24H Du Mans 1969 Diorama, Jacky Ickx walking
The spectacular 24H du Mans 1969 is famous for being the last edition starting with the drivers ready
to run to their cars from the track side. From the following year the race began with drivers directly in the cockpits.
This diorama represents the starting grid with focus on Jacky Ickx walking to his car, observing the security belts procedure
and beginning the race from the last position. This behaviour didn’t stop him from finishing first, raising to victory John Wyer’s Ford
GT40 crew after a great challenge with Porsche.
It took about 6 months working to complete the diorama. Many reference images were found online, including: structure of the boxes,
track and starting grid order. For other details books were consulted.
[...]
Lancia LC1 Gr. 6, Nurburgring 1982, 1st classified
The model was realized starting from a WM kit by Merikits.
Body shell: recreation in brass of the front wheelhouses and the
dashboard area with all the instrumentation obtained by turning. Also rebuilt in brass: entire chassis, lower part of the front
air intake and rear-view mirrors. Even the roll-bar was constructed ex-novo in brass and then chrome plated, while the exhaust
pipe was turning obtained in aluminum. The rear aileron was completely rebuilt in brass, like the cockpit as well with some nickel
parts. Finally, the tire valves were added to the rims.[...]
Peugeot 205 T16 EVO2, ’86 Acropolis Rallye, first classified
The Acropolis Rally of Greece is a rally competition, part of the World Rally Championship schedule. The rally is held on very dusty, rough and rocky mountain roads around Athens during the Greek hot summer period. The rally is known for being extremely tough on the competing cars and drivers.Juha Kankkunen and his codriver Juha Piironen won the 1986 edition driving the very competitive Peugeot 205 T16.Peugeot Talbot Sport's factory 205 T16s under Jean Todt were the most successful cars to compete in the last two years of the World Rally Championship's Group B era[...]
Ferrari 250 LWB California
Designed for export to America, the 1957 250 GT California Spider was Scaglietti's interpretation of an
open-top 250 GT. Aluminium was used in the hood, doors, and trunk lid, with steel specified elsewhere for most models, though a
few aluminium-bodied racing versions were also built. Inside, each Spyder car had a no-frills interior and a small heater was the
only luxury. Behind the seats, a fabric top was installed which was tidy, and well proportioned when upright, but was made with no
inner liner.
This model, based on an AMR kit (1:43 scale), was widely ameliorated with many self-built details.
Inside view: seats with hand-stitched color finishes[...]
Ferrari 410S Yellow, Street version
Long before Carroll Shelby became a famed sports-car constructor, who was notoriously hostile to Enzo Ferrari's must, he was a successful racing driver. The car he called “the best Ferrari I ever drove” was the none other than the Ferrari 410 S. Designed specifically for the great Carrera PanAmericana road race, the 410 S featured the largest Ferrari engine yet. It was a newly designed unit developed for the 410 SuperAmerica road cars and was better adapted to the large displacement. While the Ferrari 410 S may not have made much of an impact in Europe, it helped cement Ferrari’s reputation as the machine to beat in U.S. endurance sports-car racing.[...]
Lancia 037 Rally
The Lancia 037 was one of the most appealing and aggressive sportscars made for Rallies in the early 80. It is notable as it retained the rear-wheel drive layout that was nearly universal for rally cars of the pre-Group B period; nearly all subsequent successful rally cars used four-wheel drive, making the 037 the last of its kind. After the starting skepticism, due to a series of retirements, the new born of Casa Lancia gained respect formerly in 1983 winning the WRC Constructorstitle with Walter Rohrl (Germany) and Markku Alen (Finland). Missing the final round of the series, a good chance to win even the driver title was finally left to the veteran Hannu Mikkola on Audi Quattro. 1984 had no particular exploits despite a new improved engine power that was not enough to contrast 4WD competition. Indeed, Alen collected the final victory in the annual Tour de Corse [...]
Porsche 356 Speedster 1956
The Porsche 356 was the first production car started by the company in 1948. Created by Ferdinand "Ferry" Porsche (son of the homonymous founder ), the 356 body was an original design by the factory employee Erwin Komenda , while its mechanicals (including engine, suspension and chassis) were derived from the Volkswagen. One of the most desirable collector models is the 356 "Speedster" which marked the production in 1954 with the first 200 exemplars. Max Hoffman, the sole importer into the U.S. distributed the car for $ 2,995; for that the new owner got small seats, a tiny top and small side curtain windows. This also provided a low amount of weight and took advantage of the Porsche engine. In 1956 Porsche offered a coup cabriolet and speedsters models with bodies exclusively supplied by Reutter. American buyers had now three engine choices [...]