Guide: Maserati Indy
Background
At the Turin Motor Show in late October of 1968, a new four seat Maserati Coupe with rakish Vignale coachwork was unveiled. It was to be the final model in Maserati’s revamped V8-powered line up for the late 1960s. It was also the first model introduced under new owner Citroen which had taken control of Maserati in January 1968.
As recognition of Maserati’s two back-to-back victories at the Indianapolis 500 in 1939 and 1940, this latest machine (internally known as Tipo 116) was christened Indy.
The 1938 Maserati 8CTF used to win in 1939 and 1940 was raced as the Boyle Special. Entered by team owner, Michael Boyle, and driven by Wilbur Shaw, the Maserati (chassis 3032) remains the most successful automobile to compete at the Indianapolis 500 having won twice, finished third twice and fourth once.
The new Indy production car joined Maserati’s four door Quattroporte saloon, the four seat Mexico Coupe and the two-seat Ghibli (which could be ordered as a Coupe or Spyder).
Maserati created the Indy for customers that wanted a four seater with more exciting coachwork that the elegant but conservatively styled Mexico.
A production-ready Indy was displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1969. Deliveries began shortly afterwards, by which time the last of Maserati’s straight six-powered models (the Mistral and Sebring) were rolling out of the factory.
Chassis
Like the Ghibli, the Indy was based upon a Mexico-derived steel monocoque chassis. At 2600mm, it had a wheelbase that was mid-way between the Mexico (2640mm) and Ghibli (2550mm). To free up extra cockpit space, track was wider than either of the existing models.
Maserati adopted the same suspension layout used by their other cars of the period; independent coil sprung double wishbones at the front with a live Salisbury axle and semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear. Telescopic dampers were fitted all round along with anti-roll bars at either end.
The Mexico had been the first Maserati to come with servo-assisted and ventilated disc brakes. This arrangement was adopted by the Indy.
New 14-inch light alloy wheels were supplied by Borrani. They were fixed in place with four bolts, measured 7.5-inches wide and usually came shod with Michelin or Pirelli tyres.
Twin fuel tanks with an overall capacity of 100-litres were mounted in the rear wings, either side of the boot.
Engine / Gearbox
Maserati’s all-alloy dual overhead camshaft 90° V8 was derived from the power unit first used in the formidable 450 S sports racing car of the late 1950s. It had famously been toned down for production use in the 5000 GT, a model originally created at the request of the Shah of Iran who liked the straight six-powered 3500 GT, but wanted the cachet of a race-derived V8 in the engine bay.
Like the Mexico, the Indy employed wet-sump lubrication and an 8.5:1 compression ratio. However, it initially used the smaller 4.2-litre V8 from the Quattroporte instead of the bigger 4.7-litre unit found in the Mexico.
Displacement was 4136cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 88mm and 85mm respectively.
New equipment included electronic ignition instead of a single Marelli coil. Four Weber 42 DCNF carburettors replaced the Mexico’s 38 DCNL5s.
Peak output was 260bhp at 5500rpm and 257lb-ft at 3700rpm.
Transmission was via a ZF five-speed manual gearbox, dry single-plate clutch and Salisbury differential.
Bodywork
Unlike at Ferrari, where all production models came with bodies and interiors designed by Pininfarina, Maserati used a variety of Italian coachbuilders for their cars.
The Quattroporte had been the work of Frua, the Ghibli came out of Ghia’s studio and the Mexico was a Vignale creation.
For the Indy, Maserati settled on a proposal by Vignale.
Although the Indy’s taller wet-sump engine and higher rear roofline meant it wasn’t quite as sleek as a Ghibli, that was to be expected given the new model could comfortably seat four passengers instead of just two.
Like the Ghibli, the Indy was characterised by its long sloping nose and retractable headlights. At the leading edge was a single piece wraparound bumper above two large intakes split by a slim vertical panel.
