Maserati 4.24 BC

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4.24 BC
Production period: 1989-1993
Class : Sports car
Body versions : limousine
Engines: Otto engine :
2.0 liters (180 kW)
Length: 4400 mm
Width: 1730 mm
Height: 1360 mm
Wheelbase : 2600 mm
Empty weight : 1378 kg
Previous model Maserati Biturbo 420 Si
successor Maserati Quattroporte IV

The Maserati 4.24 v and its successor 4.24 v II are four-door sedans from the Italian sports car manufacturer Maserati , which were offered from 1989 to 1993. The vehicles are members of the broad Biturbo family . The 4.24 v was a further development of the Maserati 422 , from which it differed mainly in its more powerful engine. It corresponded to that of the Coupé 2.24 v , the four-door version of which is the 4.24 v. The 4.24 v and its successor were intended exclusively for sale on the Italian market.

History of origin

After Alejandro De Tomaso took over Maserati in 1975, he pursued the idea of ​​establishing the company, which had previously only produced high-quality, very expensive sports cars by hand, as a series manufacturer. For this, future models had to be significantly cheaper than the previous sports cars. De Tomaso's concept therefore envisaged a compact, automated vehicle that was powered by a comparatively small engine. With this, Maserati reacted to the Italian tax legislation, which imposed a sales tax of 38 percent instead of 19 percent on automobiles with a displacement of 2000 cc and more. On this basis, the Maserati Biturbo was born, which was presented to the public in December 1981 after three years of development. It had 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. The manufacturer developed both the export and the Italian version of the Biturbo 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Italy, Biturbo ES for export); From 1986 an electronically controlled gasoline injection was installed instead of the outdated carburetor. The injection models were given the additional designation "i" (for iniezione ).

At the end of 1983, Maserati added a four-door sedan to the series that had previously only consisted of two-door coupés and used the - extended - floor assembly of the two-door coupé with its drive technology. The body was similar to that of the coupé, but had no identical parts. The four-door model initially appeared only as an export model, the Biturbo 425, with the 2.5-liter variant of the six-cylinder engine, because Maserati was of the opinion that the larger and slightly more powerful 2.5-liter engine was better suited to the higher weight of the sedan. It was not until 1985 that Maserati added a 2.0-liter version for the Italian market to the sedan range, which was sold as the Biturbo 420 and initially with carburettor and later with injection engines in two power variants (based on "i" and "Si") ) was available. From 1988 Maserati replaced the 420 with the 422 , which technically almost completely corresponded to the 420. Unlike the 420, Maserati initially did not offer a sporty S version of the 422. This role was taken over by 4.24 BC introduced in 1989.

Positioning in the brand's program

The 4.24 v combined the four-door body of the 422 with the more powerful engine of the 2.24 v. Both the 4.24 v and the 2.24 v were equipped with a four-valve version of the 2.0-liter six-cylinder engine. The model designation indicates the total number of 24 valves. In terms of performance, they were thus superior to the 222 and 422, which were powered by the conventional three-valve engine and each represented the basic version for the Italian market. The regular 422 and 4.24 v were offered side by side in Italy from 1989 to 1992; from 1993 the 4.24 v was the only four-door biturbo model with a displacement of 2.0 liters. In addition to the 2.0-liter versions, Maserati offered a four-door sedan with the 2.8-liter three-valve engine for the export markets from 1988 under the designation 430 . In the end, a four-valve version also appeared for this, but only after a delay of two years. The 430 4v , which represented the parallel model to the 4.24 v on the export markets, was on offer from 1991.

Model description

body

The body of the Maserati 4.24 v basically corresponded to that of the less powerful 422 and also that of the export model 430. Its shape was the work of the former Pininfarina designer Pierangelo Andreani . Stylistically and in terms of dimensions, the 422 was still similar to the four-door version of the contemporary 3-series BMW . Like the 422, the 4.24 v also had a deeply drawn bumpers and, compared to the first biturbo models, a flatter radiator grille with rounded edges. Like the identically motorized 2.24 v, it also had 4.24 v curved aprons painted in the body color on the flanks and a matt black anodized radiator grille. This made it stand out from the regular 422.

In 1991, most of the models in the Biturbo family received a facelift, which included new headlights in the style of the Shamal sports coupé . The 4.24 v also made this change. The revised model was given the designation 4.24 v II.

Engine and drive

Like the two-door 2.24 v, the 4.24 v had the factory-internal Tipo 475 four-valve variant of the 2.0-liter engine. This unit had a newly designed cylinder head. Each bank of cylinders was now equipped with two overhead camshafts. The camshafts on the exhaust side drove the camshafts on the intake side via timing chains. At 7.6: 1, the engine had a slightly lower compression than the three-valve engine in the 222 (7.8: 1). The engine output increased from 220 hp in the regular Maserati 222 to 245 hp, which occurred at 6250 revolutions per minute. The maximum speed was thus more than 230 km / h. The car has also been available with an optional catalytic converter in recent years; the power was then 240 hp.

As with the other Maserati models, the power transmission was initially taken over by a manual five-speed transmission from ZF . With the revision for the 1991 model year, Maserati switched to a five-speed transmission from Getrag that had previously been introduced in the Racing model .

landing gear

The chassis of the 4.24 v corresponded to that of the 2.24 v. The car had Koni shock absorbers that were adjustable from the interior. the driver could choose between four preset settings. In contrast to the two-door coupé, the tires in the case of the sedan were the same size from and behind.

production

Maserati produced a total of 384 vehicles of the 4.24 v, and another 254 of the 4.24 v II offered from 1991 onwards were built by 1993.

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 Biturbo Sedans  - 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. ↑ a b Hans-Karl Lange: Maserati. The other Italian sports car. Zsolnay, Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-552-05102-3 , p. 66.
  4. ^ A b Gianni Cancellieri: Maserati. All the cars. Giorgio Nada Editore, Vimodrone 2015, ISBN 978-88-7911-609-1 , p. 247.
  5. ↑ Brief portrait of Pierangelo Andreanis (accessed on September 15, 2017).
  6. ^ Gianni Cancellieri: Maserati. All the cars. Giorgio Nada Editore, Vimodrone 2015, ISBN 978-88-7911-609-1 , p. 237.
  7. ↑ Description of the Maserati Biturbo on the website www.maserati-alfieri.co.uk (accessed on August 27, 2017).
  8. ^ Klaus Finkenburg: Maserati Biturbo model check . In: Motor Klassik Kaufratgeber Italienische Klassiker, 2017, p. 145.
  9. ^ Gianni Cancellieri: Maserati. All the cars. Giorgio Nada Editore, Vimodrone 2015, ISBN 978-88-7911-609-1 , p. 247.
  10. ^ Martin Buckley: Maserati. Italian luxury and flair. Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2012. ISBN 978-3-86852-633-2 , p. 137.
  11. ↑ a b Hans-Karl Lange: Maserati. The other Italian sports car. Zsolnay, Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-552-05102-3 , p. 65.