Scot McKay

Off the wall question: How does the S4 performance/ride compare to the '80's Maserati Biturbo?

ChriS4

<ul><li><a href="http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Lane/1150/specs.html">http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Lane/1150/specs.html</a</li></ul>

Scot McKay

Thanks for the info...I was also interested to know if anyone has actually driven both.

LCP

My old college roommate had a (1987?) Maserati Biturbo that I drove once; my S4 would smoke it

Scot McKay

The '87 or '89 (i forget) got a more potent engine that brought it to about 225hp--down on the S4, but it was also a lighter car than the S4.

Has anyone seen a Biturbo lately--I've seen maybe one in the last two years. Apparently not very reliable or of any significant value to enthusiasts, comparatively speaking.

occam

My friend noticed the Maserati being parked by attendant. I wandered over to take a look and identified it as a BiTurbo (don't know how I remember some of this stuff). Apparently, a young gent to my side nodded knowingly. Later my girlfriend pointed out the young gent as the probable owner which was kind of funny. He was checking to make sure his car was properly taken care of (obviously of value still to him), and overheard our entire conversation about the car. It looked nice.

When we were leaving the restaurant, his car was waiting for him and he was getting into it. I did notice the driver door paneling seemed to be missing (not sure), so I wouldn't say the car was in pristine condition. Perhaps he was getting ready to restore it? I don't know. Maybe it just drives well and has a well preserved exterior.

Fun to see one anyway. I was kind of wondering what the performance on it was too after seeing one so close to me buying my S4.

= Joe =

LCP

My roomie's Biturbo would have to sit and warm up/cool down for at least 5 minutes every time he started/stopped it -- and that assumed he got it started. I think it only had about 70,000 miles on it, so it shouldn't have been that bad.

AvramD

A guy in my fraternity had a Maserati Biturbo at Tufts, and he eventually traded it for a Biturbo convertible.

Ali B

I bought the car in July of 1992 with 220 miles for just under $25K from a dealership that had been taken over by a Nissan/Buick/GMC (the original '89 window sticker was over $56K). I had the car until November of last year, but reluctantly sold it because it was too expensive to maintain and I had to drive too far to take it to my regular mechanic (from SF valley to Newport Beach).

I have not driven the S4 to compare the two, but I am sure the S4 is a little quicker. More importantly, driving the S4 should be much more enjoyable. My car had the 2.8 biturbo engine with 225 hp and 246 lb-ft at 3500 rpm. According to the owners manual, 0-60 time was 5.6 seconds. First gear was rather short, but second and third gear were simply fantastic. The 5-speed shifter was rather clunky with high effort and relatively long throws. The shift pattern was the unusual one used on the early Porsche 911's, with first gear located where most cars have their second.

The biturbo engine definitely had some turbo lag. It really came to life around 3000 rpm, though. When I had my car, I test drove a 1998 M3 sedan, and felt that they were pretty close in accelration. The M3 had a much more linear power delivery and was much more rewarding to drive, however.

LCP

Texas Christian University -- the Biturbo was actually owned by his older brother