To give a slender side profile, the sills were finished in stainless steel.
Large rear three quarter windows added a considerable amount of light to the cockpit and extended all the way back to the twin fuel filler caps mounted on each C-pillar.
Access to the trunk was via a lift up rear hatch with enormous flat plane glass window.
Another wraparound bumper was fitted at the back. Twin pipes exited through circular cut outs on the rear apron. Otherwise, the exhaust system was completely shrouded from view.
Interior
The interior was finished to a very high specification.
Vignale installed a distinctive dash that comprised two hexagonal binnacles. The one in front of the driver had an array of seven different instruments and various warning lights. The matching cowl in front of the passenger housed a clock and chrome Maserati script.
A bank of rocker switches was located under the driver’s binnacle. In the centre of the dash was a console with ventilation controls, electric window switches and an ashtray. On some cars, the ashtray was moved to the transmission tunnel behind the gear lever.
Black vinyl was used to trim the dash and A-pillars. The door panels, seats, headlining, and rear quarters (to include everything other than the boot floor) were leather.
The individual rear seats offered good levels of head and leg room.
With the exception of very early cars, the front seats came with integrated headrests that could be raised or lowered to suit.
An adjustable steering column and tinted windows were standard equipment.
Options
Optional extras included power steering, air-conditioning, a radio and Borg-Warner three-speed automatic gearbox.
Weight / Performance
Maserati quoted a weight of 1585kg, a top speed of 155mph and a 0-62mph time of 7.7 seconds.
Production Changes & 4.7-litre Engine Option
Following requests from customers, Maserati announced the availability of a 4.7-litre Indy at the Turin Motor Show in October 1970.
At the same time. the original twin binnacle dash was dropped in favour of a more conventional layout. This comprised a smaller cowl directly behind the steering wheel which housed the rev counter and speedometer with an oil pressure gauge in between. Five additional instruments were laid out horizontally across the centre of the dash.
A redesigned centre console joined the dash to the transmission tunnel.
While the dash top was upholstered in black vinyl, the fascia was now trimmed in leather to match the rest of the upholstery.
The 4.7-litre Maserati V8 was bored out from 88mm to 93.9mm. This resulted in an extra 583cc for an overall displacement of 4719cc. Nothing else was changed, but peak output was now 290bhp at 5200rpm.
Top speed rose from 155mph to 161mph.
By this time, power steering and air-conditioning were standard.
Indy America
In 1971, those Indys destined for the USA were badged as Indy Americas.
4.9-litre Engine
During 1973, the 4.2 and 4.7-litre engines were dropped in favour of a 4.9-litre unit. This was essentially the same engine as fitted to the Ghibli SS, albeit with wet instead of dry-sump lubrication. It produced 320bhp as opposed to 335bhp.
On this occasion, the extra capacity was found by extending the stroke from 85mm to 89mm. As a result, displacement went up by 211cc to 4930cc.
Peak output was now 320bhp at 5500rpm and 355lb-ft at 4000rpm. Weight had also risen (to 1680kg).
A series of additional upgrades were made to the 4.9-litre variant. They included 15-inch wheels, an improved air-conditioning system, some minor instrumentation changes and a new gearbox with dogleg reverse.
4.9-litre Indys also came with Citroen’s high pressure brake system (Citroen had taken ownership of Maserati in January 1968).
Top speed was by now a quoted 165mph.
These last-of-the-line variants could be identified by a third hood-mounted grille located up towards the windscreen scuttle.
End of Production
Indy production continued until 1975, by which time 1102 had been completed.
This figure comprised 436 with the 4.2-litre engine, 367 with the 4.7-litre engine and 299 with the 4.9-litre engine.
By the time production ended, Citroen had sold Maserati to Alejandro de Tomaso and the Italian government.
The Indy’s replacement, the elegant Frua-styled Kyalami, was based on the De Tomaso Longchamp.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Maserati - https://maserati.com
