Citroën Activa

A little history

By the Eighties, Citroën had felt into some sort of lethargy. Apart from some “real” twin-chevron models, the BX and the ageing 2CV and CX, production now comprised a large share of cars that were either rebadged Peugeots or closely related to vehicles from the Sochaux company. Still, Citroën was bold enough to present two concept cars within two years, and therefore was able to demonstrate that its traditional spirit of innovation was not totally gone.

The first one was the Activa, presented during the 1988 Paris motor show. A striking pilarless four-door saloon (with “suicide” rear doors) penned by Dan Abramson, the Activa prominently featured a complex suspension system. Based on Citroën’s customary hydropneumatic suspension, it was controlled by a “Regamo” electronic system and called “Hydractive”. It succeeded in eliminating the important roll in fast turns that had been demonstrated by all hydropneumatic-equipped Citroëns since the DS and, furthermore, it could adjust the car’s handling by changing ride height and damping depending on the way the Activa was driven. Citroën didn’t only focus on suspension, though: its Activa enjoyed a fighter jet-inspired “head-up” holographic data display, four steerable wheels that allowed for a very tight turning radius and sideway parking, and a full-time four-wheel-drive transmission through a four-speed automatic gearbox. Even the seemingly conventional devices received loads of electronics. Its engine, a 3.0-litre V6 rated at 220 hp, looks rather conventional in comparison. Among all of these new systems, the Hydractive suspension proved the most successful one, as no later than the following year it found its way into the new Citroën XM.

Two years after the first Activa, Citroën unveiled the XM-based Activa 2 coupe, again during the Paris motor show. The Hydractive suspension and 3.0-litre engine (now limited to 200 hp) were carried over from its predecessor, while the centre console received an advanced electronic navigation system that was ahead of its time. Yet, the Activa 2 was a much more reasonable car overall, for Citroën seriously considered its production as an heir to the famed SM. In the end, PSA management deemed its manufacture too risky, Citroën lacking the image necessary to sell a car that would have competed with well-established German brands. For the anecdote, the body of the Activa 2 is often but erroneously thought to be from Bertone: as its creditor, Citroën had indeed the Italian company settling part of its debts by building the car, but its involvement stopped here – the design of the Activa 2 was an in-house job, its lines having been drawn once again by Dan Abramson.

Though the Activas did not beget any production vehicle, the name was later applied to the active suspension system available on a variant of the Citroën Xantia.

About the model

Model: Citroën Activa 2
Year: 1990
Maker: Universal Hobbies
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Atlas as no.66 of its Passion Citroën press series
Acquired: new with neither box nor stand (probably a production overrun or quality control reject), in February 2007, in Hong Kong, S.A.R.

Universal Hobbies offered a pretty model of the Activa 2 through Atlas’ press series (the Activa 1 was also released, but I don’t have it yet). My rating is 14/20. Note that I hadn’t glue the side mirrors into place when I took these pictures. By the way, I just noticed they’re way too dark! I’ll replace them as soon as I put my hands again on this model.

Lamborghini Diablo

A little history

In 1985, Lamborghini decided to replace its most iconic automobile, the Countach. Temporarily dubbed Project 132, the new car was to reach 315 kph, establishing itself as one of the fastest cars in the world. On the outside, penning its body was entrusted once again to famed designer Marcello Gandini, to whom had been credited most Lamborghini designs up to then. Alas, development was slowed down by Lamborghini’s serious lack of funds. Having narrowly escaped a bankruptcy, the Sant’Agata company was still in poor shape by the Eighties. Then, Chrysler entered the stage. The American giant too had closely avoided its ruin, turning the tides around 1980 with successful vehicles such as the L-platform cars (Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni) then the K-Cars (Plymouth Reliant and Dodge Aries). Though it had just sold its many branches overseas, it was willing to add a little prestige to its name by investing the cash it had lacked for so many years into the purchase of a reputed European auto maker.

Lamborghini’s takeover took place in 1987, and though the Italian company lost its independence in the process, it insured that it would have sufficient budget to complete its Project 132. This was achieved, but not without having Chrysler’s management interfere with the car’s development. Marcello Gandini’s radically angular body displeased the American executives, so Chrysler’s designers drew a heavily modified body for the car, which ended up being much more curved and rounded than intended. Dismayed, Gandini left with his drawings and put them to good use to create the Cizeta-Moroder V16T.

The new Lamborghini finally appeared in January 1990 at the Detroit motor show, under the name Diablo. Though its engine was the well-known 5.7-litre V12, this time rated at 492 hp, the car exceeded its initial goal and could reach an impressive 325+ kph. Compared to the departing Countach, the Diablo was also designed to be a much more comfortable GT and not solely a performance-oriented machine, so it came with a long list of optional equipments, though the base model remained relatively spartan.

