In 1973, Italy imposed a tax on cars with large-capacity engines in response to the oil crisis of the era. Some performance cars were a lot softer than they should have been as a response. In contrast, one automaker decided not to compromise, and instead set about developing a mighty twin-turbocharged V6 that also snuck under the 2.0-liter limit for a reduced tax bill.
That automaker was Maserati, and in developing such an interesting engine, the company also revived an immensely important model, one which could happily show Germany’s best its exhaust pipes.
Maserati Revived A Great Nameplate
In the 1960s, Maserati was a force to be reckoned with, churning out some of the most beautiful sports and GT cars the world has ever seen. From earlier efforts such as the 3500GT to the striking Mistral, luxurious Quattroporte, and, of course, the devilishly handsome Ghibli. The latter was Maserati’s flagship GT car, with both the lines and performance to take on the very best from Ferrari and Lamborghini, thanks to the hand of a young Giorgetto Giugiaro and a large, naturally aspirated V8.
It first hit the scene in 1967, which gave it a good six years of success before the Oil Crisis hit and production was curtailed. American customers were by far the biggest buyers of the Ghibli – even Henry Ford II couldn’t resist. When the spiraling costs of ’70s motoring set in, the bed was made for the Ghibli. Following on from this point, Maserati went through a period of change, swapping hands and launching new models.
Alejandro de Tomaso bought Maserati from Citroën in ’75, with some financial assistance from the Italian government. Under his leadership, the company found success again. The Biturbo family dominated much of the era, but the Quattroporte also performed well as a large luxury offering. There were also smaller production-run models such as the Khamsin and Kyalami. Chrysler bought in with a 49% stake in ’87, and in ’93, everything was sold to Fiat.
Just before that, though, in 1992, Maserati decided to revive one of its all-time greats as the ultimate iteration of the Biturbo family, the Ghibli II. The new Ghibli was really quite different from those earlier Biturbo cars. It sported a refreshed design, a wider track, uprated suspension and brakes, a remarkably plush interior, and crucially, a surprisingly potent engine, worthy of the nameplate.
Italian Tax Laws Posed A Dilemma
When looking to reinvent Maserati with a new lineup of models, an Italian law stood in the way. Cars with engines displacing 2.0 liters or more were subject to a 38% value-added tax on top of the purchase price. That might be acceptable for supercars like the Lamborghini Miura, but Maserati needed to appeal to a wider audience.
Maserati’s Ingenious Solution
Fortunately, a solution was available. Maserati could take the 3.0-liter V6 from the Merak (and earlier as a 2.7-liter unit in the Citroën SM), scale it back to a capacity of 2.0 liters, and bolt two turbochargers onto it to make up for the smaller displacement. Thus, the Maserati Biturbo gained a motivator and a namesake, in turn making it the world’s first mass-produced twin-turbocharged car, too.
Early cars made do with just 180 horsepower and 187 lb-ft of torque. Still, by the time the Ghibli name was ready to resurface, Maserati engineers had worked out how to squeeze a mightily impressive 306 hp from that same 2.0 liters, along with 275 lb-ft of torque.
It was a remarkably complicated engine, sporting dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, the aforementioned twin turbochargers, accompanying twin intercoolers, electronic fuel ignition, and electronic engine management. A complex recipe indeed, and one that no doubt put the fear of God into many an Italian mechanic. Such complexities were actually necessities if Maserati was truly going to do the Ghibli name justice with such a small engine. With more than 150 horsepower per liter, the little Ghibli had a higher specific output than even the Ferrari F40, demonstrating just how impressive the engineering work here really was.
After decades of hard work and continuous improvement, Maserati finally had its flagship GT car back. While it took a completely different approach to the recipe than the ’60s model did, the Ghibli II still boasted all the key characteristics that made the earlier car so great: striking looks, a plush, touring-capable interior, and enough grunt to silence almost anything else on the roads at the time.
Sources: Maserati, Hagerty, Classic
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