Dallara F397 - Opel

A little history

Dallara’s dominance of all Formula Three series allowed it to venture into new territories in 1997: it not only designed the chassis of the Toyota GT-One, but also created its very first Indy car. As for F3, its newest chassis, the F397, proved as successful as its predecessors had been. That year, Dallara allowed Jonny Kane to win the British title, Oliver Martini the Italian, Nick Heidfeld the German one, while Patrice Gay dominated the French championship and Tom Coronel won in Japan – no major Formula Three crown escaped Dallara that year!

About the model

Model: Dallara F397 - Opel
Year: 1997
Event: 1997 Italian F3 championship, driven by Oliver Martini (champion)
Maker: Vitesse
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Onyx
Acquired: brand new, in December 2006, in Hong Kong, S.A.R.

Such dominance from Dallara upon Formula Three racing gives the possibility to die-cast makers to reproduce these little single-seaters, a single mould being able to represent virtually all champion cars. Vitesse did the job rather correctly with Oliver Martini’s RC Motorsport winning entry. My rating is 13/20.

Nissan Micra

A little history

The March, also called Micra on export markets, is Nissan’s offer for a popular car since late 1982. A remarkable performance for a Japanese car, it has been renewed only twice since its initial introduction, in 1992 and 2002 – will its fourth generation appear in 2012 is anybody’s guess.

(This car’s history will be expanded in due time, please be patient.)

About the model

Model: Nissan Micra C+C
Year: c.2005
Maker: Norev
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: not known for sure, either Norev or a Japanese 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.

An excellent model of the Micra C+C, a retractable top version designed and built in England. Norev made itself the specialist of functional retractable roofs in 1/43 scale, and though switching from one position to another is a little touchy, the effect is spectacular. My rating is 15/20.

MEP X27 - Citroën

A little history

During the early Sixties, France ended up with almost no pilot in Formula One - it had never happened for the country since the very first motor race not to have a national competitor on the front line. The only two French pilots to race in the supreme category during those times were the ageing Maurice Trintignant, who had launched his career before World War Two at the wheel of a Bugatti T35, and privateer Bernard Collomb.

What was certainly the earliest attempt to seek new talents was initiated by Citroën, ironically a company seldom associated with motor racing. A promotion class, the Formule Bleue, was created in the mid-Sixties. Cars were identical machines built by small manufacturer MEP, and powered by Panhard flat-twins. Later, they would switch to the Citroën GS' flat-four. Though Citroën's effort was certainly useful, much more successful was the creation of the Formule France in 1968, which became the Formule Renault after three years in existence, or the involvements of oil giants Elf and Shell. The Formule Bleue disappeared during the Seventies.

About the model

Model: MEP X27 - Citroën
Year: 1971
Event: probably a presentation car
Maker: Universal Hobbies
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Atlas as no.64 of its Passion Citroën press series
Acquired: brand new, in December 2007, in Souillac, France

Quite detailed for such a low-priced model - and very original, too! My rating is 14/20.

Lancia Delta (1st generation)

Here is for JDMike, who enjoys rally cars and just confessed that he also liked hatchbacks.

A little history

When the Delta was retired in 1994, I was incredulous – why replacing a car that still seemed so fresh? Well, a quick glance to the rearview mirror told me the compact Lancia was then fifteen years old. I still believe that it showed no wrinkle by then.

That’s indeed in 1979, during the Frankfurt motor show, that Lancia unveiled its very first hatchback car, a smaller vehicle than anything the Italian company had constructed up to then. Engines were 1.3- to 1.6-litre fours that provided very decent performances for a car of its class. Transmission was to the front wheels. Last but not least, this Dorian Gray of a car found the secret of eternal youth in the form of a splendid body, an elegant Giugiaro design which was simultaneously elegant and racy. To all the aforementioned qualities it has to be added that the Delta was rather well built, something very few Italian cars of the time could boast of. Following the Beta and Gamma models, the new Lancia was logically called the Delta.

The excellence of the Delta was acknowledged by the motoring press in 1980, when the car was awarded the coveted European Car of the Year prize. A 1.9-litre diesel version was soon added, but more important for the car’s future was the introduction of a sporty HF Turbo in 1984. Combining a 130 hp engine and excellent handling, the HF was a joy to drive.

