There’s nothing to beat a cabrio in the sunshine, right? As long as it’s not too hot, of course. Little can combat stress quite like balmy weather, a retracted roof and a warmed-up combustion engine. Some drop tops suffer from a lack of torsional rigidity, yes, but it’s hard to sweat the serious stuff when relaxing. If it’s not meant to be a sports car, don’t worry so much.
Take the Maserati BiTurbo Spyder as a perfect example. As a 35-year-old soft top built from saloon underpinnings, it’s not going to provide a scalpel-sharp driving experience. But look at it - a car dismissed for so long now seems like a really cool retro ragtop. Or perhaps the heat really is taking its toll now. Rust and reliability meant the BiTurbo has almost always been infamous - we all know that. But the logic behind the project made complete sense; with the German manufacturers branching out into smaller saloons, Maserati would emulate the move. The BiTurbo boasted rear-wheel drive, six-cylinder power and a sumptuous interior - what more did a compact saloon for the '80s need?
Despite architecture that lasted all the way up to 1997, nothing built from the BiTurbo sold in huge numbers. This was never great news for a Maserati with big aspirations at the end of the 20th century, but it makes the survivors really interesting after the fact. To some of us, at least - not everyone wants a 3 Series cabrio…
The BiTurbo Spyder was notable for a few reasons. It was the first convertible Maser since the Ghibli Spyder, and assembled by Zagato - its first involvement with the Trident since the A6G/2000 30 years beforehand. It rode on a shorter wheelbase than the coupe (114mm less), which did mean it was only a two-seat cabrio, but the chop helped the looks. And let’s not forget what’s important.
As a 1988 car, this BiTurbo Spyder has been spared the later facelifts, and is showing just 40,000 miles. It’s the more powerful 2.5-litre V6 turbo (the 2.8 didn’t come until later for this model), with almost 200hp, and has the manual gearbox as well. The interior, complete with ruched leather and gold clock, has survived like the most wonderful time capsule. Bring your brightest braces.
Described as ‘Italian craftsmanship at its finest’ in the advert, the asking price is £20k. There’s rarity on its side as well, with just 122 of the larger engined cars ever made. And you can guarantee that number will be a lot less a third of a century later. Probably it’ll need more careful upkeep than a 325i or old SL, but after so much time maybe the BiTurbo deserves some reappreciation. Summer sojourns will never be the same again - and fortune, as ever, favours the brave.
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