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.
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.
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