Maserati Indy

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Maserati
Maserati Indy America 4700 1.jpg
Indy
Production period: 1969-1975
Class : Sports car
Body versions : Combi coupe
Engines:
Petrol engines : 4.2–4.9 liters
(191–235 kW)
Length: 4740 mm
Width: 1758 mm
Height: 1295 mm
Wheelbase : 2600 mm
Empty weight : 1582-1665 kg
Maserati Indy America 4700

The Maserati Indy was a four-seater sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati from 1969 to 1975. It was the last Maserati to be developed and unveiled before Citroën took over the plant .

The Indy, so named in honor of the two Maserati victories in the Indianapolis 500 mile race , which of course dates back to 1939 and 1940, was first shown by Maserati at the 1968 Turin Motor Show as a prototype with a body by Alfredo Vignale .

The production version made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in 1969. The Indy was based on the platform of the Maserati Ghibli with a wheelbase extended by 5 centimeters to 2600 mm. Maserati broke new ground with the body structure: the body was designed to be self-supporting for the first time. Conventional - and out of date in the eyes of many testers - was the rear rigid axle, which was adopted unchanged from the Ghibli. The hatchback body was spacious; it offered four adult passengers more or less comfortably. The aerodynamic qualities of the car were pleasing - and significantly better than the top model Maserati Ghibli, which will initially remain in the range alongside the Indy. The following versions were offered side by side or one after the other:

  • Maserati Indy 4200: 4.2 liter eight-cylinder, 260 hp (according to TÜV measurements : 230 DIN hp); available from 1968 to 1971
  • Maserati Indy 4700: 4.7 liter eight-cylinder, 290 hp; available from 1971 to 1973
  • Maserati Indy 4900: 4.9 liter eight-cylinder, 320 hp; available from 1972 to 1975.

The Indy was equipped with a five-speed transmission from ZF Friedrichshafen as standard ; A three-speed automatic from Borg-Warner was optionally available.

The good aerodynamics was a major reason why the Indy was initially only equipped with the "small" 4.2-liter version of the eight-cylinder: with a larger and more powerful engine, the Indy would have achieved better performance than the more expensive Maserati Ghibli . It was only when production of the Ghibli ended that Maserati equipped the Indy with more powerful versions of the in-house eight-cylinder.

In the summer of 1970, Auto Motor und Sport tested an Indy 4200. A top speed of 247 km / h was determined, a little more than the competing model Ferrari 365 GT 2 + 2 ; the Indy 4200 accelerated from 0 to 100 km / h in 8.2 seconds. The tester's conclusion was: "Most sporty cars are either four-seater or beautiful. The Indy is both".

The market positioning of the Indy was unclear. Its production overlapped with that of both the Maserati Mexico and the Maserati Ghibli and the Maserati Mistral ; all three models were offered in parallel for several years. However, the Indy was supposed to survive the other three models, so that at least it indirectly took over their successor.

The Indy was built for seven years - from 1968 to 1975 - with a largely unchanged body. During this time, a total of 1104 copies of all versions were made. The Indy was one of the most successful Maserati models.

swell

  • Cancellieri, Gianni, et al. (Ed.): Maserati. Catalog raisonné 1926-2003 . Automobilia, Milan 2003. ISBN 88-7960-151-2
  • Tabucchi, Maurizio: Maserati. All Grand Prix, Sports and GT vehicles from 1926 until today. Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2004. ISBN 3-89880-211-6
  • Lange, Hans-Karl: "Maserati. The other Italian sports car". 1st edition Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-552-05102-3 .

Web links

Commons : Maserati Indy  - collection of images, videos and audio files