The early Nineties were a time of severe competition in the supercars field, with many projects from both established companies and newcomers. Lamborghini could not afford to wait too long to update its Diablo, which was done in 1993 with the introduction of the VT. The new variant enjoyed an all-wheel-drive transmission which was based on the experience gleaned from the LM002 off-road vehicle, a new suspension, improved brakes, a new dashboard and a wide array of minor modifications. The car came standard with air-conditioning but, surprisingly, still had to wait for an ABS system.

The Lamborghini Diablo’s range was widely augmented during 1995. The year saw the introduction of a long-awaited VT Roadster, and a new version fitted with a conventional rear-wheel-drive transmission, the SV. Finally, after Chrysler sold Lamborghini to the VAG group, the Diablo was facelifted, receiving a front end treatment that was somewhat reminiscent of the Bugatti EB110, ironically another Marcello Gandini creation. It also gained a V12 engine enlarged to 6.0-litre and good for 550 hp, and a modified all-wheel-drive transmission… which wasn’t necessarily an improvement over the previous version. Under this latest guise, the Diablo was produced until 2001, when it was succeeded by the Lamborghini Murciélago.

About the model

Model: Lamborghini Diablo
Year: 1990
Maker: Maisto
Scale: 1/18
Distributed by: Maisto
Acquired: second hand with neither box nor stand, in April 2007, in Brive, France

This is a correct yet inexpensive model of the Diablo. Nothing extraordinary about it, and furthermore the thick plastic-made harnesses fitted to the seats somewhat spoil the passenger compartment, but still worth a 13/20 rating.











Model: Lamborghini Diablo
Year: 1990
Maker: Bburago
Scale: 1/24
Distributed by: Bburago
Acquired: second hand with neither box nor stand, in April 2007, in Brive, France

This die-cast is simple, even toy-ish perhaps, but correct enough and extremely cheap. Bburago has always had a problem with the width of its tyres, which the Italian brand represents much too wide, but it’s obviously not really an issue with this particular model. My rating is 10/20.







Model: Lamborghini Diablo VT
Year: 1993
Maker: Del Prado, or whoever builds models for Del Prado
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Del Prado through an unknown Japanese press series
Acquired: brand new, in December 2006, in Hong Kong, S.A.R.

Del Prado has offered a surprisingly agreeable model of the Diablo – this cannot be said of all die-casts proposed by the Italian distributor. This effort is certainly worth 12/20.

Jaguar XJR6 to XJR14

A little history

After a few seasons spent across the Atlantic in IMSA racing, Jaguar decided to return to the international sportscars championship, three decades after the C-Type dominated the racing scene. Long gone were the Ferraris, Maseratis and Mercedes-Benzes it used to challenge in those days as in 1985, when its XJR6 made its debut, Porsche was all-conquering with its extraordinary 956 and its new 962. Facing such a formidable opposition wasn’t an easy task, so Jaguar secured the help of designer Tony Southgate, along with that of Tom Walkinshaw Racing’s, which would build and develop the car. Though TWR had previously been very successful in racing the XJS coupe in touring cars events, it initially fared much worse with the XJR6. Despite its huge but naturally-aspirated 6.5-litre V12, the XJR6 couldn’t compete with the Porsches, not even with the fast but fragile Lancia LC2s. Further developed for 1986 and helped by Lancia’s withdrawal, the XJR6 proved much more competitive, the team scoring a promising victory with F1 regulars Cheever and Warwick at the Silverstone 1000 kms.

For 1987, Tony Southgate refined its original design into the new XJR8, powered by a V12 enlarged to a whopping 7.0-litre displacement. Dominated during the early season, Porsche’s works team would withdraw, a move that paved Jaguar’s path to success. The British team won 8 of the 10 world championship’s events, clinching both the manufacturers’ and drivers’ crowns, the latter being worn by Brazilian Raul Boesel. Triumph wasn’t complete though, as Jaguar failed to win to most prestigious event of the season, the Le Mans 24 hours.

With Porsche’s ageing 962, now in the hands of private teams, facing a brand-new XJR9, 1988 should have been an easy year for Jaguar. This would have happened without the new Sauber C9, fitted with its tremendous turbocharged 5.0-litre Mercedes-Benz engine. Out of 11 events, 6 went to Jaguar and 5 to Sauber, which was enough for the British team to retain its title. Furthermore, it won Le Mans, for the first time in thirty-one years. For this particular event, nothing had been let to chance, TWR even developing a special “LM” low-drag version.

