Hershey 2024
1985 Penske-March 85C IndyCar
The Terence E. Adderley Collection
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$150,000 - $200,000 USD | Offered Without Reserve
| Hershey, Pennsylvania
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- Offered from the Terence E. Adderley Collection
- Driven by Al Unser in his Championship-winning 1985 season with Penske Racing
- Twelve races in Unser’s hands, including six podium finishes and 4th at the Indianapolis 500
- Finished in its original Penske Pennzoil livery
- 700-hp turbocharged Cosworth V-8 and five-speed manual transmission
- Exhibited in the Adderley Collection; in fine cosmetic condition
British constructors March made a significant name for themselves in the early 1980s supplying the Indianapolis 500-winning chassis in both 1983 and 1984. Roger Penske’s team adapted March cars beginning in the 1984 season and in 1985 used the March 85C, featuring a turbocharged, ethanol-fueled Cosworth DFX V-8 engine developing 700 horsepower at 10,900 rpm, in the hands of a team that included three-time Indianapolis winner Al Unser, two-time winner Rick Mears, and future winner Danny Sullivan.
The car offered here, chassis number 021, reportedly participated in 12 of the 1985 CART PPG Indy Car World Series’ 14 races, primarily driven by Unser. It is said to have finished 5th overall at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, 4th at the Indianapolis 500, 3rd in four other events, 2nd in another two, and would prove integral to Unser’s eventual 1985 championship win—the second of three CART championships in his legendary career.
Following the 1985 season, the Penske team retired chassis 021 and sold into private ownership. It was later acquired by James Stollenwerck of Rhode Island, who in 1993 sold it to a collector who occasionally raced it before displaying it in his own collection for 15 years. In 2015 it was acquired by longtime competition enthusiast Terence E. Adderley, and has remained in his own private museum for nearly a decade, in addition to display at the 2017 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. Still in excellent cosmetic condition, it is accompanied by four spare wheels, stenciled with the Penske name.
With proper reawakening, this car would be a thrilling historic racing entrant for a new owner, or simply a memento from one of the great competitors of modern racing, the legendary Al Unser, at the wheel of the famed and fearsome March 85C.