This year, Maserati celebrates the 50th anniversary of one its most-important road cars, the Indy, so-named in honor of the Italian brand’s victories at the Indianapolis 500 in 1939 and 1940 with its purpose-built 8CTF.
The first Maserati Indy built for a customer rolled out of the Modena factory on July 1, 1969, and headed to Switzerland, where the Gold Metallic coupe with a brown-leather interior was sold to a wealthy Swiss businessman.
The Indy had been presented at the 1968 Turin Motor Show on the stand of Carrozzeria Vignale, which designed the streamlined coupe, and then debuted the following year on the Maserati stand at the Geneva Motor Show.
The Indy was created for those customers who wanted a sporting 4-seater that was also comfortable and civilized, and the coupes quickly became popular entries for Maserati, which at the time also produced the Ghibli, Mexico, Mistral, Quattroporte and Sebring models.
Power for the Indy was provided initially by a 4,136cc V8 fed by four Weber 42 DCNF carburetors, with an output of 260 horsepower and a top speed of 155 mph. In 1970, the Indy was also offered with the 4,719 cc V8 with the new electronic ignition system developed by Bosch and horsepower reaching 290 and a top speed of 174 mph.
The 300-horsepower 4,930 cc V8 was introduced in 1971 and became the sole engine offering for the Indy beginning in 1973.
From 1969 to 1975, the Modena plant built 1,102 Indy cars.
