1963 Watson Indy Roadster Roadster

When most fans hear the word 'roadster' they picture one of AJ Watson's Indy racers. He built just 23 roadsters from 1956 through 1963. With their Watson-signature twin-nostril design, they were the quintessential example of the fabled roadster breed. In 1963 Watson built the final eight of his 23 roadsters his Glendale, CA works. The last roadster to win the '500' came just a year later when AJ Foyt scored his second Indy win racing a Watson sistership.

This car is not only a national award winner -- Hershey and Pebble Beach – its owns a weighty provenance as the final '500' mount of 1960 Indy 500 winner Jim Rathmann who qualified the Hopkins Coral Harbour Special 28th but retired just before half-distance with fuel problems. AJ Watson himself was intimately involved in this meticulously faithful restoration.

The car was never damaged or modified in racing, and after retiring from the track it lay untouched for more than four decades. The striking blue-and-orange roadster was recently restored under A.J. Watson's supervision to its exact livery when it appeared in the 1963 race.