It was July 1, 1969 that Maserati delivered its first ground-breaking Indy Coupe.
It was on July 1, 1969, that the first Indy Coupe built for a customer left the Trident Brand’s historic headquarters at via Ciro Menotti 322 in Modena, heading for delivery in Switzerland.
The Maserati Indy was presented at the Turin Motor Show in 1968, on the Carrozzeria Vignale stand.
The following year, the car officially debuted on the Maserati stand at the Geneva Motor Show.
In 1968, Maserati built about 700 cars, the best result it had ever recorded since the opening of the Modena production plant.
The Maserati range in 1968 was composed of Ghibli, Mexico, Mistral, Quattroporte and Sebring models. In the same year, Maserati achieved a 43 per cent market share in the “over 3,500 cc” segment in Italy.
In response to demand from customers who were looking for a comfortable, habitable and sporting car, Maserati decided to develop a new model.
This led to the start of the AM116 (Alfieri Maserati 116) project: Carrozzeria Vignale was commissioned to design a four-seater coupé that would deliver comfort, sporty performances and innovative looks. The outcome was the Indy, named in honour of the 8CTF’s impressive wins at the Indianapolis 500 in 1939 and 1940.
Initially, the engine was a 4,136 cc V8 with standard five-speed manual transmission, with automatic gearbox on request.
Its power output was 260 hp and top speed peaked at 250 km/h.
In 1970 the Indy was also offered with the 4,719 cc V8 engine with maximum power output boosted to 290 hp, with a top speed of 280 km/h.
From 1971, the 300 hp, a 4,930 cc engine was introduced alongside the existing powerplants, and from 1973 this became the only propulsion unit available for the Indy.
Keyword: Maserati Marks Indy Coupe Delivery Half Century