The story goes that this 1987 Maserati Biturbo Spyder was sold new in New York and maintained by a shop in Greenwich, Connecticut until 1995, when the current owner bought it and brought it to Florida where it is now, listed at a dealership in Sarasota, Florida. It’s said that the second owner used it mainly on Sundays to get to church and back! I’ve heard of that before but not about a Maserati.
This car appears to be in very nice condition, very, very nice. It’s so nice that it’s really tempting to do something that I would probably regret, or not, depending on how it runs and drives. Maserati made the Biturbo for quite a long time, from 1981 through 1994, and the convertible, or spyder, had a wheelbase around 4.5 inches shorter than the coupe.
The Spyder came out for the 1984 model year and the ownership story continues, in that the second owner, the Sunday driver, finally relented and sold it to the current owner in 2019. Over the last five years of their ownership, they have replaced an incredible number of parts, including a new top with the correct headliner and rebuilt the frame mechanism, a new clutch, a new rear main seal, a new steering rack, and tie rod ends, new engine and transmission mounts, all new brakes, a new timing belt and tensioners, and much more. The trunk looks outstanding and as clean as the rest of the car.
The iconic Maserati leather seats show some wear, but it seems like they could be cleaned up and dyed and would look a lot nicer than they do now. The big deal with this car, or one of them, is that ZF five-speed manual, along with being a fuel-injected car. A lot of the issues with earlier, pre-1987 Biturbos seemed to clear up once fuel injection came on board. The seller reportedly bought up just about every replacement part needed for that in case those parts ever became impossible to find, so the next owner can sleep at night in that regard.
This is an engine that gives chills to a lot of us in more ways than one. It has to rank up there as one of the most exotic-looking, beautiful engines, but the thought of keeping it running perfectly is daunting for most of us. This is a fuel-injected Maserati 2.5-liter SOHC twin-turbo V6, and it would have had around 185 horsepower and just over 200 lb-ft of torque. It’s said to run great and this car has “no cancerous rust”, so that’s good, especially with a NY/Florida history. It’s listed here on eBay in Sarasota, Florida and the current bid price is just $2,125, but the reserve isn’t met, of course. This has to be at least a $10,000 car all day long in this condition. Have any of you owned a Biturbo?
Might be Gilbertson. Beautiful automobile, any stick shift convertibles are the most fun 😎
My dad had an 84 Biturbo coupe in the 80s, exotic car for southwest Michigan, drove it daily, stored in winter. I learned how to drive a stick in that car. He owned it about 5 years and visited the mechanic a lot, electrical and engine issues both. The wiring harness melted in Washington DC on a road trip and a very skilled mechanic mocked one up so we could get home. The engine had to be rebuilt towards the end of his ownership and he traded it in on a new Honda Accord for commuting. Dad had a lot of fun with the Biturbo and it was a blast to drive. The whoosh from the turbos is amazing. He had a few exotics after that (last was an Audi R8 until he stopped driving in his early 80s) but never an Italian car again. Great to see this one here, good luck to buyer and seller!
I have not owned a Bitrouble Spyder but I did accept the challenge of rebuilding one 1989 Spyder with its cylinder heads in the trunk. More of a labor of love spending about half of my personal time rebuilding the engine. Very pleasant car to drive and the later EFI cars with water cooled turbos get a bad rap. You ask then why did you rebuild one with low miles? You can’t fix stupid when the owner intentionally abused a car before the bank could repo car. Thrashed and run out of oil. Drove the car with the caliper pistons grinding through the rotors.
As for this one I would definitely purchase a good one with a good service history. Just understand they take Ferrari maintenance but you get a lot of bang for your dollar.
To clarify your remark that “the later EFI cars with water cooled turbos get a bad rap”, that’d be a (somewhat) undeserved bad rap inherited from the more troublesome early Biturbos with the blow-thru carbureted setup.
The later EFI cars like this one were much improved, with further ongoing refinements year after year, so if you really want a Biturbo, the later the better, along with the usual obscure-classic-car advice to find the very best example you can possibly find and afford, because you’ll spend more to bring a lesser example up to the same standard and never get back out of it what you put into it.
Yes, I went that route back in 1995. I bought a biturbo coupe with engine disassembled and most parts in the trunk. I ordered a new gasket set and valve adjusters from a place in Washington state. Got the car running and drove it for a short time before the clutch froze up so when the pedal was pushed it broke an aluminum plate on the back side of the firewall. That was it for me. I gave it away.
God Bless America
Absolutely gorgeous car. If I had the cash, I would own it in the three remaining days.
Not sure that I understand why there would be a black top when the interior and top cover is tan.
It does say that it has a new top, so maybe they decided to change it to black? Not a good look, IMO.
Maserati produced a special bi turbo model in the early 90’s. I’ve only seen one once and another one for sell once. It had suede and leather interior and a six cylinder engine producing 225 HP with wood shifter nob.i think it may have been a little larger than this one. There were very few made. If anyone knows of the car l’m speaking of please comment. I tried to goggle the car with no luck. But that Maserati is rare and very beautiful.
Those details could describe any later Biturbo, but you’re likely thinking of the Karif, the rarest of the 6 cyl variants.
This may be the nicest one in existence, but you must still run away.
Auction update: this one ended at $8,300 and didn’t make the seller’s reserve, so no sale.