By Tim Odell
It’s one thing to attempt to revive a complicated, poorly engineered car; it’s another thing entirely to revive a half-finished show car project built from a complicated, poorly engineered car. Such is our subject today: a 1987 Maserati Biturbo Si that, some time ago, was capable of 500hp and a 3.7s 0-60 time courtesy of ported/polished heads, bigger turbos, a new ECU and a raft of typical performance add-ons. To complement those audacious performance numbers, the exterior’s been treated with a widebody aero kit and the interior sports both leopard and alligator skin surfaces.
Those glory days are gone, because as it sits, the interior (particularly the dash) is partially disassembled, looking like it’s in the middle of a complete re-wire. Thankfully, it looks to be a pretty straightforward generic aftermarket fusebox and harness labeled in English. Honestly, at this point the best thing would be to get it mechanically sorted and functional without worrying about fixing up the early-90s aesthetics. Remove all the badges and leave people wondering how they just got dusted by a suped-up Scirocco.
1987 Maserati Biturbo hopeless project for sale – $3995 – eBay Motors
Jeff Glucker
Really like the color combo, wheels and bodykit. This car would be perfect if the interior was gutted, painted white with a full roll cage, and the engine swapped out for a 13B for MORE reliability.
Was the engine actually the unreliable part on these?
Well, in an era where the technology to support one turbocharger was still rapidly developing, two turbochargers broke the limits of technology.
Pull the tarp back over it and walk away.
The nice thing about turbo cars is they are easy to get more power out of. Add more boost and gain 50 hp. Turn it up a little more and add another 25. Tweak it once more, and… oops…should have beefed up the bottom end.
With twin turbos, many mods, and claimed power far in excess of stock, on a car notable for mechanical failure as a new vehicle three decades ago, I wonder if this one still ran when parked.
Still parked when it ran!
I like this way more than I should.
The Biturbo is one of those cars that looks so strange when it’s photographed by itself since it really needs something for scale. They’re tiny! Short wheelbase, short decklid, low roof.
What was Michael Jackson’s favourite Maserati?
Shamal.
I always thought that the BiTurbo looked more BMW E30 than VW.
Kinda looks like a “video game car” that picks up on every mid-80s Euro styling trend.
It could be an emoji car?
Except the Biturbo came out 1 year before the E30, and it was more of a scaled-down third-gen Quattroporte, which debuted in 1979.
http://avto-russia.ru/autos/maserati/photo/maserati_quattroporte_iii_1024x768.jpg
http://wordpress.carthrottle.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Biturbo11.JPG
That two door greenhouse has a definite E30/E21look to it.
Also the Cadillac Cimarron looks a lot like a 4 door E30 in the side profile, but the Caddy came out before the E30 4 door.
I have to ask, did someone leave Marcellus Wallace’s briefcase open in the back of the BiTurbo?
Aww hell yes! If this was in the UK it would be in my driveway right now. Beg, borrow or steal I’d get this car and instantly replace the interior.
Maserati managed to get a solid 330bhp from 2.0l with the Ghibli Cup, so I’m certain that there’s the capability there to go much higher.
I like the look of these, but their mechanical and electrical reputation precedes them.
Hence, treat it as a rolling shell for an LS swap! Not terribly imaginative, but I bet it would be fun. Otherwise if it would fit, which is a big question, a Ford 5.0 whether in Coyote, Miami (FPV supercharged) or Voodoo form would sound incredible.
Or a Chrysler V8 to keep it in the family?
Personally I’d quite like to make one of these with the 4.7l V8 from a GranTurismo and the 6sp transaxle from a 3200GT. Not nearly as cheap as the above options, but would be damn cool.
Harold! Get that damn car outa my yard!
Put it up for sale on the interwebs somewhere! it’s me or that car!
The design is beautiful – but you’d be better off taking the $4k and burning it in the street, would cause less heartache in the long run.