1986 Maserati Biturbo E | Retro Review

Pretty sure there's one of these in Rocky III

[@kurt8327]

carburetors and turbos are a brutal combo for reliability.

[@robsrandomness7824]

Not only that, you have TWO turbos to fail, not just one!

[@crowttubebot3075]

@Donald Trump is Ghetto Trash On the rare occasions this car worked, it was a brilliant drive. But, yeah, these made an Alfa Romeo look like a Honda when it comes to reliability. Unfortunate, really.

[@BogattheMoon]

Donald Trump is Ghetto Trash yeah, I remember when they sold these stateside in mid '80s and they were around 40k

[@frankdenardo8684]

I thought a lot of European cars have fuel injection?

[@chriscornelius2518]

Maserati is brutal itself for reliability.

[@jeffreytruhan4989]

I had a biturbo and really enjoyed it. It was fun to drive and presented with iconic 80's styling.

[@Sam.Angel.330]

Reliability aside, they don't make these kind of cars anymore, everything these days is heavy and big

[@kardog045anthony3]

That crank down wheel is brilliant.

[@SolamenteVees]

Wait, 2 turbos, no intercooler, carbs AND an automatic choke? Take my money.

[@blackice7408]

It'll take all of it along with your grandchildren's when it starts breaking down

[@needleontherecord]

Don’t forget Italian quality and reliable built in.

[@ronjohnson4184]

I had an 85' in the early 90's and never really thought of it again until this vid. But when he popped the hood, I instantly remembered the smell of burning oil.

[@MODeration_nXS]

When I was a kid, I remember seeing a biturbo at a used car lot. I didn't know anything about the car but the name made it sound so cool and powerful. Lol

[@milesc.anthony2811]

I know the quality with Maserati is always a suggestion, but I love this car. It's somewhat of pinnacle of 80's design - simple and basic but "doing it without actually doing it" as far as the style goes. Love it. Wrecking yard or not.

[@oxyrisin]

Miles C. Anthony Yeah they are beautiful, but.... I once dated a chick w one. Drove it a few times. That’s when it actually worked. Bro, that thing was a complete piece of junk.

[@silweragentum739]

Dont agree it takes the basic look from Lancia Delta.

[@maxsamplax]

Beautiful car interior and engine , maserati biturbo v6 are one of my favorit engines.

[@FATWONTON]

With the plastic wood. No way

[@liljuz1981]

@@FATWONTON its real wood just covered in a laminate like most other euros from the era i assume

[@nlpnt]

Almost surprising it didn't break down during your tests.

[@MrGoogelaar]

It maybe didn't break down but it really bogged down when pulling away.2:40, horrible car.

[@wchomes106]

HA!

[@michaelhughes3302]

Okay I can attest to the reliability issues first-hand. My Dad brought one in on a trade in in the early Nineties. Early Bosch electronic ignition combined with carb and turbos made for a car that simply put, had a mind of its own. Sometimes it started, and sometimes you got absolutely nothing. Having said that, when my parents would go away for the weekend, I would reach for the keys immediately. That car surprised quite a few fox body Mustangs on the road.

[@IceyMatt255]

My father owned an 85 E model, and he too can attest to the many problems he experienced with his. After all the problems he had with the car, he totaled it after only a year and a half

[@Wori17ben]

The ultimate 80's flashy trashmobile

[@kz1000ps]

And boy how the times have changed... today we have the Ghibli

[@ShaiyanHossain]

@@kz1000ps which is still a flashy trashmobile

[@kz1000ps]

@@ShaiyanHossain My point exactly!

[@kz1000ps]

@Donald trick Trump Has STD's from Stormy D. I work in Manhattan and see at least 5 Maseratis a day.... you better believe I'm laughing at their drivers knowing they think they're hot shit when really they're driving just shit :D

[@MasterMalrubius]

Reminds me a an AMC Hornet.

[@Beethoven80]

I don't know why but I simply love this car. 80s design, fantastic interior, wooden steering wheel, Mafia drug dealer people on the back seat. Thank god I never owned one, I would probably hate it now.

[@gerhard6105]

A headrest is not to put your head on but to shorten the distance between the head and the headrest at a head-tail collision . So, to avoid a whiplash. And so, you should put the headrest top at the same level as the top of your head. Yes, i have a Maserati 4.24v, also a biturbo but with 245hp. From 1992.