Lancia had then a long tradition of rally racing. By that time, its standard-bearer was the Abarth 037, a rear-wheel-drive coupe that was increasingly powerless when faced to the newer Group B prototypes, most notably the Peugeot 205 and the Audi Quattro. Lancia decided to regain supremacy with a purpose-built machine, the Delta S4. The S4 shared no more than its name and basic shape with the road-going Delta, though. It actually owed much to the 037, adding to the initial design a transmission to all four wheels, a carbon fibre body and a twin-charged (both turbo- and supercharged) 1.8-litre four conservatively rated at 550 hp. A wonderful machine, the S4 was also the synthesis of all the excesses of the Group B era. After Lancia’s pilot Henri Toivonen and his navigator were killed during the 1986 Tour de Corse, the FISA announced that Group Bs would be forbidden for the next season. Rally racing had never been this popular, and many, including myself, grumbled when they heard the news. In retrospect, it was probably a wise though brutal decision. It’s only years later that I learned that during a test the very same Toivonen had lapped the Estoril track with its S4 at a pace that would had given him the 6th place on the grid of that year’s Formula One Grand Prix. I think that says it all about how crazy these cars were.

The Group B’s departure let the production-based Group A cars as the major contenders in the world championship. Peugeot and Audi lost interest, but Lancia was determined to hold fast. The year before the promising HF Turbo had been superseded by an all-wheel-drive evolution, the HF 4WD. This is how the Delta, then in its eighth year, made its debut in rally racing. Thanks to several successive versions (Integrale 8v, 16v, Evoluzione…), the Delta would remain the car to beat in the world championship until its very last days.

This busy racing career would make one easily forget about the production Delta, which indeed didn’t change much along the years. The introduction in 1993 of a second-generation Delta – a tamer car that wasn’t intended for racing – announced its imminent retirement, which took place during the following year.

About the models

Only rally racing Deltas here – I still need a road version.

Model: Lancia Delta S4
Year: 1985
Event: 1985 RAC Rally, driven by Henri Toivonen, navigator Neil Wilson (finished 1st overall)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.30 of its Voitures de Rallye de Collection press series
Acquired: brand new, in September 2005, in Souillac, France

A pleasant model but, being highly visible, the engine would have looked much better if a tad more detailed. My rating is 12/20.









Model: Lancia Delta HF 4WD
Year: 1987
Event: 1987 Rally della Lana, driven by Dario Cerrato, navigator Giuseppe Cerri (finished 1st overall)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.61 of its Voitures de Rallye de Collection press series
Acquired: brand new, in June 2006, in Souillac, France

Unlike most Altaya-distributed Ixos this Delta benefitted from twin-colour rear lights. Decoration is very nice - okay, I admit I used to love the Jolly Club's "Totip" cars when I was a kid. My rating is 14/20.





Model: Lancia Delta HF Integrale
Year: 1992
Event: 1992 Rallye de Portugal, driven by Juha Kankkunen, navigator Juha Piironen (finished 1st overall)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.13 of its Voitures de Rallye de Collection press series
Acquired: brand new, in September 2005, in Souillac, France

Unfortunately this Delta hasn't been as lucky as the previous one and has to content itself with plain red lights at the rear. Beyond this, I can't help finding this model too much simplified: 11/20.

Renault 14

A little history

Fortune has been unfair to the Renault 14, the car everybody laughed at. Most of the popular disapproval came from the combination of a disastrous “La Poire” TV ads campaign and a then-disliked silhouette (ironically, it predated many similar designs that have been highly successful, most notably that of the Peugeot 205). Another problem seems to have been the reluctance with which the Renault network have received this car fitted with an engine provided by archrival Peugeot. Finally, the car proved prone to corrosion. A little less than a million have been built from 1976 to 1983: if only this small hatchback would have been appreciated to its real worth, the final tally could have been much higher.

The R14 was actually a cleverly designed mid-range compact, which offered a wide and comfortable passenger compartment despite its small size. The advanced engine was an all-aluminium block, placed transversally (a first for Renault), which drove the front wheels. The all-independent suspension was equally sophisticated. Unfortunately, the R14 history ended in sheer failure, and the model was gradually replaced by the R9 and R11 starting in 1981. Adding insult to injury, the new range sold much better than the old, despite being extremely orthodox… and virulently criticized as such.

(This car’s history will be expanded in due time, please be patient.)