After two great years, things would turn sour in 1989. Sauber’s C9 was now fully developed, while the 962 recovered some of its competitiveness. It was the XJR9’s turn to play the ageing contender from which the title would be disputed. As things weren’t better in IMSA championship, Jaguar introduced a new XJR11 in the midst of this disastrous season, abandoning its naturally-aspirated engines for a brand-new twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 block (based on the engine of the MG Metro’s rally version), but the British efforts were to no avail. The car returned in 1990, followed by an updated XJR12 which marked a return to un-supercharged engines. Not a dent could be made into Sauber’s supremacy. The only satisfaction for Jaguar was a new victory at Le Mans, albeit without much competition, as the race had been excluded from the world championship.

Juggling with the ever-changing regulations of the time – Max and Bernie had launched their onslaught on sportscars racing – Jaguar introduced a new XJR14 for 1991. Tony Southgate’s failures brought his replacement by Ross Brawn. No more effort was made to develop an in-house engine, and power now came from a normally-aspirated 3.5-litre Cosworth engine. Sauber was still there, but a new challenger had seen light: Peugeot. The latter took a thundering start by winning at Suzuka, but its fragile 905 still needed development. The title was closely contested, but Jaguar prevailed. At Le Mans, on a track that now included the infamous chicanes on the Mulsanne straight, courtesy of the aforesaid evil pair, Jaguar entered the XJR12 with its reliable 7.4-litre V12, but victory went to Mazda.

Irritated by the continuously changing rules in FIA world championship, Jaguar decided to retire after 1991. While the XJR14 ran one last year in IMSA without achieving much success, the FIA finally reached its goal of killing the sportscars championship for 1993.

About the models

Model: Jaguar XJR9
Year: 1988
Event: 1988 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Jan Lammers, Andy Wallace and Johnny Dumfries (finished 1st overall)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.48 of its Les Plus Belles Voitures des 24 Heures du Mans press series
Acquired: brand new, in September 2005, in Souillac, France

A correct model which suffers from the lack of tobacco sponsorship. My rating is 11/20.









Model: Jaguar XJR12 Advanced
Year: 1990
Event: 1990 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by John Nielsen, Price Cobb and Martin Brundle (finished 1st overall)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.28 of its Les Plus Belles Voitures des 24 Heures du Mans press series
Acquired: brand new, around December 2004, in Souillac, France

Basically the same model as the above, but with a different rear wing... and, curiously enough, tobacco sponsorship: 12/20.







Model: Jaguar XJR12 Advanced
Year: 1991
Event: 1991 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Davy Jones, Raul Boesel and Michel Ferté (finished 2nd overall)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.10 of its Les monstres sacrés de l'endurance press series
Acquired: brand new, in April 2007, in Souillac, France

This later series from Altaya supposedly proposed models with a higher level of quality than its predecessor, but difference is not obvious when examining this particular die-cast, hence a 11/20 rating.

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.

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 Xantia

A little history

The Xantia received the difficult task of succeeding the BX in December 1992. Typically Citroën, the Xantia benefited from such features as a hydropneumatic suspension or an angular Bertone body, at a time when most of its rivals were graced by much more rounded lines. Sales started in March 1993 in a variety of 4-cylinder variants, with engines displacing from 1.6 to 2.0 litres. Diesel engines followed in June of the same year. Later, an estate would join the hatchback saloon (September 1995) and a 3.0-litre V6 would be added in January 1997.

In December 1997, the Xantia received a mid-life facelift. Thereafter, the mid-range Citroën remained roughly unchanged. In March 2001, the C5 hit the market, without replacing the whole Xantia range, of which a few models were built until October 2002. More than 1.2 million had been constructed by then, but production had started in Iran a few months before – it still continues today.

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

About the models

Model: Citroën Xantia 2.0i
Year: 1993
Maker: Universal Hobbies
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Atlas as no.30 of its Passion Citroën press series
Acquired: brand new, in October 2005, in Brive, France

BMW E1

A little history

When it unveiled its E1 city car prototype during the 1991 Frankfurt motor show, BMW was among the first to answer the call for more environment-friendly vehicles. An early hybrid, the E1 could be powered, depending on the driver’s choice, by a 32 kW electric motor or a 1.1-litre inline four rated at 82 hp. BMW having no gasoline engine as small as the latter in its production cars’ range, the E1’s block was actually adapted from the K1100 motorcycle’s engine.

The E1’s structure was built from aluminium elements assembled together. Some panels were also made of plastic. This gave the car both rigidity and light weight. Wheels were pushed to each corner of the vehicle, allowing an incredibly large passenger compartment, considering the tiny overall length. Security was also a concern for BMW engineers, and in this respect the E1 incorporated then-top-of-the-art technologies such as an ABS braking system, energy-absorbing zones or dual airbags at the front.

