In December 1981 Maserati presented a car that should have been that of the relaunch towards the future. The Trident brand, then under the control of Alejandro De Tomaso, showed its first 2000, with two turbos in the engine: the Biturbo. It is the first production car in automotive history to be fitted with such an engine.
The Biturbo is a 2000 short-tailed sedan (almost a two and a half volumes) characterized by two turbochargers that provide 180 horsepower at 6000 rpm. The performance recorded by the Trident was considered adequate to the sporting characteristics of the brand, as the time to go from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour was 6.5 seconds (at the level of the Porsche 928). It also reached and exceeded a top speed of 200 km / h, costing about 10 kilometers with a liter at an average speed of 120 km / h. The car was designed by Pierangelo Andreani, then the Maserati Style Head, albeit influenced by Giugiaro, designer of the inspirational Quattroporte of 1979.
The engine is a 6-cylinder 90-degree V with four overhead camshafts “…to reduce consumption“. The Modena-based company had designed and patented an original fuel system for the car, with three valves per cylinder instead of 2, and a supercharging system consisting of 2 turbochargers, one per bank (hence the name Biturbo). Technically, in addition to the longitudinal front engine, the car was configured with rear-wheel drive, front suspension with independent wheels, rear suspension with wishbones, Torsen rear self-locking differential.
Of the three valves, two were intake (one large and one small), and one exhaust. Maserati then declared: “With this new technology we have obtained an engine with reduced dimensions, with a very high thermodynamic efficiency. Using the exhaust gases a very high rotation turbine is activated. In turn, it drives another turbine which compresses the air / petrol mixture in the intake phase with a pressure higher than the atmospheric one, substantially improving the power supply. The fuel is better used and there is a reduction in consumption for the same power used. Furthermore, both the power and torque of the two-liter biturbo can be compared to that of a three-and-a-half-liter naturally aspirated engine.“.
Small in size, with a wheelbase similar to that of the Fiat 131, the Maserati Biturbo was produced in the Innocenti plant in Lambrate as well as in Modena. The initial goal was to schedule production at a rate of 7000-8000 units per year, according to what the newspaper La Stampa reported in 1981. It was then considered very ambitious. It was initially put up for sale at 19,550,000 lire with VAT and accessories (today it would be 40,000 euros). On the market it would compete against similarly priced rivals Saab 900 turbo and Audi 200 turbo. De Tomaso’s objectives, despite a good start after the official presentation at the 1982 Geneva Motor Show, were never achieved: the car had several reliability problems in North America and after some time the prices went up, reducing sales volumes. reachable.
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