Lot 215: 1971 Maserati Indy

During the 1960s Maserati gradually gave up the idea of motor racing and turned more to road cars, although these harked back to the marque's days of glory on the race tracks. Nowhere is this dichotomy better illustrated than in Maserati's V8 models. The engine was commissioned with the intention of winning the Indianapolis 500 but then the commissioner ran short of funds and withdrew from the project. Maserati could not allow a wonderful large-block 'quad-cam' engine to gather dust and so gave it gainful employment in the 450S sports-racer which almost won the 1957 World Sports Car Championship. The front-engined cars originating in the 1960s shared the same basic floorpan although crucial dimensions changed according to whether it was to support the lithe Ghibli or the corpulent Quattroporte. By 1968 it was felt that the road car designs were rather plain so shortly after the exotic Ghibli the Indy was introduced, a striking gran turismo with four seater coachwork by Vignale. With servo-assisted disc brakes on all four wheels, monocoque construction, a 260bhp quadruple camshaft V8 engine and five speed gearbox this was, for its day, a thoroughly modern and potent motor car, capable of a claimed maximum speed of over 150mph. In 1970 a larger, 4.7 litre engine became an option, with improved performance and greater refinement. Owned by the vendor since 1998, since when it has covered just 15,000 of the 76,000 recorded miles, this Indy 4.7 with manual transmission has been regularly maintained by marque specialist Autoshield Maserati. A Concours d'Elegance runner-up, its otherwise standard specification has been uprated with Tarox front disc brakes, electronic ignition, unleaded valve seats and rear seat belts. Finished in light metallic blue with black interior, and offered in good to excellent order, this fine Italian thoroughbred comes complete with its original radio, all bills since 1998 and a MoT test certificate valid until April 2008.