The fuel crisis of the early to mid 1970’s changed the performance automobile landscape for many countries.  The majority of the big output American cars were emasculated, strangled through weaker fuel, smaller carburation and low compression ratios, dropping specific power outputs below 30 horsepower per litre.

Over in traffic-heavy Italy, the government decided to impose a tax of cars whose capacity exceeded 2 litres.  This was handed down in the hope that local emissions, fuel consumption and car sizes would decrease.

While this was well and good for the less exotic manufacturers such as Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia, the “supercar” craftsmen saw an opportunity to introduce smaller engined versions of their entry level machinery to take advantage of the tax concessions and hopefully appeal to a broader audience. 

In 1975 Ferrari de-bored their 3 litre, 255hp Bertone bodied 308 GT4 to produce a 1991cc V8 initially giving 170hp, then 180hp @ 7,700rpm and called the 208 GT4 (2.0 litres, 8 cylinders- a numbering process Ferrari have just readopted in Formula one with the 2006 model 248 F1).  The quoted top speed figure was 137mph.  As a comparison to the big-capacity Americans of the time, this equates to over 85 horsepower per litre, an indication not only of the restrictiveness demanded in the US at the time, but also of the technological advancements in the European industry.

When Ferrari introduced the swoopy, Pininfarina bodied 308GTB and “spyder” GTS to replace the unloved GT4 in the late seventies, a 208 version of the car followed by 1980.  In an effort to pass American emissions tests, the little 2 litre V8 that was carried over from the 208 GT4 produced only 155hp, certainly a figure that one would not associate with Ferrari, even with fuel-onscious mindset of the late seventies.  Around 300 208’s were made over five years, their appeal largely with the bourgeois and ambitious young Italian businessmen. Cries for more power were answered in 1982 with a turbocharger being added to the engine, to create the 208 GTB/S Turbo.  Producing 220hp, around 680 were made.

Over in Sant’Agata, the engineers of Lamborghini released their P200 Urraco or ‘little bull’ in 1975.  Complementing the larger engined Urraco’s P250 and P300, The short-stroke (77.5mm by 53.1mm bore/stroke), 1994cc V8 gave 182hp @ 7,500rpm.  Good for a claimed 134mph, only 66 were sold, perhaps hinting at the real public demand of a thoroughbred manufacturer producing such cars.  Unsurprisingly, given Lamborghini’s financial woes, this was their only attempt at the genre.

The third of the major Italian supercar houses, Maserati, was the manufacturer who most keenly embraced the under-2 litre concept, initially with the introduction of the Merak 2000 in 1977.  Looking at the pre-existing parts at each company’s disposal, Maserati had perhaps the best base with which to work from.  A smaller version of the V6 they developed for the Citroen SM was utilised, providing a capacity of 1999cc.  This engine, with a 9:1 compression ratio, saw 170hp being produced at 7000rpm and gave the Merak 2000 a claimed top speed of 137mph. Throughout the next two decades several derivatives of this engine (with a revised bore/stroke to give 1996cc from 1982’s Biturbo) would appear in several further Maserati’s, a remarkable accomplishment that not only displays the inherent efficiency of the original design, but perhaps tells the tale of the company’s continued financial difficulties until Fiat and Ferrari took over early in the twenty-first century.  From these humble beginnings, Maserati developed the engine as and when new technology became available, adding turbochargers, fuel injection, four (instead of three) valve heads, and intercoolers, until it completed its life nestled under the bonnet of the 2001 Quattroporte 2000 saloon.

At the height of its powers, in 1995 and as seen in the evocatively named Italian market Ghibli Cup, the engine came with all aforementioned improvements and developed an astounding 330hp @ 6,500rpm. The cup had the distinction of having the highest specific output of any production engine at the time with over 165hp per litre.  This compares with the export market version of the Ghibli running a 2.8 litre twin-turbo V6 with “only” 281hp, though obviously the export engine was far more tractable, being less spiky in its delivery. 

Perhaps another contributing factor in the Maserati engines market longevity was the perception of the company in comparison to the others.  Looking at the model ranges of the era, the cars from Ferrari and particularly Lamborghini were far more exotic, with a selection of thoroughbred 12 cylinder engines on hand.  The public may have been more comfortable with the image of a piccolo Maserati than with being judged as not being able to afford a real Lamborghini, for example.

In modern times, none of the above manufacturers has a 2 litre special in the showroom.  The increasing “corporatisation” of the Italian motoring industry can be clearly seen. Lamborghini is now directed by Audi, and Maserati has been part of the Fiat empire along with Ferrari for several years. This equates to a degree of financial stability that these exotic names may not have had in the past.  In this light, and with parent manufacturers producing a multitude of cars under 2 litres, there is no need for the charismatic three to be a part of that market.  They are therefore left to create in the field which they traditionally excel- that of the soulful supercar.

                                                                            - Written by Adam Davis

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