1983 MASERATI BITURBO

Lot 52
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Estimation :
3000 - 6000 EUR
1983 MASERATI BITURBO
Emblematic car of the 1980s Noble mechanics Interesting restoration project No registration title Chassis n° ZAM331B00*DB102918 In 1975, the famous Trident brand was «dropped» by its main shareholder, the French manufacturer Citroën. After an appeal for help from the Italian government, the whimsical Argentine businessman Alejandro de Tomaso bought Maserati for a few lire. He knew that in order to save the Modenabased company, he had to produce more, and therefore more affordable, while maintaining the mix of performance and luxury that was part of its DNA. While he initially decided to build the Kyalami, openly cloned from the De Tomaso Longchamps, and the Quattroporte III, he also wanted to compete with the hugely successful BMW 3 Series with a compact 4-seater capable of being homologated in Europe as well as in the Middle East and the USA. To do this, he also bought the Innocenti manufacturer, and thus found an industrial tool adapted to his claims. The Quattroporte was «redesigned» and refined by the designer Pierrangelo Andreani, resulting in the Biturbo, which immediately stood out for its compact and aggressive lines. Under the bonnet, in order to stay under the 2-litre displacement bar (for Italian tax reasons), the «Alfieri» V6, already seen on the SM and Merak, was reworked into a 1,996 cc engine, but coupled with... two turbos! In the end, the 180 hp of this first Biturbo seduced the press and the first customers... quickly disappointed by a lack of reliability, due to a too hasty tuning. Over the years, the Biturbo evolved with a multitude of variants, up to the Ghibli II. However, the company found itself in difficulty once again, forced to bring in the giant Fiat as a shareholder. The adventure came to an end after 37,966 «Biturbo» versions were produced between 1982 and 1994. Today, the model arouses as much passion as caution, since not all Biturbo were reliable or well tuned, and often mistreated by penniless owners. The car we offer was bought in very good condition by a French enthusiast at an auction in 2001 from Italy. He died some time later and the car was stored in the outbuildings of the family castle. This is where we found it earlier this year. The bodywork has suffered a bit, especially on the bonnet and doors, but the interior is quite nice, while the engine is not blocked. The car, sold without a title, will please a brave amateur or a Biturbo collector who wants to have a first class parts bank.
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