About the model

Model: Renault 14 GTL
Year: 1980
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.83 of its Nos Chères Voitures d'Antan press series
Acquired: brand new, in June 2007, in Souillac, France

An effective representation of the Renault 14 by Ixo. A little detail: the stand indicates that this version is a GTS, though the tiny badge at the rear of the car says otherwise. My rating is 13/20.

Lamborghini Gallardo

A little history

The Sant’Agata company limited itself to the construction of supercars from the late Eighties but, in 2003, added a “cheaper” alternative to its exclusive Murciélago. The new car, a compact coupe known as the Gallardo, was powered by a 5.0-litre V10 rated at 500 hp at the time it was launched. Transmission was to all four wheels (a serious departure from the models built by archrival Ferrari) through either a manual or semi-automatic 6-speed gearbox. Top speed was well in excess of 300 kph, which seemed more than adequate for most driving situations.

Early in 2006, Lamborghini added a Spyder version to the coupe, inaugurating an engine now pushed to 520 bhp. Still more performance was to come with the 2008 LP560-4, introduced at Geneva (coupe) and Los Angeles (Spyder). Now fitted with a 5.2-litre V10 good for 560 hp, the LP560-4 passed the 200 mph psychological barrier, not a meaningless event on the important American market, though highway patrolmen would certainly frown on Gallardo owners pushing their Gallardos to their limits on Californian roads.

The Gallardo is still produced today.

About the model

Model: Lamborghini Gallardo
Year: c.2003
Maker: High Speed
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: High Speed, ref. 43KFB24
Acquired: brand new, in September 2005, in Manila, Philippines

Simple perhaps, but excellent considering the price. High Speed did an excellent job, though as usual with the Chinese die-cast maker colour choice is rather limited – well, only this orange model actually. My rating is 12/20.

Brabham BT58 to BT60

A little history

Slimy Mr. B. having successfully used the team he owned, Brabham, as a footstep in controlling the FOCA, and soon the FIA as a whole through his accomplice Max Mosley, he found himself with a useless and somewhat faltering outfit on hands and decided to pass it to a new owner. He found one in a businessman from Switzerland, Joachim Luhti.

After Brabham missed the 1988 Formula One season, the famous name was back in the paddocks for 1989 under its new management. The one-year hiatus didn’t necessarily do good to the team. Their new car, the Judd-powered BT58, was hardly competitive. Stefano Modena, who had launched his career in Formula One with Brabham two years before, was back after a one-season stunt with Eurobrun. With him was Martin Brundle. Despite a promising 3rd place in Monaco for Modena, both pilots struggled throughout the year, even to qualify. The team ended up with eight points, to split equally between its two drivers.

Even more annoying for Brabham’s future was the fact that Luhti had finished the year in jail on unrelated charges. The team’s ownership switched to a Japanese company, Middlebridge Racing, a F3000 outfit which purchased Brabham using borrowed money.

Under Middlebridge, Brabham fielded Modena alongside Swiss pilot Gregor Foitek, not necessarily the most memorable of all Formula One drivers. Foitek had ran the 1989 season for Eurobrun and Rial without qualifying even once, and was dropped after only two races in favour of David Brabham, son of founder Jack Brabham. Brabham the Younger didn’t fare better than his predecessor, Modena alone being able to score two points in the opening race with the old BT58; the newer BT59 which replaced it didn’t bring a single point.

This catastrophe of a car had nonetheless to be carried over for the first two races of 1991 as the BT59Y, now powered by a fragile Yamaha V12. The BT60Y which succeeded it was, at least, able to gather a few points: two for the returning Martin Brundle, and a single one for newcomer and near-homonymous Mark Blundle.

From the onset, Brabham’s 1992 season was to be a terrible one: short on cash, the team was running after sponsors to keep itself afloat. No new car could be designed for lack of budget, and only an updated machine, the BT60B for which the team reverted to a Judd engine, could be entered. Pilots were to be Eric Van de Poele, with one race and… fifteen non-qualifications under his belt, and Giovanna Amati, the first lady driver in Formula One since Divina Galica in the late Seventies. The choice of Amati was more a publicity stunt than a serious attempt at finding a competitive driver, and she ended up being kicked out of the team after only three races when unable to provide the promised sponsorship contracts. After giving a chance to David Brabham the year before, the team followed up by replacing Amati with the heir of another famous name of the Sixties, Damon Hill. At least the promising Hill was sometimes able to qualify the hopeless car, but scoring points was out of the question. At any rate the team didn’t even finish the season: Middlebridge proved unable to repay the loans that had been granted to it, and brought its creditors along in its fall. The whole story ended up with several jail sentences being pronounced regarding the conditions in which the money had changed hands. Unfortunately, the favourite’s stage of Brabham’s last years had been more often a tribunal than a podium.

