A little history
During the Thirties, Emile Darl’Mat ran an important Peugeot dealership in Paris, and also made himself famous for the sportscars built in his workshop. None became better known than his very first machine, based on a Peugeot 302 chassis fitted with a 2.0-litre engine taken from the 402. A little more than a hundred of these were sold as stylish coupes or convertibles, easy recognizable with their waving “rivets” on both sides of the bonnet, a trendy Art Déco touch. These exquisite creations were signed by coachbuilder Pourtout.
The Darl’Mat proved themselves as fast on the track as they were elegant on the road, and were regular competitors in the 2-litre class at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Production was interrupted by the war, though Darl’Mat continued to design special cars based on Peugeot platforms – one of them will appear in a future post about the 203.
(This car’s history will be expanded in due time, please be patient.)
About the models
Model: Peugeot 302 Darl'Mat
Year: 1937
Maker: Norev
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Hachette as no.40 of its Collection Peugeot press series
Acquired: brand new, in October 2007, in Souillac, France
Somehow the Darl’Mat coupe, a splendour inspired by other Pourtout creations for the Bugatti T57’s chassis, doesn’t look as good when reproduced as a scale model by Norev. It certainly isn’t an ugly duckling, but it seems to lack some of the allure the original still displays on old sepia pictures. The front grille isn’t far from ridiculous, and furthermore is flanked by two headlights that aren’t among the most realistic ones due to the highly visibly stems that hold them in place. The choice of the body’s dark blue colour, albeit highlighted by a fine red line running along the bonnet and around the small passenger compartment, is also questionable – I personally think, but it’s probably a matter of taste, that a light to medium grey would have done wonders to enhance the car’s natural beauty. I’d give 11/20 to this model.
Model: Peugeot 302 Darl'Mat
Year: 1937
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.42 of its Voitures Classiques press series
Acquired: brand new, in June 2007, in Souillac, France
Going their way hands in hands once more, Ixo and Altaya strode straight up to the obvious trap and plunged into it. Unlike what is commonly but erroneously written, there has never been a car named the Peugeot 402 Darl’Mat – it was definitely a 302, though as we saw above, it was powered by a 402 engine. Insufficient research once again? The two old cronies obviously called their model a 402.
So the whole affair starts poorly… and doesn’t get better when the die-cast itself is examined. Ixo’s took its inspiration from a model still extant today, going as far as copying its modern plate number. Too bad for a car that is more than seventy years old… Nonetheless all errors you could find about this car would be nothing with regards to the huge problem this model has: its windshield is glued straight up on the body, in such a way that I can’t help thinking Ixo probably confused this neat tourer for a jeep. I cannot possibly award more than 7/20 to this thing.
Model: Peugeot 302 Darl'Mat
Year: 1937
Event: 1937 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Charles de Cortanze and Maurice Serre (8th overall and 3rd in class)
Maker: Norev
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Hachette as no.8 of its Collection Peugeot press series
Acquired: brand new, in June 2006, in Souillac, France
More than anything else while collecting die-casts of race cars I enjoy backmarkers. Norev could have chosen the class-winning Darl’Mat from 1938 but instead selected a relatively obscure entrant that wasn’t even the fastest of all Peugeots in the Sarthe in 1937 – just what I like! The model is correctly made, though not particularly impressive. More than anything else the grille is a liability to the front’s appearance. Inside the tiny cockpit, the all-black wheel unfortunately looks extremely toyish. On the other hand the beautiful blue paint perfectly becomes this model, to which I’ll give 12/20.
During the Thirties, Emile Darl’Mat ran an important Peugeot dealership in Paris, and also made himself famous for the sportscars built in his workshop. None became better known than his very first machine, based on a Peugeot 302 chassis fitted with a 2.0-litre engine taken from the 402. A little more than a hundred of these were sold as stylish coupes or convertibles, easy recognizable with their waving “rivets” on both sides of the bonnet, a trendy Art Déco touch. These exquisite creations were signed by coachbuilder Pourtout.
The Darl’Mat proved themselves as fast on the track as they were elegant on the road, and were regular competitors in the 2-litre class at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Production was interrupted by the war, though Darl’Mat continued to design special cars based on Peugeot platforms – one of them will appear in a future post about the 203.
(This car’s history will be expanded in due time, please be patient.)
About the models
Model: Peugeot 302 Darl'Mat
Year: 1937
Maker: Norev
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Hachette as no.40 of its Collection Peugeot press series
Acquired: brand new, in October 2007, in Souillac, France
Somehow the Darl’Mat coupe, a splendour inspired by other Pourtout creations for the Bugatti T57’s chassis, doesn’t look as good when reproduced as a scale model by Norev. It certainly isn’t an ugly duckling, but it seems to lack some of the allure the original still displays on old sepia pictures. The front grille isn’t far from ridiculous, and furthermore is flanked by two headlights that aren’t among the most realistic ones due to the highly visibly stems that hold them in place. The choice of the body’s dark blue colour, albeit highlighted by a fine red line running along the bonnet and around the small passenger compartment, is also questionable – I personally think, but it’s probably a matter of taste, that a light to medium grey would have done wonders to enhance the car’s natural beauty. I’d give 11/20 to this model.
Model: Peugeot 302 Darl'Mat
Year: 1937
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.42 of its Voitures Classiques press series
Acquired: brand new, in June 2007, in Souillac, France
Going their way hands in hands once more, Ixo and Altaya strode straight up to the obvious trap and plunged into it. Unlike what is commonly but erroneously written, there has never been a car named the Peugeot 402 Darl’Mat – it was definitely a 302, though as we saw above, it was powered by a 402 engine. Insufficient research once again? The two old cronies obviously called their model a 402.
So the whole affair starts poorly… and doesn’t get better when the die-cast itself is examined. Ixo’s took its inspiration from a model still extant today, going as far as copying its modern plate number. Too bad for a car that is more than seventy years old… Nonetheless all errors you could find about this car would be nothing with regards to the huge problem this model has: its windshield is glued straight up on the body, in such a way that I can’t help thinking Ixo probably confused this neat tourer for a jeep. I cannot possibly award more than 7/20 to this thing.
Model: Peugeot 302 Darl'Mat
Year: 1937
Event: 1937 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Charles de Cortanze and Maurice Serre (8th overall and 3rd in class)
Maker: Norev
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Hachette as no.8 of its Collection Peugeot press series
Acquired: brand new, in June 2006, in Souillac, France
More than anything else while collecting die-casts of race cars I enjoy backmarkers. Norev could have chosen the class-winning Darl’Mat from 1938 but instead selected a relatively obscure entrant that wasn’t even the fastest of all Peugeots in the Sarthe in 1937 – just what I like! The model is correctly made, though not particularly impressive. More than anything else the grille is a liability to the front’s appearance. Inside the tiny cockpit, the all-black wheel unfortunately looks extremely toyish. On the other hand the beautiful blue paint perfectly becomes this model, to which I’ll give 12/20.
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