“222?!? Never heard of it. Is that even a Maserati?”. Sure it is. In good and in bad.
I am not supersticious. You know, like certain people insisting on wearing their driving gloves inside out and that sort of thing. But then again: There are SO many stories about the Maserati Biturbo and what goes wrong with them, that I sometimes think that no amount of voodoo rituals could ever keep a Biturbo going. In a response to that, Maserati changed the name to a number! Many years later that raises the question, whether 222 is a lucky number.
Launched to general acclaim in 1981 during the ownership stint of the incredibly enterprising Alejandro De Tomaso, he must have been proud as the new “little” Maserati really had much going for it. In a package the size and approximate shape af the coming BMW E30, the Biturbo offered much more exotic specifications (in case you did not know nor have guessed it by now: It features not one turbo – which would in itself have been somewhat unusual in 1981 – but no less than two of these power inducing magic contraptions) as well as a more exuberant style – not least in the rather sumptuous cabin.
Unfortunately the execution of the concept was not without faults and the Biturbo quickly gained a reputation for less than impressive reliability and a plethora of smaller (and sometimes larger) niggles along the way. One of the basic issues was the use of carburettors which may in fact be the lowliest aspect of the Biturbo overall. But then again, it WAS built down to a price never before achieved by a Maserati and you can’t have it all, can you? So although initially rather popular, the Biturbo fell into general disgrace which is not good for a mass market seller, and Maserati appropriately set to upgrade the car.
As the name Biturbo had at that time become somewhat notorious it was changed too.
The new model was called “222” – lacking in caché compared to “Biturbo”, perhaps, but supposed to be just as meaningful. Supposed. As this is clearly not the case, I’ll pass on the official explanation: 222 was for 2-door, 2-liter and 2. generation.
More importantly, the 222 did however contain several important improvements over the Biturbo. However, there were six different variants of the 222, and it would actually lead too far to attempt covering them all. Therefore, I’ll stick to the first from 1988 – among other things also because it is the one I like best. It is judged by appearance also the closest to the original, pure and simple Biturbo from 1981 – and that’s a good thing, I believe: It was after all never the appearance that was the problem anyway.
It was rather that this Maserati had been conceived in order to bring Maserati down the market, and was therefore built with a sharp eye on cost. I presume those two turbochargers, the opulent interior, as well as the exotic three-valve-per-cylinder head soaked up a lot of the build cost, and as already mentioned Maserati could not stretch to fuel injection. Nor to build the cars to a very high standard. The carburettors further contributed to some of the problems. Just as it would lead too far to cover alle the model variants, it would also lead too far to cover all of the horror stories.
In short, let’s just conclude that although the Biturbo was the size of a BMW E30 3-series, looked more expensive (and was more expensive), it was also much less good at actually being usable as a car.
And the 222 adressed that. At least the part of being “much less” good. It’s probably fair to say that the 222 was still inferior to the BMW in build quality, but it was, conversely, much better than the Biturbo. As I said, I like the original, but if this was to be a choice out in the real world – and maybe it will – I would sacrifice the earlier cleaner design for the upgraded technology. Speed devils will also be delighted that the 222 is faster, but I consider this a side effect of the improvement. More importantly, the 222 as a classic today is probably also cheaper.
Unbelievably, maybe: Better car for less money? Yes please, I’ll have some of that.
But does that make the 222 good enough to live with for more than the briefest of moments? Merely as a thought experiment, let’s say for one summer where the driving should include a holiday trip to France or Italy.
Well, that is a good question: I think I have become more tolerant again most recently (I do drive a Jaguar XJ12, after all), so I do actually believe in it – as an idea, at least. Well, recently I’ve even found myself surfing Maserati Biturbo 222 ads.
All these thoughts stem from seeing the car below, which was for sale at the Retro Classic in Cologne. It was actually very nice indeed, and that taken into account, the price seemed fair. But it was a first generation Biturbo, carburettors and all, so I was just looking.
However, I just know that I must have a Maserati at one point, as it is simply my favorite marque of all times. And it is equally indisputable that a Biturbo variant is the cheapest entry ticket into this great Italian history.
But is it a poor entry for this once (and now again) luxurious, grandiose and successful prestige marque? No, I really don’t think it is: See the Biturbo as a modern version of Alfa Romeo’s legendary Bertone coupé and it all makes sense.
And when did you last see one anyway? I certainly feel ready to be seen in one myself.