Isn’t it amazing that the Maserati Biturbo is still being talked about all these years later? For a car that’s been maligned since pretty much the day it was first sold new in the states, the peak of 80s Italian malaise still intrigues us as a car worth saving. At least, that’s what the sellers of this barn find Biturbo here on eBay are recommending, as they recently pulled it out of storage and found it to be in decent shape and still able to fire off on starting fluid.
There are 12 bids to $1,575 which is honestly more than I would have expected. The seller speculates that it has been stored indoors for most of its life owing to the respectable cosmetics, rust-free undersides, and clean interior. I would tend to agree, as it looks wholly decent in photos. The listing also notes that the Biturbo is equipped with a rare period bodykit made by a company called MIE.
From what I can tell, the MIE pieces consist of side skirts and a rear apron under the back bumper. The wheels are standard Biturbo spec, but this maroon coupe would look handsome on a set of gold-center BBS wheels. The interior is where you really start to believe this Biturbo was loved at one time, as the leather is in excellent condition, the carpets are clean, and the period-correct three-spoke steering wheel presents well with no splits in the wood.
The drivetrain behind the Biturbo was its Achilles heel. On paper, it sounded like a proper powerplant with the best available tuning at the time under the hood. However, in the 1980s, that wasn’t saying much, and reliability was lacking at best. Still, give credit to this car for still firing off with likely little actual road time in the last several years – it can’t be that bad if it still runs, right? For under $3,000, you could do worse for an entertaining wintertime project.
Was the Biturbo really “maligned” when the things said about it were largely true? They *were* poorly built. They *did* have numerous electrical and mechanical issues. Time may have been kind to this one in terms of appearance, but the buyer still risks ending up with a static piece of Italian artwork.
Nailed it… but at the current prices, with tempered expectations, these are fun. I’m biased though
Never mind that the author didn’t actually say “unfairly maligned,” but even if we pretend that he did: When quality control issues affecting the first couple years of production are used to malign a whole product range over the course of a decade, yes.
The real reasons not to own one are that the parts can cost just as much as for hand-built low-volume Masers of the ‘60s/70s, and the handling never really lived up to expectations. And this one has been sitting, so it likely WILL be a nightmare. But if you’re comfortable paying a nearly 4-figure price for a water pump (for example), there’s no reason to be so scared of these cars in general. But maybe hold out for a later one with EFI unless you’re really into the almost-anachronistic combination of turbocharging and carburetors seen here.
I would refresh all suspension bushings and wearable items, service the brakes, and any electrical needs, and then swap in a modern Maserati V8, transmission, and rear differential.
I’d love to see this. Prices on the mid-2000’s maserati V8’s are scary cheap. It could probably be done all-in for under $10k. A fellow in Florida put a Chevy LS in his biturbo, and then bi-turboed the LS. He calls it “Project Meatball” and it’s bonkers.
Too much is just barely enough!
Wheeler Dealers did an electric conversion on one. That might be the way to go with this, too.
LS? Iron Duke? Slant six? Briggs and Stratton? Flower planter!!!
Unless I’m mistaken, all those 2002-present V8 cars utilize a rear transaxle drivetrain, so you’ll have to look elsewhere for a suitable transmission and diff.
I had one for a week or so when I was a classic car dealer and found it to be a nice, powerful car, but my friend has just sold a convertible of the same era because the electrics were a disaster that he couldn’t find anybody to fix, so he sold it to an auto electrician for a song!
The only people that malign these are people that have never owned one. I had one back in the 1980’s when I was 24 years old and it was an awesome car.
Looks like an old K car from the outside
I worked on a number of them back in the-no other shop would- and found them to be a pretty nice car, with a few flaws. The clutch was way too small and the water pump served as an idler for the timing belt. Clutch jobs were not difficult; failed bearings in the water pump allowed valve timing to jump with expensive results.
One of my clients bought one because it was a striking shade of red.
Trick or Treat?
I almost bought one of these, on the cheap, back in the early 2000’s. When I still was a glutton for automotive punishment.
These are cool cars if you’ve got the space and like to tinker. Parts are relatively available and cheap, and that interior is flat out amazing. Just don’t expect it to ever be a daily driver on the factory mechanicals– it’ll let you down. That said, I love mine and have a blast with it.
Bonus points to this one for having the MIE kit. The company is still around hawking old maserati parts.
Alexi, how’s the handling in these? Similar to the BMW E30?
I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve never driven a BMW- vintage or otherwise. Seems weird that I’ve driven a lucid before a bimmer, but there you go.
The handling is fun and terrifying. It’s relatively sharp, though there’s plenty of body roll as you’d expect for an 80’s machine. It’s terrifying because the boost kicks in hard and if it catches you mid-turn the back end can go. Motorweek has some fun videos of these things on youtube and comments extensively on handling.
Located in: Niagara Falls, New York
Bring A Fire Extinguisher.
Looks to be in nice shape and has the pretty rare MIE body kit. What is not to like ? I had one of these with the MIE Body kit, automatic trans was the downside. Mine had Raptor mufflers (Flowmaster copies I believe from previous owner) Electrical gremlins be damned. Started every time and the and ALL electrical gremlins, cares, worries clouds and rain all disappeared at the sound of that Italian V6. Fun to drive. Cheap Thrills I say !! How can you go wrong ? GLWTS.
Lots of memories on these, my brother had a lot of them in succession. In one 222, we put a 430 engine which had more power, and it was quicker than a Ferrari 355 which was new at the time. Only problem was that the Ferrari survived, the Maserati had burnt it’s auto gearbox.
Another one went up in flames, and I remember several turbo rebuilds. I didn’t like to work on them.
Still have a Ghibli and a 4200 in spider and coupe. But no biturbos for me thanks.
Use to work at the Dealership………..Cam Box leaks causing fires, Fuse Panel melt downs, MANY Gremlins……..On the other hand, when working correctly, they are a fun & quick lil Loosey Goosey machine……BUYER BEWARE
Ended:
Nov 05, 2023 06:01:29 PST
Winning bid:
US $3,000.00
[ 25 bids ]