Page 1 of 1 By the end of the 1970s, Maserati was completely broke. Previous owner Citroen pulled the plug in 1976 and sold the remains of a once very successful company to Argetinean entrepeneur Alejandro DeTomaso. He only saw one way out of the predicament the Modena based company was in. What Maserati needed was a mass-produced Ferrari rival instead of the range of supercars it built in the 1970s.
At the 1981 Turin show a completely new model was launched. To suit Italian tax laws the two-door coupe was powered by a 2 litre V6 engine, equipped with two Turbochargers. Its subtle styling wasn't anywhere near as outrageous as Maserati's previous designs. Over the years more bodystyles and larger engines were added to the line-up.
A convertible version was first shown in 1982. This example was constructed by Embo but the final 1984 production version was penned by Zagato of Milan. It very much resembled its Coupe and Sedan sisters. Over its ten year production time the Spider was restyled slightly and larger, more powerful engines were fitted. The last revision was done in 1991, when the nose was restyled and 241 bhp 24 valve V6 fitted. Of all BiTurbos built the Spider was the most popular and it outlived its Sedan and Coupe counterparts by two years.
The second Spider pictured is seen at the 2002 Italia a Zandvoort festival. Page 1 of 1
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BiTurbo Spider
By the end of the 1970s, Maserati was completely broke. Previous owner Citroen pulled the plug in 1976 and sold the remains of a once very successful company to Argetinean entrepeneur Alejandro DeTomaso. He only saw one way out of the predicament the Modena based company was in. What Maserati needed was a mass-produced Ferrari rival instead of the range of supercars it built in the 1970s.