[@SportsMusicCars]

245hp is more like it. This particular model reviewed herein has about the same accel. numbers as my '02 Grand Am GT. My '08 Saturn Aura XR hits 60 in 5.6.

[@zabijaqzoltan8442]

Unluckily, Maserati was on it's way out in this period. Very tight on money for R&D, testing, proper manufacturing. Else it would be an awesome car. Style, comfort and drama at the same time. Imagine having a car labeled Biturbo at era when engine with low boost turbo was something incredible for general public.

[@williamegler8771]

Our neighbors had one of these. My mother dusted it in a drag race in a 2001 Saturn LW300.

[@scdevon]

A Honda Passport does 0-60 in 5.8 seconds now and that's a naturally aspirated Mom-Mobile. LOL

[@xxxpensive1415]

Your lying

[@maxxas5067]

Someone call Hoovie

[@klasseact6663]

...or Doug!

[@eightosaurusspelunk1598]

@@klasseact6663 I think this one is more suited to Hoovie

[@klasseact6663]

@@eightosaurusspelunk1598 agreed, would love Doug to review it...or RCR to do it...if they could get back to what made them funny🤔

[@Da_RatRacer4251]

Klasse Act Tavarish!

[@elnyoutube123]

Doug is too much of a herb to appreciate nice cars

[@tomhertz1614]

I almost bought one of these back in the day they're still retro cool I like

[@VanquisherUSMC]

I wish times were this good and optimistic again....for cars that is. It was a new era of exploration. We now think we know everything. I need to see something unique again! Great review btw!

[@LrulestheworldM8]

Darin H same here. No more boring, mundane, run of the mill crossovers. And we need to get rid of touchscreen systems and go back to simple analog.

[@VanquisherUSMC]

@@LrulestheworldM8 I would love to go back to the more simple way of life. New vehicle prices are insane now a days with all the tech bs! I have a 1993 Typhoon and I absolutely love the simplicity of it. When I have to pay 1/4 of the mortgage of my house on a vehicle, that's where I start questioning wtf is going on!

[@PACKERMAN2077]

@@LrulestheworldM8 well unfortunately legislation makes backup cameras mandatory so where are you going to look at the camera from? Easy you take a little CRT screen and plug it into the cigarette lighter... the cars don't have cigarette lighters anymore since they're trying to ban the connotation of smoking. Easy you just hot wire to the fuse then plug in your black and white TV and drill some holes.... Yeah no you don't want to go back to analog

[@LrulestheworldM8]

PAKTRA PRODUCTIONS Holy shit are you stupid. A simple 2" flip out lcd screen would appease lawmakers, and remove touch screens, all at once.

[@dchawk81]

My government has outlawed unique.

[@jamesengland7461]

Love the looks. Needs a Buick Grand National turbo V6 with serious quality and 60 more horsepower (capable of handling hundreds more).

[@fortheloveofnoise]

For that price all the wood should be real.

[@cardo1111]

Another blast from the past.

[@NESherv]

If by "blast" you mean "perpetually ticking time bomb", then yes, absolutely.

[@johnnyboyssite]

its funny... this is a Maserati with a choke while even in 84´ you could buy a GN or Regal T with a fuel injected motor and advanced Iginition Coil

[@carsmusicandclothing7066]

Yeah thats funny

[@silweragentum739]

True, but i like a real choke to pull out better than pushing the gaspedal.

[@josedealbuquerquejr.941]

Alejandro De Tomaso, due to lack of funds, launched the Biturbo before the car was ready. However, the later Biturbos, specially the ones produced after 87, were very good cars, they fixed the main problems and believe me, the car became reliable and even suitable for daily use. Unfortunately, the problems of the cars produced in the first 2 years, threw the model's reputation in the trash. I have to say that the 60 and 70’s Maseratis were probably the most reliable cars among the other Italian manufacturers, Maserati was The car, purchased by kings and international Jetset at that time

[@bigmacdaddy1234]

Let's discuss all of its quirks and then give it a Doug Score!

[@sneakerfreak2002]

Let’s not.

[@mrtyreus0]

@@sneakerfreak2002 for real. Can't stand that dude.

[@kb0x]

I know how the DougScore will go It will be very, very low.

[@taylormordoch9802]

Doug was not even a fan of the Ghibli, just imagine his Impressions on the biturbo.

