2 litre tax break cars in Italy
Sunday September 01, 2013
Lamborghini's Urraco was offered in sub 2-litre form
Image courtesy of Lamborghini
Following the 1973 OPEC Oil Crisis, countries the world over began trying ways of getting improved fuel economy from car manufacturers through legislation and taxes. Italy's solution was to impose punitive taxes on cars of over 2 litres in capacity. These taxes would remain in force until the early 2000s. A natural result of which was that car manufacturers dropped the capacity of engines to below this 2000 cc threshold, and escaped penalties in that manner.
The first companies to offer these tax-break specials were the local sports car manufacturers: Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati. All 3 adopted sub 2-litre engines for their lower-end sports cars. Lamborghini unveiled the 1994 cc V8 Urraco P200, Ferrari the 1991 cc V8 208 GT4 and Maserati the 1999 cc V6 Merak. Ferrari's piccolo engine is still the smallest capacity V8 ever offered in a production car.
The most successful of these early efforts was the Ferrari 208, which endured through the various model changes to Ferrari's 308 junior supercar range. It first appeared in the wedgy Bertone-bodied Ferrari 208 GT4 (as the 2-litre version of the 308 range was called - 208 signified 2.0 litres and 8 cylinders and 308 3.0 litres and 8 cylinders), was also produced alongside the Pininfarina-bodied "Magnum PI" 308 GTB/GTS and the later, revised 328 GTB/GTS. Only with the introduction of the Ferrari 348 in 1989 did the Ferrari 208 eventually go out of production. Along the way it gained turbocharging, enabling it to produce 254 PS in its ultimate, most powerful form.
Maserati's Merak was far less enduring, at least in terms of years in production, lasting only from 1976 through to 1981. Like the Lamborghini Uracco P200, the 2-litre Merak was not given turbocharging to boost output. However, this application inspired Alejandro de Tomaso, the flamboyant Argentine who was in control of Maserati at the time, who recognised that a sub 2-litre engine with turbocharging would be the way forward for Maserati, and gave rise to the Biturbo generation at Maserati. The Biturbo was essentially conceived as a tax break special with a 2-litre V6 with a single overhead cam per bank and 3 valves per cylinder, and, as the Biturbo name implies, two turbochargers to boost output for the early variants to a beefy 180 PS. Export markets got 2.5-litre versions soon after the model's introduction, but the essence of the concept was driven by the Merak's workaround of the tax laws of the time.
Other manufacturers offered tax break specials in Italy as well, with BMW having produced a de-stroked E30 M3 variant (badged 320is) in 2- and 4-door styles, and Lotus supplying the Italian market with a 2-litre Esprit Turbo, which in turn formed the basis of the more generally available Lotus Esprit GT3. Even TVR tried to get a slice of the Italian pie, with a 2-litre version of the TVR S, which featured a supercharger to help boost output. Volvo produced 2-litre turbocharged versions of the 940, and more intersetingly, of the 960. When the 850 T5 was launched, Volvo had special 2-litre variants avialable in Italy too. Alfa Romeo, MVS (later Venturi) and Mercedes-Benz were others to have produced special Italian-market variants of their cars. This list will be kept updated as new information comes to light.
The first companies to offer these tax-break specials were the local sports car manufacturers: Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati. All 3 adopted sub 2-litre engines for their lower-end sports cars. Lamborghini unveiled the 1994 cc V8 Urraco P200, Ferrari the 1991 cc V8 208 GT4 and Maserati the 1999 cc V6 Merak. Ferrari's piccolo engine is still the smallest capacity V8 ever offered in a production car.
The most successful of these early efforts was the Ferrari 208, which endured through the various model changes to Ferrari's 308 junior supercar range. It first appeared in the wedgy Bertone-bodied Ferrari 208 GT4 (as the 2-litre version of the 308 range was called - 208 signified 2.0 litres and 8 cylinders and 308 3.0 litres and 8 cylinders), was also produced alongside the Pininfarina-bodied "Magnum PI" 308 GTB/GTS and the later, revised 328 GTB/GTS. Only with the introduction of the Ferrari 348 in 1989 did the Ferrari 208 eventually go out of production. Along the way it gained turbocharging, enabling it to produce 254 PS in its ultimate, most powerful form.
Maserati's Merak was far less enduring, at least in terms of years in production, lasting only from 1976 through to 1981. Like the Lamborghini Uracco P200, the 2-litre Merak was not given turbocharging to boost output. However, this application inspired Alejandro de Tomaso, the flamboyant Argentine who was in control of Maserati at the time, who recognised that a sub 2-litre engine with turbocharging would be the way forward for Maserati, and gave rise to the Biturbo generation at Maserati. The Biturbo was essentially conceived as a tax break special with a 2-litre V6 with a single overhead cam per bank and 3 valves per cylinder, and, as the Biturbo name implies, two turbochargers to boost output for the early variants to a beefy 180 PS. Export markets got 2.5-litre versions soon after the model's introduction, but the essence of the concept was driven by the Merak's workaround of the tax laws of the time.
Other manufacturers offered tax break specials in Italy as well, with BMW having produced a de-stroked E30 M3 variant (badged 320is) in 2- and 4-door styles, and Lotus supplying the Italian market with a 2-litre Esprit Turbo, which in turn formed the basis of the more generally available Lotus Esprit GT3. Even TVR tried to get a slice of the Italian pie, with a 2-litre version of the TVR S, which featured a supercharger to help boost output. Volvo produced 2-litre turbocharged versions of the 940, and more intersetingly, of the 960. When the 850 T5 was launched, Volvo had special 2-litre variants avialable in Italy too. Alfa Romeo, MVS (later Venturi) and Mercedes-Benz were others to have produced special Italian-market variants of their cars. This list will be kept updated as new information comes to light.
