Schlesser Buggy

A little history

A nephew of the unfortunate Jo Schlesser, who was killed during his very first Formula One Grand Prix, Jean-Louis Schlesser made himself known first on racing tracks. As his uncle, he even appeared in Formula One at a rather ripe old age, making himself famous during the only race he actually started (the 1988 Italian Grand Prix) for a mishap with race leader Ayrton Senna. Schlesser was much more successful in endurance racing, where he clinched two world championships in 1989 end 1990.

Nonetheless Schlesser had already had an attempt in the Paris-Dakar race by then. From 1989 he became a regular competitor and, after giving up his race tracks activities, decided to compete with his very own machine starting in 1992.

Schlesser didn’t make things easy for himself, choosing to build a buggy. This type of cars had often been entered in the Dakar in the past, but all attempts had ended in complete failure. The pilot-constructor’s original approach was to design a vehicle which light weight would allow being competitive with no more than a two-wheel-drive transmission. Furthermore, Schlesser would be alone on board, assuming the functions of both the pilot and navigator (he would later revert to a more traditional division of tasks). Though he was able to record some early wins in a few rally-raids, his regular entries in the extremely difficult Paris-Dakar were, for several years, said to be courageous but doomed to failure.

His first major success came in 1998, when his regularity brought him a world title in rally-raid racing – he would retain the crown until 2002. A victory in the Dakar finally stopped eluding him in 1999. The bold approach of the stubborn Schlesser had finally paid off and, even better, the Frenchman would renew his victory in 2000.

Today, Jean-Louis Schlesser’s little team is still active in rally-raids, though its heydays seem over. Actually, after being powered by Porsche (1992-94) and Seat (1995-96), the buggy’s brighter days date back to the cooperation with Renault (1997-2002), which PRV V6 was both powerful and reliable. After a switch to Ford engines in 2003, results significantly dropped and, furthermore, an apparent partiality of the FIA towards large, money-laden factory teams at the expense of the smaller outfits played against Schlesser.

About the models

We could have so many more models if the little game between die-cast manufacturers wasn’t to copy each others!

Model: Schlesser Mégane Buggy
Year: 2000
Event: 2000 Paris-Dakar Rally, driven by Jean-Louis Schlesser, navigator Henri Magne (overall winners)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.31 of its 100 Ans de Sport Automobile press series
Acquired: second hand with stand but without box, in December 2008, in Brive, France

Altaya distributed this Ixo-made model a few years ago through one of its early series. Competition was scarce back then and standards of quality were therefore low, so this die-cast could seem a little crude by today’s standards. My rating is 11/20.







Model: Schlesser Mégane Buggy
Year: 2000
Event: 2000 Paris-Dakar Rally, driven by Jean-Louis Schlesser, navigator Henri Magne (overall winners)
Maker: Norev
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: M6 as no.11 of its La Légende du Paris-Dakar press series
Acquired: brand new, in June 2006, in Souillac, France

When M6 started its own “Dakar” collection, imitating De Agostini which had already done the same on the Italian market, several of the models provided by Norev were similar to the ones already sold by Altaya (we’ll see some others in later posts). Though roughly identical, they enjoy a few improvements here and there, justifying a slightly higher 13/20.











Model: Schlesser Mégane Buggy
Year: 2000
Event: 2000 Paris-Dakar Rally, driven by Jean-Louis Schlesser, navigator Henri Magne (overall winners)
Maker: Bburago
Scale: 1/26
Distributed by: Bburago
Acquired: second hand with neither stand nor box, in December 2011, in Brive, France

A simple but sympathetic model of this car at a larger scale. My rating is 11/20.

Chrysler Airflow

A little history

Up to the early Thirties, the pace of change for automobile look wasn’t a fast one. Then engineers and designers discovered aerodynamics, known at first as streamlining: an empirical form of the former, a simple gimmick aimed at appealing customers in an era which was constantly projecting itself into the future. Within a few years though, the approach to aerodynamics applied to automobiles became more scientific, at least for a handful of carmakers.

The period certainly astonished many a motorist. Cars were becoming outdated within a few years due to constant innovation, which along the way brought some odd designs. Among those, the Chrysler Airflow was surely the most forward-looking. Equally certain was the fact that when it first appear in 1934, it looked like nothing else on the road.

A large corporation in the absolute but a minor contender when compared to General Motors and Ford, Chrysler had no other option throughout its history than challenge its competitors on the field of innovation. The company had just been able to adapt to its own cars the low silhouettes of front-wheel-drive models pioneered by Cord and Ruxton when it presented a truly ground-breaking automobile, the Airflow, brainchild of Chrysler engineer Carl Breer, helped by chief stylist Oliver Clark and fully supported by Walter P. Chrysler himself. A patient study of the evolutions of a car through air, thanks to a purposely-built wind tunnel, was the first step in the Airflow design. Yet the futuristic character of the new Chrysler wasn’t only on the outside. The car was among the very first to adopt all-steel monocoque construction, decades ahead of rivals GM and Ford, and weight balance was carefully studied, ideal distribution being attained by moving the engine over the front wheels.