[@cress7572]

I use to own two of these! Both the same colour and same trim. Haha

[@oliverdelgado6952]

How was it? Was it as bad as ppl say ? Lol

[@1250GSX]

Did they leave you sad and broke?

[@Oldbmwr100rs]

You didn't learn with the first one? i got to work on one, sadly an automatic, and had a lot of electrical issues to deal with. The fuse panel was a nightmare.

[@casualsuede]

Lemme guess, one to drive, one for a spare parts car? No wonder the italian car makers were rich in those days!

[@brettcannon74]

Why?

[@Tool0GT92]

In 1986 Ford made 200hp out of a single turbo 2.3L four cylinder. Can't believe it has a carb in 1986.

[@carsmusicandclothing7066]

Yeah forced induction w/ carb doesnt get heard often. Even for this decade.

[@wrailfan]

With the use of electronic multiport fuel injection and intercooling. Ford's earlier version of the carb'd & turbo'd 2.3L with a 2bbl produced 120hp/145trq.

[@spavatch]

The fuel injection came the next year

[@GyroPyro121212]

wrailfan Yes but that is a 4 cylinder with 1 turbo. This is a V6 with 2 of them and it only makes 65 more hp. I’d still drive it though.

[@spavatch]

GyroPyro12 I’d rather point out that at that time European city runabouts in their sporty versions pushed out Ford’s power figures out of 1.3 litres ;)

[@davidaubin3902]

4:01 John: AND IF YOU WANT TO GET TO YOUR LUGGAGE, YOU STILL HAVE TO CONSULT THE LEVER INSIDE THE DOOR! LOL

[@misterrain837]

For all the flack these get about reliability or lack there of, my friend dailyed on of these for many many years. It was all about preventive maintenance for him.

[@takeomack2782]

I love these videos, thanks MotorWeek!

[@palebeachbum]

I honestly thought this was a Volvo 780 coupe in the thumbnail. the resemblance is uncanny.

[@alaindumas1824]

I parked mine next to a biturbo of the same color. The 780 looks indeed like a grown up biturbo with a lot more space for luggage and in the back. It is also much more reliable but I am still considering buying the carburated biturbo.

[@joestout2959]

A friend of mine got one for $300 bucks, we drove it around a bit, everything was broken. The interior must've been absolutely glorious in its day. What a chunk of garbage though.

[@Otaner142]

Even today i think that car is beautiful.

[@BrettWilkins]

The 1988 Mazda 626 AWS tested by MotorWeek was .3 seconds quicker to 60!

[@kevinpatrickmacnutt]

Wow, a premium luxury performance car with a carburetor in 1986. I think most luxury brands went fuel injected in the 1970s.

[@spavatch]

You sure you don't mistake size for luxury? ;)

[@panvoyevoda6108]

quattroporte had carbs, as did aston martin

[@adamv242]

Almost bought one of these off a charity donation lot about 25 years ago... Showing up to leave a deposit, I watched another sucker load it onto a flatbed. Dodged a bullet there.

[@RADGarage]

“Tasteful fake wood grain”. 😂

[@gerhard6105]

In my 4.24v the wood is real and it is rosewood. I took out the wooden steering wheel becausemit gets slippery. I put in a black leather same looking steering wheel. More grip.

[@SilverScarletSpider]

Do you have any unreleased videos on Lotus and Mitsubishi vehicles?

[@grunkohlaktionar7474]

Sleepy yess please!

[@Edgar-Friendly]

Newer Maserati 4.2L engines are affordable making an engine swap a hell of a sleeper.

[@gxdjoeybaby07]

I was thinking LS swap while watching this...except that carb pressure chamber is almost as pretty as the actual car!

[@SonOfTamriel]

These boxy cars from the 80s to early 90s are starting to climb up in value.

[@richardwilliams5842]

I was in HS when this came out, always wanted one SMH LoL

[@gxdjoeybaby07]

same here!

[@DumbledoreMcCracken]

Same here

[@apollo4657]

I remember these were the IT car when they came out. Lol

[@harrymananus5380]

RL Fitness if IT stands for Inveterate Trash

[@apollo4657]

Harry Mananus Oh they are complete shit. LOL doesn’t change the fact that this is the car everyone was talking about and wanted

[@colbylenz5312]

I have no idea what yall are talking about Italy makes the best cars. Ever I just purchased a 86 425 bi turbo and absolutely love it. Car is amazing.

