Rare Exotic: 1-of-300 1973 Maserati Indy 4900
For most people, if you mention the idea of a red Italian sports car, their first thoughts will jump straight to something produced by Ferrari. However, that is forgetting the other great Italian marque, Maserati. This particular Maserati is a 1973 Indy 4900, and with only 300 examples of that model having been built, that makes it a car that could easily slip under the radar of many people. This Indy is located in Miramar Beach, Florida, and is listed for sale here on eBay. At the time of writing, bidding has reached $50,200, but the reserve hasn’t been met.
The first thing to note about the Indy is that it is a 2+2, which means that you can take more than one friend for a spin in your Italian thoroughbred. This one looks to be in really good condition, with no obvious signs of rust, rot, or any other nasties that could really spoil your day. The only thing that I can fault is that it appears that the panel gap and fit on the top rear corner of the driver’s door looks like it might be out slightly. Otherwise, the rest of the gaps look consistent, the paint looks fantastic, and the trim and chrome is hard to fault.
With 50,000 miles on the clock, it isn’t surprising that a car like the Maserati is starting to show its age inside. The leather on the seats looks quite dry, and would definitely benefit from the application of a quality conditioning product. The suede on the dash is also in need of a good clean, while the door pockets are sagging noticeably. The carpet is quite wrinkled and bunched around the pedals, so would need some work, while there is some pretty obvious wear on the clutch pedal. It’s probably nothing major, but it is more than I would expect to see on a car of this mileage. None of these issues are insurmountable, but they do tend to be a common trend with the interior of almost any Maserati, as the interior trim doesn’t tend to age gracefully. One real plus point with this particular Indy is that it has been fitted with factory air conditioning. The owner claims that only around 50% of Indy 4900s were fitted with this option. While I haven’t been able to conclusively verify this fact, it certainly seems to be quite feasible.
It’s under the hood where this Indy really stands out. The Indy was available in three separate versions during its production run, fitted with either a 4,136cc, a 4,719cc, or a 4,931cc V8 engine. Total production numbers have been quoted as 1,104 cars, but of these, only 300 cars were built with the largest engine. That’s precisely what you get with this car. That wonderful all-aluminum V8 is fed by four dual-choke Webber carburetors and pumps out 315hp. Power is then fed to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission. The owner says that the car runs and drives well, that the engine sounds wonderful, and that the brakes also operate well. The Indy 4900, for all of its sporting pedigree, is not a light car. It tips the scales at around 3,700lbs, but for all that, it can still scorch its way down the ¼ mile in 13.9 seconds, and achieve a top speed of 165mph. That’s not too shabby.
Thanks to their relative rarity, you don’t see an Indy 4900 come onto the market terribly often, but values have definitely risen over the past 3-years. A really nice example sold in 2016 for $86,000, and values have increased by, on average, 25% since then. I don’t know what the reserve is on this one, but I suspect that bidding may have a way to go before it is finally reached.
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Comments
I own one of these, it was bought on a whim many years ago on Ebay. Hint, do not bid after 1am while drinking. Maserati’s from this era do seem to be built better than the stablemates from Ferrari and lamborghini. but they are also a little more subdued. It is a GT and not a sports cars, but with a leaf spring rear suspension and solid rear axle it does handle pretty well.
The biggest problem with these is the parts prices. You learn to figure out which parts are shared with other cars. The rear tail lights are alfa, front suspension is Jaguar, brakes are mercedes, ect and this keeps the prices down on these items, but door handles are bespoke and cost 1000 dollars each. turn signal switch is also bespoke and mine now runs an early Alfa which you would be hard pressed to see the difference.
This looks like a nice one and i hope it sells for a lot, just to make me feel better about my purchase. It does have all the good stuff – 5 speed, 4.9, and power steering, and my preferred dash
Having said that I am a little leery of the ad. All the indys with Manuals came with a ZF 5 speed, there was never a 4 speed. The transmission I believe is shared with the pagoda mercedes. The automatics are 3 speed BW.
Also I don’t think Indy’s ever came with the Citroen brakes. those came on the Bora, Khamsin and later Merak, but not on the Indy and I do not see the sphere for the Citroen system and the brake pedal is a standard pedal. To me this is a plus but to make this simple of a mistake in the ad worries me.