The Chrysler Airflow was unveiled in 1934 to an amazed public. The new car was low and sleek. The rear wheel arches were skirted, while its windshield was of a new “V” type made of two panes of flat glass. Headlights were mounted flush in the front wings, while the upright front end had given way to a rounded one, ornate with a large “waterfall” grille. The first road tests revealed a safe car, with a handling far superior to any of its rivals, thanks to the good weight distribution mentioned above. Next to the Chrysler Airflow range sat its smaller relative, the DeSoto Airflow, while Dodge and Plymouth had to content themselves with conventional models – on the long run, they had nothing to regret.

Potential customers were surprised, curious, even interested, but then came to their mind the fateful question traditionally brought by automotive projects too much ahead of their times: “Do I want to be seen driving such a thing?” All too often the answer was “no”, and initially sales were slow. The people at Chrysler weren’t alarmed. They knew their car was revolutionary, and expected its success to come progressively. Unfortunately, it never did.

Nineteen thirty-four proved disastrous for Chrysler and DeSoto. While the former had retained a limited range of conventional cars, the latter only relied on the new Airflow, and saw its sales take a plunge, a debacle from which it never really recovered until the brand was discontinued a quarter of a century later. For 1935, a new Airstream was introduced by both divisions. It was a fairly conventional car, but featured apparent streamlining. This shier approach attracted the public back into Chrysler’s showrooms and dealerships, at the expense of the Airflow which, despite a 1936 facelift mostly aimed at removed the criticized grille, saw its production numbers sink ever deeper. The DeSoto Airflow was retired after the 1936 model year, while its Chrysler counterpart survived for one more year. They had nonetheless paved the way for more successful imitators, which ironically had begun to appear even before the Airflow project was put to death. Among those who copied the Airflow outright, the most obvious are Volvo (with its Carioca), Peugeot (the 402), Toyota (the AA) and, seldom mentioned but indisputably Airflow-esque, Nash (the Ambassador).

About the model

Model: Chrysler Airflow Imperial Eight
Year: 1936
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.49 of its Voitures Classiques press series
Acquired: brand new, in November 2007, in Souillac, France

To my utter disbelief Ixo and Altaya didn’t choose the revolutionary 1934 Airflow to include in their classic cars series, but the tamer 1936 version. This little disappointment set aside this Airflow is rather good, though two-tone paint is surprising as most Airflows, should they be original cars or restored ones, are painted in simpler solid colours. My main remark would aim at the “chrome” parts (grille and louvres in particular), which are much too plastic-like in appearance. My rating is 12/20.

Porsche 935

Welcome to our two newest followers Piotr G and ffoster. More particularly for the latter, here is a special post.

A little history

Porsche had already run, through the Martini Racing Team, a turbocharged 911 Carrera RSR that had proved particularly fast during the 1974 season. Customers though had to content themselves with the normally-aspirated Carrera RSR. All that was about to change as for 1976, Porsche unveiled its most important effort in endurance racing since the launch of the 917, releasing both the 936 sportscar and the 935 “silhouette” GT. Both were named after the respective groups in which they would compete, Groups 6 and 5.

Unlike Group 4, which was reserved to traditional GTs, Group 5 allowed major modifications to a car, as long as it kept the overall appearance of the original road-going vehicle. The original 935 still resembled a heavily modified 911, but soon enough Porsche engineers fitted it with the “flat nose” it became famous for. This flat nose not only helped aerodynamics, its main goal was in fact to canalize air streams passing through air intakes in the front spoiler and exiting from vents on the top of each front wings, increasing downforce. Power originally came from a 2.8-litre flat six rated at 560 hp. Performances were incredible… as much as fuel consumption was. Porsche couldn’t know at this point that its two thoroughbreds were embarking on long and successful careers that would last until the FISA would set new rules for endurance racing during the early Eighties.

During the 1976 season, the 935s were only available to the semi-works Martini Racing, and battled all year long against the monstrous (750 hp) but fragile BMW CSL in order to win the world championship. In 1977, the introduction of the 935/77 evolution and the sale of the car to many private teams made things easier for the Stuttgart company, which dominated most events and even had a stint at the 2.0-litre class of the German DTM with a special 935 powered by a 1.4-litre “Baby” engine.

