Thema Turbo versions

[Haro Froger]

What are the differences between the three series of the Thema Turbo?
I'm considering to buy a serie 1 or serie 2, but would like some help choosing. (unfortunatly I don't have the money to buy the serie 3...)

HF

[Dakis]

hello ,

Here the different versions:
1985-1987 Thema turbo i.e.-165 PS(Serie 1-no cat)
1986-1988 Thema turbo 8V -150 PS (Serie 1)
~1989-1990 Thema turbo 8V -150 PS (Serie 2!!)
~1990-1992 Thema turbo 16V-177 PS (Serie 2)
1993-1994 Thema turbo 16V-205 PS (Serie 3)

[K Dalgleish]

I've had a series 1 and 2. If you can find a good one I'd recomend the earlier car. Although on paper the engine is down on power in practice the difference is not so apparent and in fact the older engine with more power lower down the rev range is probably more fun.

The series 1 has a 8 valve head and is far stronger then the 16 valve units fitted to the series 2 and 3 both of which have a reputation for being fragile. If you opt for a 16 valve you'll need to change the cam belt every 20,000 miles and even that won't guarantee you're safe from top end carnage.

My series 1 has clocked up 165,000 miles without any engine problems and still has the original turbo.

All Themas seem sensitive to oil changes so try and find one that has had new synthetic oil every three thousand miles.