[@Steve-gc5nt]

😂

[@aaronbays4]

Reminds me of a loaded Chevy Cavalier 2 door, the two tone Eurosport one lol.

[@briteidea08]

A certain dealership where Motorweek is produced sold Maserati. They also sold Yugo!

[@realazduffman]

Looks like the car Johnny Sac drove before he was a Captain

[@jigrodrigues]

Gini wouldnt fit

[@TimJoseph08031990]

4:42 Those fuel economy numbers are similar to that of the current generation Toyota Land Cruiser.

[@sammyt3514]

I remember when those came out I wondered, even as a teenager, who would pay the (then) exorbitant prices for those abominations when you could buy a whole lot of other Japanese and European cars that were much better and for, in many cases, less money. Whoever bought these things must've had an emotional attachment to the brand Maserati that was so strong that it superseded any logical consideration!

[@supafrancis]

They said this car was 27 grand at the time.. In 1997 I bought my first car at 16 from a 65 year old man who owned it since new. It was an 86' SAAB 9000 turbo and it came with the original window sticker with a crazy price of $36k. I bought it for $1500 with 168k miles, drove it like crazy until I was 18 and it had 205k on it and sold it for $2800. When looking back, I'd say the biturbo was somewhat cheap for what it was back then

[@justinanderson8758]

Is this the leaked footage of the new Ford 3 cylinder Ecoboost?

[@ChapmanFilms]

My car with the Biturbo went out and the only thing I could say was bye turbo.

[@tythornburg3460]

Crank down spare tire... genius! Like this MUCH MORE than Tire Inflator Kits or Temporary Spares below all of your parcels in the trunk. Have you ever seen a car broke down in the "puke lane" that looks like the owner is having an side of the interstate yard sale? Not pretty.

[@pichurri1173]

It looks like a Volvo 780 bertone !

[@Crazy_Borg]

That's an insult to the Volvo.

[@eightosaurusspelunk1598]

Those were cool

[@theKevronHarris]

Or the Dodge shadow/Plymouth sundance

[@Alexander_Timonin]

The 780 has much better proportions, this is sized like a stubby BMW E30.

[@kevinpatrickmacnutt]

It looks like a two door Hyundai Stellar.

[@jGRite]

These retro videos really remind me that I can't put too much emphasis on horsepower numbers.

[@GeeEm1313]

As a kid, I called these "Bit turbos." Also, that Colt Vista.

[@TEDdotcom]

Jezza Clarkson just loves this Biturbo...loves to destroy it that is 😆

[@AnttiKautonen]

It's a Quattoporte in the Rocky film

[@kevinpatrickmacnutt]

The Quattroporte was a larger car from the same era. Same lines though.

[@mablacol]

The Quattroporte is the four doors car (in italian Quattro porte). First is born the Quattroporte, code name AM330 designed by Giugiaro, produced start in 1979 to 1990 named Royale. In 1982 is born the Biturbo.

[@frankburns8871]

I wonder why the "passing time" metric kinda disappeared. It's as useful an indication of quickness as 0-60 and quarter mile times, but you don't hear it any more. Maybe it's in some of the car mags' specs still; haven't read those in awhile.

[@oliverdelgado6952]

Thanks love these retros!

[@jayrussell1825]

Wow, full-sized spare!

[@zr71offroad20]

A Twin Turbo with a Carburetor?

[@eric19875]

At that time, on this category of car, I'm a fan of the 190. Especially the most powerful ones.

[@one7decimal2eight]

I had no idea these things even existed until I saw one at the auto-x track. this guy had one with 2 huge intercoolers. the thing hauled ass and handled well. I thought they were sweet cars. I was wrong. I never saw it heard of them because they sucked. but his was cool.

[@gm1990ss]

Bobby Ewing had one..,briefly.

[@mach1mustangguy992]

Don’t know why these cars were hated so much….. they were pretty cool grandtourer

[@robsrandomness7824]

These were such garbage. I like that spare tire setup, though. If there are any broken ones left laying around somewhere, this would be an interesting candidate for an LS swap.

[@GForceVRX]

Beautiful looking car

[@seinsmeld13]

Thanks John!

