Coys Auction - True Greats
Royal Horticultural Halls
Elverton St
Westminster
London SW1

Thursday 4th December 2008

When Alessandro de Tomaso acquired Maserati in 1976, he had ambitious plans for the marque. His aim was to combine the prestige of the Maserati brand with a sports car that would be more affordable than the earlier high-priced models that had traditionally made up the range. In fact, Maserati ceased altogether making supercars, such as the Bora and Khamsin developed under Citroën ownership. Presented at Modena on December 14, 1981, on the anniversary of the founding of Maserati in 1914, the Bi-Turbo was the product of the de Tomaso group design centre. Whilst there were apparent similarities with the Merak V6, the engine was a new design with twin turbo chargers and three valves per cylinder. Whilst released with a two litre engine in domestic markets, for tax purposes, in foreign markets the car was powered by a 2.5 litre e