The only performance that really matters about a car that is solely or partly powered by electricity is its autonomy. Electricity having been a common form of power during the early stages of automotive history, it is amazing to see how little modern cars have progressed in such a long period of time. In this respect the BMW E1 fared rather better than most other similar projects, being able to cover 160 km in normal, urban traffic conditions and a maximum of 265 km in the most favourable situation. Perhaps the main drawback of the E1, should it have reached production stage, would have been its price and high maintenance costs. As all electrical vehicles, the E1 relied on large batteries that are expensive to manufacture, and need to be changed regularly. This stern prospect has probably done much to hinder the success of a type of car which, almost two decades after the E1 has been presented, sadly remains more of a curiosity than a potential mean of transportation.

About the model

Model: BMW E1
Year: 1991
Maker: Hongwell
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Cararama
Acquired: brand new, in November 2004, in Manila, Philippines

This is again a model that we should be happy a die-cast maker ever produced, albeit quality isn’t great. Indeed, while up front Cararama did things rather correctly, the reproduction of rear window and panel as a single part that is never assembled correctly does much to reduce my rating to 6/20.

Porsche 962

A little history

A polyvalent machine able to comply with both Group C and IMSA GTP rules, the Porsche 962 succeeded the 956 after the latter had been run for three seasons. Despite a similar silhouette, the 962 was virtually a new machine, built on an extended 956 chassis which allowed the driver to be moved backwards. It initially received the same 2.6-liter engine as its predecessor, though in IMSA form one out of two turbochargers had to be removed. Larger flat sixes were later developed, displacing up to 3.2-litre.

The Porsche 956 had crushed the (limited) resistance offered by Ford and Lancia in the early days of Group C racing; initially the 962 did as well when faced with newcomers such as Jaguar, Sauber or Nissan. The British team proved its toughest rival, and domination switched sides from 1988 on. Nonetheless 962s remained fairly competitive throughout the model’s long career, all the more after some private teams took the responsibility of developing evolutions of the car. First of them was Kremer, last Dauer which, during the Group C’s agony in 1994, exploited a loophole in the new rules in order to reclassify the 962 as a GT. Noticing that only one road legal car was needed to enter a machine as a Gran Turismo at Le Mans, Jochen Dauer had a 962 converted to road use and, so as to convince sceptical ACO assessors, drove the car himself from Germany to Sarthe. Though a road stop had some comical effects, Dauer having much trouble to gear into reverse in front of a small crowd of amazed witnesses, the demonstration was good enough and his 962s, benefiting from the more lenient GT rules regarding fuel tank capacities, took a narrow victory against the Toyota prototypes. Apart from these two Dauers, original 962s were still racing in 1994, sometimes with success. For the next season, rules evolved again, removing the loophole used by Dauer and banning Group Cs for good, ending not only the ten-year career of one of the most prestigious Porsche ever, but also of one of the most fascinating chapter in the history of motor racing.

About the models

Model: Porsche 962 C
Year: 1987
Event: 1987 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Derek Bell, Al Holbert and Hans Stuck (finished 1st overall)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.17 of its Les Plus Belles Voitures des 24 Heures du Mans press series
Acquired: brand new, in June 2006, in Souillac, France

Ixo’s 962 is on a par with its 956, and therefore deserves an identical 12/20 rating.







Model: Porsche 962 C
Year: 1987
Event: 1987 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Jürgen Lässig, Pierre Yver and Bernard de Dryver (finished 2nd overall)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.22 of its Les Monstres Sacrés de l'Endurance press series
Acquired: brand new, in October 2007, in Souillac, France

The higher standard of quality of this series justifies giving a 13/20 to this nice model. Nonetheless some displeasing details remain, such as the wipers, which as with all of Ixo’s 956/962s are moulded with the windshield.









Model: Porsche 962 C
Year: 1989
Event: 1989 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Oscar Larrauri, Walter Brun and Jésus Parreja (retired)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.3 of its 100 años de Sport Automovil 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.

Not necessarily extraordinary, and moreover someone made me notice on a forum that the rear part isn’t the appropriate one, but I have a special weakness for this car that I saw in action twenty years ago. My rating is 11/20.





Model: Dauer 962 GT LM - Porsche
Year: 1994
Event: 1994 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Yannick Dalmas, Hurley Hailwood and Mauro Baldi (finished 1st overall)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.26 of its Les Plus Belles Voitures des 24 Heures du Mans press series
Acquired: brand new, in December 2004, in Souillac, France

Another 12/20 for this correct, but not irresistible die-cast.







Model: Dauer 962 GT LM - Porsche
Year: 1994
Event: 1994 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Hans Stuck, Danny Sullivan and Thierry Boutsen (finished 3rd overall)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.34 of its Les Monstres Sacrés de l'Endurance press series
Acquired: brand new, in January 2008, in Souillac, France

Despite being released in a later series this Altaya model doesn’t feature much improvement over the former die-cast, so I’ll again give it 12/20.