Maserati 222 4v

Maserati
Maserati 222 4v
222 4v
Production period:	1991-1994
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Coupe
Engines:	Petrol engine : 2.8 liters (205 kW)
Length:	4043 mm
Width:	1714 mm
Height:	1305 mm
Wheelbase :	2514 mm
Empty weight :	1308 kg
Previous model	Maserati Biturbo 2500 Si
successor	Maserati Ghibli (Tipo AM336)

The Maserati 222 4v is a two-door sports car from the Italian car manufacturer Maserati , which was offered on the international market from 1991 to 1994. From a technical and stylistic point of view, it belongs to the Biturbo family and, as a particularly powerful model, complements the Coupé 222 E, which is also intended for markets outside of Italy . The main distinguishing feature was the newly developed engine of the 222 4v, which had a cylinder head with four valves with the same displacement of 2.8 liters, while the 222 E only had three valves per cylinder. The 222 4v is to be distinguished from the 2.24 v , which had a four-valve engine with a displacement of 2.0 liters and was reserved for the Italian market.

History of origin

The concept of the Maserati 222 4v can be traced back to the biturbo presented in 1981 . With the Biturbo, the Argentine entrepreneur Alejandro De Tomaso , who has owned the company since 1975, wanted to establish the traditional sports car manufacturer in the field of series production. Until then, among other things, the Italian tax legislation had opposed a wider spread of the Maserati models, which taxed automobiles with a cubic capacity of 2000 cc and more with a sales tax of 38 percent, while vehicles with a smaller cubic capacity were only taxed at 19 percent. With the Biturbo, Maserati circumvented this problem by adding a nearly 2.0 liter six-cylinder engine that was equipped with two turbochargers to increase performance. However, from 1983 onwards, Maserati offered a version enlarged to 2.5 liters on export markets. Both the export and the Italian version of the Biturbo developed step-by-step in the following years: in 1983, Maserati added a performance-enhanced S variant to both versions (Biturbo S for Italy, Biturbo ES for export), and in 1986 one for all versions Petrol injection introduced (Biturbo i or Si for Italy, Biturbo iE and 2500 Si for export). For the 1988 model year, the biturbo was further developed into the 222 model ; the export version called 222 E . The engine of these basic versions still had three valves per cylinder. Maserati designed a new engine for the Italian market that had a four-valve head and a total of 24 valves. This 2.0 liter engine (in-house: Tipo AM 475) appeared in early 1989 in the 2.24 v model, which was a more powerful alternative to the 222 on the Italian market. For the export vehicles, which were now powered by a 2.8 liter six-cylinder engine, there was no performance-enhanced variant between 1988 and 1990. It was not until the 1991 model year that Maserati presented a four-valve version of this large engine. It was used in the newly presented model 222 4v,

Positioning in the brand's program

The 222 4v was the more powerful alternative to the regular 222 E in Maserati's export program. Its position in relation to the 222 E corresponded to that which the 2.24 v had on the Italian market for the 222. At the same time, a four-door version of the 222 4v for the export markets appeared with the 430 4v .

Model description

body

222 4v

The Maserati 222 4v was a two-door coupe with a notchback body. The self-supporting body corresponded in style and structure to that of the less powerful Coupés 222 and 222 E, which in turn were further developments of the two-door biturbo from 1981. For the 1991 model year, Marcello Gandini had revised the body, originally designed by Pierangelo Andreani , after some detailed modifications had already been carried out in 1988. The basic structure was retained. However, all Maserati models now received the distinctive front mask of the Shamal , which included front light units that were combined from square and round elements. There was also a wind deflector at the lower end of the windshield, which covered the windshield wipers. All additional components such as spoilers and aprons, but also the radiator grille, were now painted in the vehicle color. While the basic version of the export models (222 E, SE and SR) was adapted accordingly, the four-valve 222 4v already had this look when it was launched.

Engine and drive

The four-valve variant of the 2.8-liter engine, called Tipo 477, had a completely redesigned cylinder head. Each bank of cylinders now had two overhead camshafts. The camshafts on the exhaust side drove the camshafts on the intake side via timing chains. At 7.4: 1, the engine had a slightly lower compression than the three-valve engine in the 222 (7.8: 1). The engine output increased from 165 kW (225 hp) in the regular Maserati 222 E to 205 kW (279 hp), which occurred at 5500 revolutions per minute. The maximum speed was thus more than 255 km / h. As with the other Maserati models, the power transmission was initially taken over by a manual five-speed gearbox from Getrag .

landing gear

The 222 4v had Koni shock absorbers that were adjustable from the interior. the driver could choose between four preset settings. The tires were of different sizes from and behind. At the front they were 205/45 ZR 16, at the rear 225/45 ZR 16. Maserati tried in this way to compensate for the vehicle's front-heaviness.

production

In three years only 130 Maserati 222 4v were built. It is one of the rarest members of the Biturbo family; only from 4.18 BC were fewer vehicles built. Maserati produced 1,147 copies of the 2.24 v, the four-valve version for the Italian market.

literature

• Martin Buckley: Maserati. Italian luxury and flair . Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2012. ISBN 978-3-86852-633-2 .
• Gianni Cancellieri: Maserati. All the cars. Giorgio Nada Editore, Vimodrone 2015, ISBN 978-88-7911-609-1
• Hans-Karl Lange: Maserati. The other Italian sports car. Zsolnay, Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-552-05102-3 .
• Anthony Pritchard: Maserati. The history of racing , Delius Klasing, Bielefeld, 1st edition 2003, ISBN 978-3-7688-2513-9
• David Sparrow, Iain Ayre: Maserati Heritage . Osprey Classic Marques. Auckland 1995. ISBN 1-85532-441-5 .

Web links

Commons : Maserati 222  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hans-Karl Lange: Maserati. The other Italian sports car. Zsolnay, Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-552-05102-3 , p. 60.
2. ^ Gianni Cancellieri: Maserati. All the cars. Giorgio Nada Editore, Vimodrone 2015, ISBN 978-88-7911-609-1 , p. 235.
3. ^ Martin Buckley: Maserati. Italian luxury and flair. Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2012. ISBN 978-3-86852-633-2 , p. 137.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Hans-Karl Lange: Maserati. The other Italian sports car. Zsolnay, Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-552-05102-3 , p. 65.
5. ^ Gianni Cancellieri: Maserati. All the cars. Giorgio Nada Editore, Vimodrone 2015, ISBN 978-88-7911-609-1 , p. 235.