The GranTurismo Family Tree
Reliving history in an original Indy coupe

When Maserati introduced the GranTurismo, it was met with near-universal acclaim; a luxury coupe with space for four adults, sports-car handling and stunning looks, it wowed the crowds at the Geneva auto show. The first cars had barely begun to be delivered when Maserati unveiled a yet more sporting variant – the GranTurismo S, with a larger engine delivering more power, uprated front brakes and some exterior enhancements.

Look back almost forty years, and you could be forgiven for thinking that history is repeating itself. In 1967 Maserati unveiled what was to become one of their most feted cars – the Ghibli. The car was a true Grand Tourer, its 4.7-liter engine capable of taking its two occupants and their luggage across continents in luxury – and at speed, with a maximum of over 160mph. Its dramatic looks, designed by Giugiaro, made it look more like a sports car than a GT, and the combination of stunning exterior, luxury, practicality and performance ensured that more than 1,200 examples were built – at the time, a figure that was second only to the 3500 GT.

Maserati Indy

Maserati’s engineers have never rested on their laurels, so two years later came the Indy. named in honor of Maserati's two famed wins at the legendary Indianapolis 500. Ostensibly a new car, with wheelbase and track subtly altered from the Ghibli, the car showed the progress which the company made in just two short years. While the car was barely longer than its predecessor, the designers found a way of fitting a second row of seats to make the Indy a true four-seater. The bodywork was styled by Vignale, to great effect; the car had pop-up headlights, similar to the Ghibli, but the ‘wedge’ effect was more pronounced. Towards the rear the Indy has a similar ‘fastback’ design, but with additional practicality; the Ghibli’s luggage space could only be accessed via a small trunk lid, but the entire rear window of the Indy raised, revealing a large upholstered luggage area.

When it was launched, the Indy was fitted with a 4.2-liter V8 putting out 260 hp; this might have been seen as a retrograde step compared to the 4.7-liter unit used in the Ghibli. However the Indy, despite being larger and roomier, was actually a lighter car, and the initial version was good for 150mph. Later the engine was uprated to 4.9 liters, and produced 300 hp – enough to propel the car beyond 170mph. Air conditioning became standard, as did a high-pressure braking system – a result of collaboration between Maserati and the French company Citroën. Power steering was optional, to make low-speed maneuvering easier.

The interior was ideally suited to the role of a GT – leather upholstered seats and doors, thick carpeting, an array of gauges to keep the driver informed. The handbrake nestled down by the driver’s right leg, while the wooden-topped gear lever rose out of a leather-trimmed center console.

With such excellent interior accommodation and a serious turn of speed, it was no surprise that the Indy was an immediate success. Over the life of the car more than 1,100 examples were built, putting it close to the more overtly sporting Ghibli. Yet for some reason, in the current market the Indy seems to have been overlooked. While you can expect to pay $100,000 or more for a Ghibli in good condition, a solid Indy can be had for half that amount, despite performance which is almost on a par with the two-seater, and the added practicality.

We covered a few hundred miles in an Indy earlier this year, in California. The car was in good running order – its owner keeps his cars to be used, not to win concours events. The comfortable front seats are easy to get in and out of; the rear seats are equally comfy, although the dramatic fastback styling does compromise rear headroom a little. From the driver’s seat all of the controls are positioned logically, with the gauges being clear and easily viewed. The long hood drops away to the nose, making it a little difficult to be sure exactly where the front of the car is.

Once on the move, it soon became obvious that the Indy is a relaxed, yet deceptively quick, car. The five-speed gearbox has a long action but was predictable and easy to use; clutch and brakes simply did what they needed to with no fuss or quirks. The deceptive feature of the car is the engine – more specifically, the power curve. We think the curve is very smooth and progressive; there was never the feeling of a ‘step’ in power. What that meant was that the car simply gathered speed without ever seeming to work hard; and while its size and weight meant that it wouldn’t be an obvious choice for tackling a twisting road, we certainly had no complaints at its grip or roadholding. When we took it down a very challenging back-country road, it proved surprisingly well-suited to the task, helped by the predictable power curve and benign handling.

It was on the freeway that the Indy really came into its own, ambling along in fifth gear, effortlessly keeping pace with traffic. In fact, it always felt as if it would be happy going even quicker – when a brief stretch of clear road on the Interstate gave us the chance to let it stretch its legs, the Indy simply got on with it with no fuss. It’s a tribute to the engineering integrity of Maserati that a 35-year-old car inspires such confidence that we would be happy cruising at speeds well into three figures, given an autobahn. When one takes into account the car's age, its interior appointments, and its ability to seat four, the Indy was always a bargain.

The Indy remained in production for six years, with no significant modifications other than the increased engine capacity and the high-pressure braking system. It was used as the basis for a prototype, the Medici, built by Giugiaro – for reasons lost in the sands of time the company decided to take the two-door coupe and stretch it into a six-seater sedan, complete with TV, bar and writing desk. No surprise that this idea – which saw a massive 18 inches added to the wheelbase – never progressed beyond the single prototype, especially given how successful the Indy fulfilled its design brief, to be a continent-crossing Grand Tourer.