Maserati Indy

At a glance: Maserati Indy

The Indy followed the line of Maserati grand tourers that began with cars such as the Maserati 3500 GT. The range is listed in the Maserati catalogue.

History of the Maserati Indy

The Indy was first shown as a Vignale prototype at the Turin motor show in November 1968 and made its official debut on the Maserati stand at the Geneva motor show in March 1969. According to Maserati, the first customer car left the Modena factory on 1 July 1969, bound for a Swiss businessman.

The car arrived at a good moment for the company. Maserati built about 700 cars in 1968, its best result since the Modena plant opened, and held a 43% share of the Italian market for cars over 3.5 litres. Wikipedia describes the Indy as the first Maserati of the Citroën ownership era. Production lasted until 1975, and Maserati counts 1,102 cars.

The name refers to the Indianapolis 500 victories of the Maserati 8CTF in 1939 and 1940.

From the Sebring to the Indy

The Indy replaced the Maserati Sebring, a 2+2 coupé built from 1962 to 1968 on the mechanical base of the 3500 GT. The Sebring had been designed by Giovanni Michelotti with coachwork by Vignale and was named after Maserati's victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1957. It used Maserati's straight-six of 3.5, 3.7 and 4.0 litres, with up to 195 kW (265 PS) in the 4000 version. Production figures differ: one estimate gives about 446 cars, while another source counts 593.

The Indy kept the idea of a four-seat Maserati coupé built with Vignale, but changed almost everything else. Instead of the Sebring's six-cylinder engine it brought a four-cam V8, together with unibody construction and a fastback shape.

Design by Vignale

The body was designed by Carrozzeria Vignale under the internal project name AM116; Wikipedia credits Virginio Vairo's technical office at Vignale, with Elio Mainardi. The Indy is a four-seat fastback coupé with large windows, pop-up headlights and a cut-off tail designed for better aerodynamics. It is 4,740 mm long, 1,760 mm wide and 1,220 mm high, on a wheelbase of 2,600 mm.

The Indy has unibody construction, which Maserati describes as a semi-monocoque with a front subframe.

Engines and performance

The Indy used Maserati's all-aluminium 90° V8 with four overhead camshafts, two valves per cylinder, wet-sump lubrication and four Weber 42 DCNF twin-choke carburettors. It was offered in three sizes:

The 4.7-litre engine introduced Bosch electronic ignition. From 1973 the 4.9-litre was the only engine offered. A five-speed manual gearbox was standard, and a three-speed Borg-Warner automatic was available on request.

Chassis and equipment

The front suspension uses double wishbones with coil springs and an anti-roll bar; at the rear there is a live axle with semi-elliptic springs and a single torque arm. Ventilated disc brakes with servo assistance are fitted at all four wheels. Maserati gives a weight of 1,500 to 1,650 kg depending on version; Wikipedia lists 1,680 kg. Air conditioning became standard in 1973.

Legacy

The Indy gave Maserati a four-seat V8 grand tourer at the end of the 1960s, and about 1,100 were built in seven years. For the company's history, see our history of Maserati.

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