It must be coachbuilders celebration week at the local auction yard or something. A few days ago we got confused by the Porsche that wasn’t a Porsche and today we’re admiring a Maserati Biturbo Spyder, which being the Spyder model means it hailed from the workshop of legendary coach builder Zagato.
Okay it’s not as glamerous looking as the Porsche replica and it’s got edge’s so sharp it could go on tour with U2 (apoligies for the rubbish jokes in advance today folks, I need more sleep). From a distance if you blur out the headlights and grill, it looks like an early 80’s Beamer. It’s box like ala the Nissan Pintara/Skyline. Aside from the trident badge and shiny red paint, it could blend into a crowd quite easily.
And today I’ve found out it’s actually pronounced ‘bee turbo’ and not ‘bye turbo’ as first thought. We’re learning lots this week.
But it’s as unexciting as it looks, it’s a twin turbo V6. And it’s luxurious. And if it’s been looked after well (and this one fits that description) then the engine can be near bulletproof.
Just look at that ocean of lucious leather. What a comfy swim that would be!
So it’s fairly quick, fairly comfy, fairly uncommon (one of 3076 – minus any that have been smashed or crashed) but brakes aren’t great and steering isn’t as sporty as you’d probably hope for (although as usual with something like this, it gets more fun to drive at higher speeds). But how many Maserati’s of this era do you see floating around nowadays? And this one’s red which means it automatically goes faster than other colors.
Now if you are keen on a Maserati Biturbo (Spyder or not) then make sure you do your homework. There’s plenty on the checklist of things to look out for (seriously, have a read on Classiccars4sale – they have covered a lot!) with the need for deep pockets if one or both snails give up the ghost. Also it’s pretty easy to work on…provided you leave the engine side of things to the experts (which won’t be cheap).
Red ones go faster