DARIO FRANCHITTI — 2004 INDYCAR SERIES BODYWORK SET Genuine Andretti Green Racing Engine Cover and Sidepod Shell — #27 ArcaEx Dallara-Honda
A spectacular and substantial piece of modern American open-wheel history: the rear bodywork ensemble from the Andretti Green Racing Dallara-Honda campaigned by Dario Franchitti during the 2004 IndyCar Series season — the vivid blue #27 ArcaEx machine in which the Scot took on the fearsome ovals of the IRL at over 220 mph.
The set comprises the complete engine cover with its sculpted dorsal fin, the flowing sidepod shells, and lower bodywork sections, all in genuine lightweight carbon fibre composite construction — the raw carbon weave beautifully visible across the unpainted inner surfaces and undertrays. The livery is a period time capsule: the Archipelago and ArcaEx branding of Franchitti's primary backer, the Honda script crowning the airbox, with Motorola, 7-Eleven, Alpine, Forsythe, MBNA, Clausing, NGK and Showa completing the sponsor suite, and the Firestone Firehawk markings that adorned every car in the field during Firestone's dominance of the American oval scene.
Condition is exactly as a collector of race-used material would hope: honest and unrestored, with stone chips, stress witness marks around fastener points, scuffs and battle scars accumulated in genuine competition service — character that no reproduction can imitate.
The 2004 season captures Franchitti in his pre-legend years: already a proven star, still three years away from the first of his three Indianapolis 500 victories and four IndyCar championships that would install him among the greatest American open-wheel drivers of any era. Bodywork from this chapter of his career — before the trophies made his name untouchable — is precisely the kind of material that appreciates as a driver's legacy grows.
Displayed together, the panels form an imposing, almost sculptural installation nearly the full length of the car; individually, each piece is a dramatic wall display in its own right. A rare opportunity to acquire genuine race bodywork from one of the modern era's most decorated champions.