About the model

Model: Brabham BT60B - Judd
Year: 1992
Event: 1992 Formula One Championship, driven by Eric Van de Poele (non-classified)
Maker: Minichamps
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Minichamps, limited edition
Acquired: second hand with stand and box, from a friend, in May 2006, in Manila, Philippines

Okay, there’s nothing remarkable about either Eric Van de Poele or the BT60B, but that’s just what I enjoy about this model. I can understand people having tens of Michael Schumacher’s Ferraris on their shelves, but it’s not my thing. Fortunately Minichamps is here to propose original Formula One entries in 1/43 at a fairly nice level of quality and a correct price. My rating is 14/20.

Citroën Type H

Though by the Fifties Citroën had given up the first rank among French vehicles manufacturers in favour of Renault, there’s rarely a French movie from that era in which you don’t spot either a 2CV, a Traction Avant or a Type H van in the background – all Citroën products. Today we’ll discuss about the latter.

A little history

We have seen how Renault hid the studies of its 4CV from the Germans during World War Two; Citroën did the same and discreetly developed both the 2CV and the Type H. Though the little passenger car existed as pre-series models even before the conflict, the Type H was studied from 1942 on. Design was supervised by engineer Pierre Franchiset, which followed CEO Pierre Boulanger’s instructions: a simple vehicle, cheap to build and to operate, that would use as many existing components as could be. The resulting van looked as a wheeled box made of corrugated metal, a choice made because of the possibility it offered of building a rigid monocoque body out of thin sheets of metal. The Type H carried over all of the TUB’s characteristics: front wheel drive, cab-over design, independent suspension, unibody construction, lateral sliding door for loading and unloading, etc.

When first unveiled at the Paris motor show in October 1947, the Type H was using the 1.9-litre four-cylinder engine from the Traction Avant 11CV, and was rated at 1.200 kilograms of cargo. The very first Citroën vans had to wait until June 1948 to be available to the public. Most of these brand-new Type Hs were painted grey, and this colour would remain, by far, the most common throughout the vehicle’s lifetime.

The Type H remained basically unchanged for thirty-four years. Various wheelbases, an elevated-top van, diesel-powered variants became available, but the basic H, later called HY, was virtually identical until December 1981, when the very last one left the factory. Almost half a million had been built, quite a feat for a commercial vehicle.

About the models

Model: Citroën H
Year: c.1957
Maker: Norev
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Hachette as no.46 of its Police et Gendarmerie press series
Acquired: brand new, in July 2006, in Brive, France





Model: Citroën H
Year: 1958
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.37 of its Nos Chères Voitures d'Antan press series
Acquired: brand new, in May 2006, in Souillac, France







Model: Citroën H
Year: c.1958
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.2 of its Nos Chères Camionnettes d'Antan press series
Acquired: second hand with stand and box, in October 2007, through mail from a fellow collector from Rouziers de Touraine, France





Model: Citroën H
Year: c.1958
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.5 of its Michelin press series
Acquired: brand new, in November 2007, in Souillac, France





Model: Citroën H
Year: c.1958
Maker: Eligor
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Atlas as no.21 of its Les petits utilitaires des années 50-60 series
Acquired: second hand with neither stand nor box, in October 2007, in Brive, France







Model: Citroën HY
Year: 1964
Maker: Universal Hobbies
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Atlas as no.2 of its Véhicules postaux d'hier et d'aujourd'hui press series
Acquired: brand new, in April 2007, in Souillac, France





Model: Citroën HY
Year: c.1964
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as a gift to subscribers of its Nos Chères Voitures d'Antan press series
Acquired: brand new, in April 2004, through subscription in France





Model: Citroën HY
Year: c.1964
Maker: Norev
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Hachette as no.1 of its Police et Gendarmerie press series
Acquired: brand new, in August 2004, in Brive, France