Lot 257: 1975 Maserati Indy 4.9 Litre

Because of severe financial difficulties encountered by the Orsi group, of which Maserati was a member, after 1957 the marque had to justify its own existence on the balance sheet. Thus for the first time in the marque's history Maserati became, of necessity, a maker of road cars, but since they had a competition pedigree, a famous name, and could call on the finest Italian stylists, they were not of the usual cut of newcomers to the market.During the 1960s Maserati gradually gave up the idea of motor racing and turned more to road cars, although they harked back to the marque's days of glory on the race tracks. Nowhere is this dichotemy better illustrated than in Maserati's V8 cars. 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' 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 originated 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 4.2 litre 260bhp, quad cam 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. The car on offer here though is the most powerful incarnation of the Indy with the 4.9 litre V8 engine, basically the same unit as in the mighty Ghibli 4.9 SS, producing some even by today's standards impressive 320 bhp which propelled the car to its top speed of 170 mph. It is worth noting that the 4.9 litre Indy is also the rarest of all the Indy models, with just 300 cars produced until production ceased in 1975. This beautiful specimen dates from the last production year 1975 and is most attractively finished in metallic black with matching black leather interior. With just 2 previous French owners from new, the latter of which had kept the car from 1978 onwards, and a total mileage which is believed to be correct of just some 54,000 km this must be one of the best opportunities to buy a certainly underrated Gran Turismo Maserati. Being described by the vendor as in good to excellent original condition throughout, this Indy comes with the original manual, parts catalogue and service manual. With German Historic registration.Cette superbe Maserati date de la dernire production de 1975. De couleur noire métallique avec un intérieur en cuir noir, elle n'a eu que deux propriétaires franais. Elle n'a parcouru que 54,000km. Décrite par son actuel propriétaire comme étant dans de trs bonne condition générale, cette Indy vient avec son manuel d'origine et son immatriculation historique allemand.