ONE of the joys of a long drive is to spot the odd exotic that usually screams past at a high rate of knots.

But a week ago one had me guessing. It looked a bit like a BMW with its boxy design and chrome trim around the windows.

When I caught up with it at traffic lights it turned out to be a rare bird indeeed, a Maserati Biturbo.

The Biturbo was a child of the early 1980s, a four-seater, a little smaller than the BMW 3 Series and was the result of an initiative by Maserati's new boss Alejandro de Tomaso's wish to widen the appeal of the ailing brand which was previously best known for some fast and furious supercars and the beautiful Quattroporte saloon.

Powered by a V6 engine the Biturbo's claim to fame was that it featured twin turbochargers and could hit 130mph with ease.

It was penned by Pierangelo Andreani, an engineer from the De Tomaso team and there was more than a passing resemblance to the larger Quattroporte. The interior, usually in light brown leather was sumptuous.

Export versions came with a 2.5-litre engine, later enlarged to 2.8-litres. In Italy a 1,996cc 180bhp version was originally produced to avoid the 38 per cent sales tax imposed at the time on cars displacing over 2,000cc.

Made of aluminium, the 90-degree SOHC engine was roughly based on the 2.0-litre Merak powerplant, itself based on earlier V8 F1 racing engines designed by Giulio Alfieri.

One turbocharger was fitted to each bank of the powerplant which was also notable for having three valves per cylinder.

One of the later versions had its capacity increased to 2.8-litres and could whack out a very healthy 225hp.

In numerous forms and marketplaces the Biturbo soldiered on until 1997.

The Biturbo was initially a strong seller and brought Italian prestige to a wide audience, with sales of about 40,000 units.

It had a record of somewhat shaky reliability and sales fell resulting in the car featuring in various halls of shame produced by world publishers and broadcasters.

It was number 28 in the BBC's book of Crap Cars and suffered the singular dishonour of being Time Magazine's Worst Car of 1984.

As one enthusiast said some time ago the Biturbo placed a new meaning on the words high-maintenance.