the Biturbo’s rear is – it is really not an attractive car whatsoever in my opinion. The 4Porte IV now, that tickles me in the right places – the full-on Italian aero designs are some of my favorite ever and I have to imagine this was one of the only such sedans in it’s price range.
Your mentioning of the it’s platform proliferations made me think of Chrysler and the K Car, and then I thought of the TC! I’m now convinced that those two companies hooking up was a logical transpiration if not destiny, although FWIW I think the TC looks better than the featured car.
BTW the Karif looks like a 6/8ths R107 SL (and the featured car looks like a W201) The Shamal, I’m thinking because of the lack of chrome, does a better job of wearing those unfortunate headlight clusters.
Officially, Maserati retired the Biturbo model name after ’91, and it was never applied to any of the 4-door sedan variants, which always had a numeric designation instead (e.g., 420, 425, 430, 4.24v, etc.), as did some coupe variants from ’88-94 aside from the ’86-90 Biturbo i and ’87-91 Biturbo Si 2.5 versions.
Regardless, people often generically refer to any variant of the platform as a “Biturbo” whether the particular model in question was ever actually badged that way or not. Most of the bad rap Biturbo-variants earned came from the early versions with a troublesome blow-through turbo’d carburetor setup; the later versions with FI were much improved, with ongoing improvements year over year.
This one has no model badging (not sure if shaved, or if these ever had any to begin with), but it would be either a 430 or a 430 4v, depending which engine it was equipped with. I think the trunklid spoiler may indicate a 430 4v unless the spoiler was an add-on option or later owner addition.
Wow, that’s quite a catch! You have to wonder how many of those 300 made are still running and driving – given the spotty reliability reputation of Maseratis of this era, and the presumably minimal parts availability, it must be pretty hard to keep them on the road.
And it’s not like it even looks particularly exotic. It looks…. nice. Nice lines, nice proportions, very nice inside as well. I like it, but I also like plenty of Fiats, Nissans and Toyotas (and BMWs and Mercedes…) of the time that don’t look dramatically different. I admire the dedication of the person who keeps this one alive, but I’m happy to admire from afar.
I had a ride in a 4-door Biturbo once – if my memory serves me correctly it was an ’89 model, one of the early 4-doors.
I knew someone who had arranged with his local Maserati dealer to have a several-hour long test drive (which I suppose one could arrange if a Maserati dealer judges you to be a serious prospect). He drove a Saab 9000 turbo at the time, and was intrigued by the Biturbo. Luckily for me, he asked if I’d like a ride.
What you wrote about Maserati’s perceived niche (above Mercedes & BMW in luxury but well above in exclusivity) seemed spot-on. Both the test-driver, and a BMW-owner colleague of his that we visited on the ride were wowed by the luxurious interior and the marque’s prestige (and the car’s acceleration). In North America, though, the price was rather reasonable for its class.
However, my friend didn’t buy it. Part of the reason for his extended test drive was to gauge the car’s quality, and there was enough suspicious quality concerns to make him more than a bit skittish. He ended up buying another Saab.
I can’t fathom what’s involved in keeping one of these running three decades after being built. I have lots of admiration for folks who can pull it off.
I remember reading about these in Car and Driver and occasionally thinking I saw one in traffic only for it to invariably be a Hyundai Stellar driven by a visiting Canadian.
Exterior does look some like the Stellar. Specifically, around the C pillar, and rear quarter area.
The slight turn in the leading edge of the C pillar is unusual.
Yeah, I remember reading in C & D that the Biturbo was the ideal car to give your soon to be ex in a divorce settlement. You look extremely generous but the car will quickly degrade with engine fires and assorted electronic gremlins.
I had to google the Stellar after reading your comments and… damn, you are spot on!
+1!
I’m not familiar with these Hyundais, so I never saw it in the Maserati. Can’t unsee it now – just like the Volvo mentioned below…
There is an indirect Giugiaro connection between them; he designed the Stellar (among other Hyundais of the era) as well as the Quattroporte III, which designer Pierangelo Andreani then cribbed from for his Biturbo design to lend it a family resemblance.
I also suspect the Biturbo nose may be closer to Giugiaro’s original proposal for the QP3, which De Tomaso asked him to revise with a taller and more prominent grille, which came as little surprise for me to learn as I’d always found that production nose the only somewhat awkward aspect of an otherwise sleek and rakish design.
It actually looks like a Stellar, with owned-applied bling. hahaha
This has aged rather well – it is pretty handsome apart from those headlamps. Looks to have been well maintained, too. Doing too many variants rather than getting one sorted out seems to have been the problem with the Bi-Turbo. That spotty reliability reputation has haunted the marque up to the present day, hurting resale values, although actual reliability and quality seems to be OK – our Levante has been rock solid.
You already know I love it, as well as all the permutations of the BiTurbo in general, it’s almost as if you gave Fuzzyman a picture of an early one and told him to feed it into his AI machine and see what could pop out. Maserati even limited themselves to 2, 4, and convertible models, imagine if someone there had a large dog and needed a wagon or had four kids and wanted a van or someone wanted to go off-road or, oh, it just gets too exciting, I have to stop here.
As much as I enjoy the shape of the E30 BMW as well, the Maserati, while very similar, manages to look far more rakish and much more dynamic even in its most basic permutation. Fundamentally it’s an excellent design and lent itself to a quite vast range of different models most all of which were excellent performers, or at least designed to be.
Another great catch!
From the angle of the shot in the first picture and without the Maserati logo on the sail panel, I thought this was a Volvo sedan.
Read some where to hat the body design was rejected by BMW for their new 3 series ….
Most of the electrical maladies were down to a Fiat Punto fuse box which couldn’t handle the extra electric load from power windows ,seats etc.
@Mark, the Fiat Punto didn’t exist before 1993, and Maserati wasn’t owned by Fiat before 1990.
Anyway the Biturbo wasn’t and couldn’t be a rejected proposal for the 3-Series, but there is more than a possibility that Stellar was somewhat a rejected proposal for the Biturbo, and this scenario would involve a not better specified quarrel between De Tomaso and Giugiaro leading Maserati not to choose Italdesign’s proposal but letting the styling center pen a similar design.