[@waltervila33]

Back seat riders not drivers get it right these are still around if you can find one in good shape amazing how a Mazda 3 is just as fast as this Biturbo Maserati

[@HotGritz910]

Holy big steering wheel batman!

[@klasseact6663]

Maybe Jeremy Clarkson dropped something heavy on this one too, LOL😂

[@Blackout_1692]

I remember that episode of Top Gear

[@JayBee-se8ou]

I sure miss pre-airbag steering wheels.

[@hendelar]

Could've been an icon. Chrysler-curse unreliability was inherited by the Chrysler TC

[@superbird4351]

Those wheels belong on a Yugo...

[@spavatch]

They don't, but they would indeed fit, same 4x98 lug nut arrangement

[@humakhan80]

They are already on a Yugo.

[@deltabelg]

I love these!

[@wh6755]

2:39 what is that car behind the Maserati? I like it better than the featured car

[@2dfx]

Dodge Colt Vista

[@kevinpatrickmacnutt]

@@2dfx That Colt Vista was better built, far more reliable and possibly, unlike the Maserati, fuel injected.

[@oliverdelgado6952]

I was eyeballing that car too lol

[@losh330]

What an appalling car. I would love to drive one.

[@VaughnG71]

15 mpg!

[@SearchEast2069]

looks like the design was half-baked from the b-pillar back

[@dchawk81]

I'd start a bit more forward if I was making that statement.

[@MrGoogelaar]

Maseratis are never fully baked.

[@chrisdooley6468]

I’m surprised shit didn’t start falling off during that performance test or some sort of wrecking ball didn’t fall from the sky onto it like I’m used to seeing on car shows lol

[@stevebier710]

The 5 people that downvoted this video, are the ones that owned one.

[@killkevv7308]

my friend pimped this out and drag races with it.

[@MrCarguy2]

3:57 The car is new but the speedometer is already broken

[@84impalaguy]

I suppose you don't have a review of an 83-86' Pontiac Parisienne do you? I think they were the last B-body Pontiac sold before going 99% FWD in 87.

[@chrisxaf1237]

they still had the safari until 89

[@daison96]

Great review. Not-so-great car.

[@AdamG1983]

If you look closely, you can see the wheel arches start to rust

[@prestoncheapbtheadphoneste3010]

Arches?!

[@geltrodioseveriani6442]

in RockyIII there was only the Quattroporte (not even the 425).

[@timyank8433]

Pretty snazzy little car, but could do without the GINORMOUS emblems on the C pillars.

[@christopherrossberg1012]

Da OG turbo car

[@MasterMalrubius]

When I was a teenager I thought these were the sh*t. Later I realized how stupid I was for thinking that.

[@LrulestheworldM8]

Seen one of these go in for cash 4 clunkers. Despite its presumably unreliable nature, its a great car. Ive only seen one in my life time, but I think they weren't really given a fair shake.

[@jamesfrench7299]

Australian based company BTR supplied four speed autos for a time.

[@gojira931]

You guys uploading in 60fps rules

[@Jakek200]

Even though this was probably originally recorded at 24fps on tape... meaning its still actually only showing 24fps and just repeating the same frames to fill the gaps.

[@LearnAboutFlow]

These cars were so unreliable the head of my old company had one in black. He literally turned on the headlights and the windshield wipers came on, and this car was a year old.

[@itmustbelove08]

Is the car making that humming sound or is it the video itself? Just listen to it when it was going through the salom.

[@forrysc]

You could buy used ones a few years later for $5000. Talk about depreciation.

[@robsrandomness7824]

And 3 years after that, they were all in the junk yard.

[@forrysc]

@@robsrandomness7824 "what an odd looking Le Baron". That's when you knew your car was destined for the heap. :)

[@skylinefever]

Who knows what the price would be after paying all the repair bills? I heard these cars were incredibly unreliable and cost a fortune to repair.

[@beagelbird1]

Nice looking car back in the day, BUT it could not out perform anything in it's class, it's closest competitor performance wise was a Alfa Romero GT-V6

[@ThomasSchick]

...classic gold 👍🏻

[@pjbth]

What’s that white car in the background during the opening scene?

[@vavo4902]

Was waiting for Clarkson to drop a bin on it

[@jefferyyoder9785]

13c city mpg... A pinto had that !

[@sc4r.mp218]

The biturbo had one thing in common. They belong in the trash and the owners wish they owned a 4age Corolla