Maserati Biturbo Spyder?

link Anyone have experience with these cars? I saw where TIME magazine named them one of the worst all time cars so they can't be that bad. The seller says it runs, but idles rough and he couldn't find a mechanic to make it run right so its been sitting.

Before I looked at the ad, I didn't think I wanted a Maserati. Now that I've looked at the ad I am thinking it might be a fun headache. Talk me down before I jump.

I knew a guy who had a Biturbo...

It was a money pit. The most apt measurement of engine life was hours and I would be surpised if the MTBF (mean time between failures) was more than 20hrs...

Run away

I wouldn't give one to an enemy.

Is that the one with the windshield made from unobtainium?

A guy on the Alfa forum recently bought a Biturbo. He's been awfully quiet lately...

That said, if you buy it and get it running right, you'll certainly have one very cool, unusual and stylish car, (possibly at the expense of your sanity and financial solvency.)

Wasn't that the car Jeremy Clarkson dropped a dumpster on?

Buy it cheap, drop an L33 and some sort of manual trans behind it, sell the original engine or just clean it up and put it on some sort of stand as art work.

Odd... we're on a forum called GRM... and they do articles about GR type vehicles... and I think there is a huge article in a 2007 issue ;)

April 06 actually:

Too bad the back issues aren't available.....if they were only available in some sort of crazy deal in the store.

I was thinking it would be a good candidate for an engine swap. Came with a 2.5L V6 so it hhas some room under the hood.

If it were half the price I would think hard about it.

Joke's on me...April 06 is really not in the store.

TJ wrote: he couldn't find a mechanic to make it run right

I don't think that anyone has ever found that guy.

No promises, but I'll see if about getting that one online.

That would be cool...thanks Tim!

I had an '86 Biturbo coupe. I thought it was great. The seats were great and it was my first suede headliner. :)

Anyway, if you're comfortable turning wrenches on your own, it wasn't really anything too beastly. Trim pieces and bodywork are horribly expensive, but mechanicals that I had to replace were pretty much regular Bosch/Italian stuff.

Fun to drive and nobody knows what it is. Fun, but maybe not 4 grand fun.

The later FI cars were MUCH better than the carb'd version. Yes, forget about trim and such, too expensive and getting rare. Not sure who they contracted for some of the dash bits and electrics, but they were surely the lowest bidder.

I always thought one would be a fun car. I'd buy one given the opportunity. FI only though, I don't do carbs.

I thought I wanted a Lotus Esprit once - like an idiot I bought one. Broke me of the habit. I think this car will be the same.

I would strongly recomend against buying it. They are rather poorly made, and get terrible gas mileage. If you can afford to throw away $4k, it might be fun for a while, but dont count on it as being anything more than a driveway ornament.

Ian F wrote: Wasn't that the car Jeremy Clarkson dropped a dumpster on?

thats what i thought of... he bought it... and smashed it by droping something on it...

I have a friend that has one. He has more or less turned it into a track only car. He is fortunate to run a Citroen restoration shop, so has a lot of things available. Brakes were one big problem. He has never had any problems with the engine or transmission. He blew the differential at Pocono when the pinion seal failed.

To change the oil filter you have to remove the radiator. Every time, no other way.

I always wanted to take a Biturbo and drop in a Mustang 5.0/T5 driveline. Swap out the suspension for something more tunable and easier to get parts for. Miata maybe?

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/maserati-biturbo/

20k timing belt changes

Awesome article. Thanks for getting that up, Tim.

I've always been very curious about these cars. The shop that does my alignments has an old Quattroporte sitting out back that I've always admired from afar, but would still be afraid to own.