Maserati Indy

1970 Maserati Indy 4200

Offered by H&H Classics | Duxford, U.K. | June 14, 2023

Photo – H&H Classics

The Indy was an interesting Maserati. It was the first production car launched by the company under Citroen ownership, and it also was a fairly popular model, with just over 1,100 produced between 1969 and 1975.

The car was styled by Vignale, and this car is powered by a 4.2-liter V8 that made 260 horsepower. Later they would offer 4.7- and 4.9-liter V8s. Of the total, 440 of them were 4200 models, which was the most of the bunch.

This example spent time in South Africa and the U.K. For an Italian GT car from the 1960s/70s, the Indy has never really taken off, price-wise. The estimate here is $47,000-$56,000, which is a fraction of its Maserati contemporaries. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Watson Indy Roadster

1960 Watson-Offenhauser Indianapolis Roadster

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Fort Worth, Texas | May 2, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

A.J. Watson and Fred Offenhauser are two legendary names associated with the Indianapolis 500 – names that, to Indy faithful, are right there with Foyt and Unser. Watson built his first car (for himself) in 1947. In 1955 he modified a Kurtis KK500C which ended up winning the 500. In 1956, Watson built his first Indy Roadster from scratch. He would go on to build only 22 more.

This car was built in 1960 and was run for a few years thereafter. Its competition history includes:

  • 1960 Indianapolis 500 – 30th, DNF (with Len Sutton)
  • 1960 Milwaukee 200 – 1st (with Sutton)
  • 1961 Indianapolis 500 – 19th, DNF (with Sutton)
  • 1961 Milwaukee 200 – 2nd (with Sutton)
  • 1962 Indianapolis 500 – 31st, DNF (with Allen Crowe)

The ’62 500 was the final race for this car (because it was crashed), which didn’t fare too well there. It is powered by a 4.2-liter Offenhauser straight-four. The car was discovered in the early 1980s and was restored thereafter to its 1961 Indy livery. It has been back to Indy since (driven by Sutton in some warm up laps) and was displayed at the NHRA museum.

Watson Roadsters are very rare – even more so in private hands. This one should bring between $700,000-$800,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $577,500.

Rounds Rocket

1949 Rounds Rocket

Offered by RM Auctions, Boca Raton, Florida, February 25, 2012

This beastly mid-engined Indy car was built by Indy car-building legends Lujie Lesovsky & Emil Diedt for a man named Nathan Rounds, who provided the funding and the original drawing of the car that he modeled after the brilliant pre-war Auto Unions.

Because both Diedt and Lesovsky were busy building their own successful race cars, this car was barely ready for the 1949 Indy 500 where it as entered with Bill Taylor as the driver. He did not qualify. In 1950 both Sam Hanks and Bill Vukovich gave the car a run and failed to make the show. Bill Vukovich was a man among men at Indianapolis and – even though 1950 was his rookie year – if he couldn’t get the car in, there was scarcely hope.

Intrigue: Nathan Rounds was close friends with Howard Hughes and it is suspected that Hughes money was behind the project. After failing to make Indy in 1950 the car was shipped to Beverly Hills where it sat in storage, although it did appear in a Mickey Rooney film in 1949.

Bill Harrah (of course) discovered the car in 1969 and bought it. When his collection was parted out the car was purchased and restored and eventually purchased by the Milhous Collection in 1998.

Here is your chance to purchase a car that was extremely ahead of its time. Indy cars would be front-engined for at least another 10 years and here was this brilliant car that had come along and said “the way of the future” (that’s a Howard Hughes quote from The Aviator).

It features an Meyer-Drake Offenhauser straight-four engine (naturally), making about 350 horsepower. It’s fast too – it was tested at Bonneville after it was completed and was clocked at 140 mph. The no reserve pre-sale estimate is $250,000-$350,000. For the complete catalog description, click here and for the rest of the collection click here.

Update: Sold $275,000.