Photos: BringaTrailer.com

Somewhere inside all of us is the desire for a pure driving experience. No matter your preferred flavor of horsepower, handling and image, we all have that inner desire to strap on our driving gloves and goggles and raise a ruckus on some dusty backroad — testing handling and grip on every bend. If it’s this sort of nostalgic motoring that you’re after, without all complexities of an 80-year-old classic, look no further than today’s find — this Troy Indy Special Prototype on BringaTrailer.com.

It’s all about the headline numbers these days, and while the Troy isn’t exactly that kind of car, per se, its figures do tell a story of their own. To start, you’ve got 495 hp GM LS3 engine combined with the coveted TREMEC T56 six-speed. Then there’s big Wilwood six-piston brakes and racy inboard coilover suspension, all wrapped up in a package that weighs right around 2,200 pounds at the curb. Impressive stuff, by way of power to weight, putting it in the neighborhood of a Bugatti Veyron and a Lamborgini Aventador — pretty neat for a grassroots American build. But even at a glance you can tell there’s more to this build than simply horsepower and curb weight.

First off, the bare file-finished aluminum body immediately cues you into the caliber of the car, letting you know there are countless hours of fabrication, fitting and filing in what meets the eye. The egg-crate style grille invokes classic sports car inspiration, while the side pipes and driver’s helmet fairing conjure images of a bygone era of Indy design. In the cockpit, there’s not much more than a Nardi wheel, six-speed gearshift and three pedals to get you where you’re going, clearly juxtaposing the technology-driven cockpits we’ve become accustomed to in today’s sports car market. But it doesn’t take long to notice a few contemporary touches, the inboard coilover suspension, huge Wilwood brakes and wide rubber out back, reminding you of what’s under the skin, and that’s where things get even more interesting.

The Troy Indy Special is based on a custom TIG-welded chassis made from Docol R8 tubing, sporting track-caliber independent suspension systems front and rear. Corvette C5 uprights are mated to nickel-plated control arms and pushrods, actuating QA1 double-adjustable coilover shocks with Eibach springs, providing a world of adjustability. A 495 hp GM LS3 crate engine is hard-mounted in the chassis and powered by a GM ECM and wiring system and an ATL fuel cell. From there, the TREMEC T56 directs power to a Cadillac CTS-V limited-slip differential to the rear wheels, without interference from any electronic driving nannies, providing a direct connection from your foot to the wide, 295 section Toyo tires out back. To bring you back in check from all that acceleration, four and six-piston Wilwood brakes clamp down on drilled and slotted Wilwood rotors with adjustable brake bias controller in the cockpit.

But every good thing in the automotive world needs a soul, a character of sorts, with some sort of lineage to trace its roots, and the Troy’s story began back in the late 1950s with a man named Wally Troy. Back then, Troy crafted an aluminum-bodied sports car called the Troy Roadster, from which this car takes its inspiration. The car was based on a steel chassis with Ford hot rod running gear, a Corvette dual-quad 283 and a three-speed transmission. Equipped with exotic wire wheels, double-bubble windshields and a trick leather interior, the Troy Roadster made a splash on the car show scene and was also was featured in the November 1960 issue of Hot Rod Magazine in a feature titled “All-American Sports-Custom.”

This Troy Indy Special was built as a prototype for a limited run of production examples by 7fifteen Motorworks in Three Lakes, Wisconsin. While northern Wisconsin isn’t exactly an area people associate with builds like this, the long winter months provide ample time for the small team of craftsman at 7fifteen to perfect their craft. Just 33 examples of the Troy Indy Special will be built, and customers can choose from 495 and 525 hp LS3 engines, various interior features and paint and coating options.

The Indy Special prototype is offered for auction here on BringaTrailer.com, where the current bid is $125,000 with three days remaining in the auction.