My friend Maurizio spotted this article whilst browsing the internet.

By BRUCE GRANT - McClatchy News Service

THE MODESTO BEE - Friday 2nd November 1984

'With the economy sustaining its upward momentum, the Biturbo hit the market at the right time.'

SACRAMENTO - Since 1926, when Alfieri Mascrati and his two brothers built their first car in Bologna, Italy, the Maserati name has been associated with handcrafted, exotic — and expensive — automobiles. Today, the Maserati name is on a sports coupe that is within financial reach of more Americans than any previous Maserati.

The newcomer is the Maserati Biturbo, a two-door sports coupe with a $25,975 suggested retail base price. That window sticker price is almost a third of the $65,000 Maserati asks for its other model in the American market, the Quattroporte four-door luxury sports sedan.

The Biturbo was introduced to the U.S. market last December — a little more than a year after its European debut — and it was an instant hit. By April 30, about 650 had been retailed and the remaining cars were en route to dealers who had orders for them.

Officine A. Maserati S.p.A. of Modena, Italy, chose the right time to bring the new model to the U.S., according to the importer.

"The economy is a good indication of how a new car will sell," said Bruce Qvale, general manager of Maserati Import Co. in San Francisco "With the economy sustaining its upward momentum, the Biturbo hit the market at the right time.

"The factories in Italy will produce 7,000 Biturbos this year, of which we will receive 3,250. We expect to increase that amount to approximately 4,500 in 1985."

The Biturbo has many of the opulent amenities of the Quattroporte, including the distinctive leather seats. Where the Quattroporte has leather trim throughout the interior of the car, the Biturbo is trimmed in a matching synthetic matearial that looks like leather.

Seating accommodations are first class in the Biturbo, with plush bucket seats for the driver and front passenger and an equally plush bench seat in the rear. There's room (and seat belts) for three adults in the back seat, but two would be more comfortable.

Everything about the Biturbo is every imaginable amenity on the standard equipment list. That includes a heating and air conditioning system with ducts to the rear seating area, AM/FM stereo radio and cassette player with four speakers, and electrically operated side windows.

But elegance is a small part of the Biturbo story.

The car gets its name from the twin turbochargers that boost the air supply to the 2.5-liter V6 engine. The end result of this double boost is a horsepower rating of 185 at 5,500 revolutions per minute and 208 foot pounds of torque at 3,000 rpm.

The Maserati twin turbocharger approach is different from the one you'll find in regular production cars.

"In most turbocharged road engines, designers had to choose between the lesser of two evils," Bruce Qvale explained.

"If a small turbo unit was selected, engine power would be boosted at lower engine speeds but drop off at the high end. If a large turbocharger was used, high engine speed power could be obtained but would present itself to the driver as a sudden burst of power at the middle speed range. Low speed power had to be sacrificed.

"Maserati has overcome these two turbocharging problems by using a twin-turbo technique that is used by some of the most successful racing cars in the world.

"Two smaller turbocharger units are utilized to overcome the time lag required to set a single large turbine unit in motion. As the output of two smaller turbochargers is equal to that of a single large one, sufficient volume is achieved at high engine speeds."

Engineers also installed a Maserati Automatic Boost Control (MABC) system that allows the Biturbo engine to develop optimum boost pressure at all throttle positions and under all engine load conditions. "It uses an electronic brain to improve fuel consumption and obtain optimum performance," Qvale said.

While the air boost system is state-of-the-art, fuel induction for the Biturbo is via a time-tested Weber two-barrel carburetor, rather than an electronic fuel injection system that is found on most competitive cars. The reason? It's easier to tinker with one carburetor than six injectors.

The twin turbo engine can be mated with either a 5-speed manual gearbox or a four-speed automatic transmission. The test car had the stick shift.

The Biturbo's suspension system includes MacPherson struts up front and semi-trailing arms in the rear for a well-controlled ride, especially on winding mountain roads.

Stopping power is from German-made ATE disc brakes on all four wheels.

The Biturbo is about as quick as any car I've driven this year. And its fuel economy isn't too bad when you consider this is a high-performance car.

The Environmental Protection Agency rates the Biturbo at 15 miles per gallon in city driving. I averaged 16.5 mpg with about a 50/50 mix of urban/suburban and highway driving.

The theoretical cruising range, with a 16.5 mpg average and using 19 of the 20 gallons in a full tank, is 313.5 miles.

In the gadget department, the test car had one noteworthy extra — a remote control burglar alarm. The device is activated or deactivated by a tiny transmitter that is attached to the key ring. The driver merely has to push a button to arm or disarm the alarm. Failure to execute the procedure properly triggers the alarm, which electronically exclaims repeatedly: "Burglar! Burglar! Burglar!" It wasn't so bad when the alarm went off once in my driveway, but it was downright embarrassing when it happened in a public parking lot.

In summary, the Biturbo is a dandy albeit expensive sports coupe. Its price is within reach of some people who can't afford a Quattroporte. The next challenge for Maserati is to produce the Biturbo in less opulent trim and with fewer amenities so even more Americans can put a Maserati in their garage.