The following season saw the introduction of what is arguably the best remembered 935 of all: the lone 935/78, which thanks to its whale-like silhouette is better known as the “Moby Dick”, from the name of Herman Melville’s famous novel. Engine was enlarged to 3.2-litre, its power now reaching about 750 hp. Designed for high speeds, the Moby Dick had Le Mans as its main objective. Reliability problems slowed the car’s pace, which finished far down the rankings from the victorious Alpine-Renault.

Porsche officially retired for 1979, and its fortune rested in the hands of its customers. These private teams not only received the support of the German company, they could also upgrade their 935s to the K3 version designed by Kremer. Without much opposition from the prototypes, both Porsche, as we have seen, and Renault, which concentrated on Formula One, having retired from the sport, the 935s triumphed at Le Mans – the first ever victory of a GT car there.

From 1980, the Porsche 935 wasn’t as domineering as it used to be. Porsche was about to re-enter endurance racing with a new prototype, the 956 which used a turbocharged 2.6-litre engine derived from the Moby Dick’s block, but neglected its ageing Group 5. Kremer tried to keep the pace with a new K4. It certainly extended the car’s life, but the end was inescapable nonetheless. The last Porsche 935s didn’t retire from racing before 1986, the car’s career thus extending over eleven years.

About the models

Model: Porsche 935 K3
Year: 1979
Event: 1979 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Klaus Ludwig, Don Whittington and Bill Whittington (finished 1st overall)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.34 of its Les Plus Belles Voitures des 24 Heures du Mans press series
Acquired: brand new, in February 2005, in Souillac, France

A nice die-cast of the Le Mans-winning 935. Many other scale models of this famous car exist, both as industrial die-casts or resin kits, but for me Ixo’s version looks fine enough on a shelf. My rating is 12/20.











Model: Porsche 935 K3
Year: 1979
Event: 1979 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Rolf Stommelen, Paul Newman and Dick Barbour (finished 2nd overall, class winner)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.44 of its Les Monstres Sacrés de l'Endurance press series
Acquired: brand new, in December 2008, in Souillac, France

Just behind the previous car, this 935 finished second. It is best remembered for having been driven by Paul Newman, though some witnesses assure that the actor let most of the job to much more experienced Stommelen and Barbour. Coming from a later Altaya series, this 935 – quite different from the previous model as it was homologated under the IMSA rules – is slightly better detailed, justifying a 13/20 rating.







Model: Porsche 935 K3
Year: 1981
Event: 1981 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Bob Garretson, Ralph Kent-Cooke and Anny-Charlotte Verney (finished 6th overall)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.55 of its Les Plus Belles Voitures des 24 Heures du Mans press series
Acquired: brand new, in May 2006, in Souillac, France

Basically the same car as the first one presented on this post, but with a different livery to represent a lesser known entry from a later date. My rating is again 12/20.

Maserati 8CTF

A little history

Between 1934 and 1937, Grand Prix were run with no other limit than weight. This gave birth to such monsters as the Mercedes-Benz and the Auto Union, which crushed all of their rivals. The switch to a new formula for 1938 (4.5 litre normally aspirated, 3 litres supercharged) gave hopes to some that the German teams’ invincibility could come to an end. Maserati was among those, and prepared a new machine, the 8CTF, of which three chassis were built. This optimism was short-lived though, as both Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union proved able to dominate the new formula as they had done with the old.

An unexpected success awaited the 8CTF nonetheless. The third chassis was sold to the U.S., and the two ex-works cars soon followed the same way after the Maserati factory lost all interest in them. In 1939, Wilbur Shaw won his second Indianapolis 500 with an 8CTF and, even better, renewed his victory during the next edition of the race. In 1941, he had to retire, but was then again leading the race. The three Maseratis suddenly became very popular among American drivers. Actually, the very last 8CTF to appear on the paved oval was an ex-works car which unsuccessfully tried to qualify in… 1954! Most late entries had been re-equipped with 4.5-litre Offenhauser engines, replacing the original 3-litre Maserati. Hard to believe nowadays as any car winning a major event is immediately sent to a museum, Shaw’s double-winning car was entered eight times at Indianapolis until 1950!

About the model

Model: Maserati 8CTF “Boyle Special”
Year: 1939
Event: 1939 Indianapolis 500, driven by Wilbur Shaw (overall winner)
Maker: Grani & Partners
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Poligrafici as no.13 of its Maserati press series
Acquired: new with neither box nor stand (probably a production overrun or quality control reject), in December 2006, in Hong Kong, S.A.R.

This model was part of an Italian press series and, as most Grani & Partners products, its quality is more than acceptable. The plastic wire wheels and front grille are as good as can be, only photo-etched parts could possibly be better. Too bad these models are so hard to find for non-Italian collectors. My rating is 12/20.