Also the standard AC compressor is junk replace it with a rotary Sanden, as the Sanden is lighter quieter and more efficient.
Bought a Shelby GT500 at BJ after a whole day of drinking and watching cars sell for 100s of thousands. Never thought I’d win it and, often, wish I hadn’t. But hey, it’s a pretty cool car AND I was on television. (And I looked like a much bigger tool than I felt like.) Lol.
Nate,
Thank you for a great laugh! I too had about 1 minute of fleeting Barrett-Jackson TV time. My buddy was selling a 68 L-88 convertible and I was walking alongside just in front of the stage. They sent that car mighty quick across The auction block. We both look like we are catatonic as the car gaveled for $125, 000.00.
Some drunk texting bought the car. a few years later we believe that it resold across the same block for closing to $700,000!!
Nice story Kevin. You’re obviously way richer than me as the only things I’ve bought at 1 an while drinking are tacos, pizza or gyros. Well-maybe I sprugled on Denny’s a few times. By the way. Doug Demuro on Autotrader did an interesting road test on an 1971 Maserati Ghibli SS last year.
In the not too distant past these were cheap compared to the prices today. I purchased my Maserati Sebring for $6000 and I looked at a couple of these in drivable condition for under 15K. Then the initial price was not the problem but the commitment to keeping it on the road and serviced properly was.
As for late night purchases I suggest you look for a cartoon strip called BLOOM COUNTY and a penguin called OPUS and his late night purchases. Not as expensive but just as funny.
Bloom County….
Maybe the Greatest comic strip ever…. Bill the Cat! Sometimes I spit Cheerios right through my nose laughing at that silly cat!
Well, not sure I can match your 1:00 am liquor fueled eBay Maserati purchase, but I once bought a salvage title Ferrari on a dare on a lunch break. Turned out really good for me, my best friend who was with me at the time got into terrible trouble with his wife and had to end up buying her a new and very expensive big screen TV. Funniest thing that ever happened because I bought a car!
I have been a Sebring owner and I can tell you that Mr. Harper is spot on in the things he states. I would also suggest because I have come close to purchasing a couple of these in the past that they are bigger then you might expect. The same for the original Ghibli. This is at least the size of a 90’s Camaro but it is taller and narrower.
This COULD have Citroen breaks as the factory has had a nasty habit of putting on what ever they had on hand. My Sebring is an example of that especially with electrical and braking parts. That makes them hard to restore properly sometimes.
As for the odd parts that are sourced only for this car the revolution in 3-D scanning and printing offers alternatives especially for the rare cast parts. I think that the owners should band together to see about getting the best one they can find and making a scan for future printing of such parts. I have seen that done on one very rare custom rear tail light where they had one side and not the other. Scanned it, reversed the scan and printed a mould that a copy was made from. Not cheap but you could not tell the difference. That technology could save and keep many exotics and rare cars on the road.
An additional note, these are even more elegant looking than in the photos. Simple restrained and very comfortable. These were meant for the big bankers, investors, movie stars and high up political people of Europe of the day. Generally that was who purchased them. They can be frightfully thirsty as compared to most cars today but then that was not so much of a problem. A football linebacker will not fit in the back but women and children will and there is even room for their legs. Not every 2+2 can say that.
Given that it was designed in the late 1960’s it has held up design wise very well. Classical design well executed and worth taking care of. AT the very least the chances of seeing another at your country club is almost non existent. LOL
Having owned most exotics over the past 60 years, I have been fascinated by the personality types that follow most machines..Maserati and Jag people are probably the most affable out going friendly, willing to share and convivial types..I have been a member of the Ferrari group (had a 212 inter, 246 gts and testa rossa) the Gullwing group (had two) Started one of the first Maserati clubs in the 50’s and still enjoy the Jag Club, these people usually do their own maintenance and really KNOW their wheels.(they are akin probably because of the parts interchange). ,
I’ve always like these models. I inspected and drove one in LA in 2013 but it was a little rusty, a little worn, and was asking mid $30’s. They have jumped in value to at least double that since then but you must be careful as you can end up with lots of repairs and headaches trying to repair and restore. I bought 2 Mexicos in 2013/14 and have experience with these Masers. I would never buy one that needs repairs/restoration unless it was a steal!
very pretty