There is no denying as the 1980’s arrived the name ‘Maserati’ was in a dark place, first Citroën then De Tomaso sought to raise the once great marque back into the public eye.

The Bi-Turbo took the brand in a totally different direction and although it raised eyebrows among established clientele the Bi-Turbo would boost production and sold in very large numbers, especially in the States.

Initially, the Pierangelo Andreani design offered just 180bhp from its all new compact 90-degree V6 with a three-valve cylinder head design.

The adoption of two small turbochargers was the world’s first on a production car, as was the Torsen limited-slip rear differential.

Development ensured performance would improve as capacity increased to 2.5 litres in 1985 then to 2.8 litre two years later at which time 250bhp was available.

The export version enjoyed an update in 1988 with the 222E and SE, these enjoyed the high performance 2790cc unit which was retained until the Bi-Turbo was finally phased...