Alpine A310

A little history

The Alpine A110 was built for racing, making it rather impractical for everyday use. Its maker decided that its successor, the A310, would be a more comfortable, more ambitious car. It would also be a 2+2 while the A110 had strictly been a two-seater.

Studies started during the late Sixties. From the start the new Alpine was to be a true GT, the use of the 3.0-litre V8 developed by Gordini for the A220 sportscar being considered for a while. Of these initial plans only the striking design remained, the A310 finally having to settle for a more plebeian Renault four as an engine.

The A310 prototype was finally introduced to the public during the Geneva motor show in March 1971. Alas, some heavy investments made by Alpine, which had just opened two new plants, combined with a disastrous strike that slowed production put the small company in dire straights. The management therefore decided to hasten the release of the new car, which hit the market before the end of the year, while still insufficiently tested. The flaws of the early cars gained the A310 a bad reputation that couldn’t be totally erased during its long career. Furthermore the first buyers deplored the tame character of their cars, when compared to the spirited A110. Though the wheelbases ofthe two cars were identical, the longer overhangs of the A310 made for a heavier car, which 1.6-litre four, though the most powerful block the A110 had to share, proved insufficient.

The chaotic launch of the car didn’t improve Alpine’s fortune and, in order to save the little company, Renault took it over from Jean Rédélé, a decision its founder would regret for the rest of his life. The A310’s premature introduction having proved disastrous, Renault opted for a thorough upgrading, which was ready by 1976. The car’s style was revised by Robert Opron, who removed the characteristic full-width headlights of the early A310s, while the 1.6-litre four gave way to the new PRV 2.7-litre V6, developed by Renault in cooperation with Peugeot and Volvo. The Swedish manufacturer had been the first to fit one of its road cars with this engine in 1974, and Renault had followed suit with its 1975 R30. The PRV greatly improved performance, but unfortunately also made the car even more tail-heavy, though its handling remained far from tricky. Worst yet, it pushed the car up into the same league as the Porsche 911. The A310 hadn’t been designed with this kind of competition in mind, and the German GT clearly proved one notch above its rival in all respects. The car’s production was therefore condemned to remain low, only 11,400 copies being built until replaced in November 1984 by the V6 GT, better yet even less successful.

About the models

Model: Alpine A310 V8 Gordini
Year: 1968
Maker: Eligor
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Hachette as no.9 of its Alpine & Renault Sportives press series
Acquired: brand new, in December 2007, in Souillac, France

A rather unusual die-cast for me, as I don’t generally collect prototypes or show cars. This model isn’t even one of those, but a reproduction of an early clay model. Even the wheels are fixed disks rather than the real thing, while the passenger compartment is totally empty beneath the tinted canopy. Any comparison with an existing model being impossible, I won’t give a rating, and only mention that Eligor’s die-cast is certainly well made, but isn’t indispensable except to die-hard Alpine fans.











Model: Alpine A310
Year: 1972
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.54 of its Nos Chères Voitures d'Antan press series
Acquired: brand new, in May 2006, in Souillac, France

Somehow I find Ixo’s model bulky, and devoid of the peculiar elegance of the early A310s. My rating is 9/20.









Model: Alpine A310
Year: 1972
Maker: Solido
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Solido, “Yesterday” series
Acquired: brand new, in January 2004, in Brive, France

Much older, Solido’s model lacks the details of a later die-cast, but its proportions are good. Furthermore it enjoys a rear hatch and underneath it an engine cover which can both be opened, revealing a small silver-painted engine. I give 11/20 to this ancient but still pleasant scale model.







Model: Alpine A310 V6
Year: 1981
Maker: Eligor
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Hachette as no.12 of its Alpine & Renault Sportives press series
Acquired: brand new, in December 2011, in Souillac, France

Universal Hobbies offers this nice and accurate model of the V6 version of the A310. I’m not so fond of the caches in front of the headlights, but the wheels are splendid: 13/20.











Model: Renault Alpine A310 V6 Pack GT
Year: c.1983
Maker: Universal Hobbies
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: M6 as no.18 of its Renault Collection press series
Acquired: second hand with neither stand nor box, in July 2006, in Brive, France

A good model from Universal Hobbies. It may appear white on pictures but is actually painted in a magnificent pearl shade. My rating is 13/20.











Model: Alpine A310 V6 Pack GT
Year: 1983
Maker: see lower
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Hachette as no.2 of its Alpine & Renault Sportives press series
Acquired: brand new, in October 2007, in Souillac, France

I’ll check this one as soon as I find it, as I have doubts about its maker. If I remember well it is indisputably identical to the previous Universal Hobbies, which indeed collaborated to this Hachette series, but I think is curiously branded as a Norev. Nonetheless my rating is identical: 13/20.