Tag Archives: 1:18

Diecast cars

Die-cast: Autoart’s Bugatti EB110 GT

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Autoart recreates Bugatti’s first modern supercar, the EB110 GTbug1

Bugatti’s existence is best characterized by a rollercoaster. Its ups have been spectacular, and its downs, well, also were outs.

But in September of 1991 its new owner introduced the new mid-engine EB110 GT, the 110 signifying the 110th anniversary of company founder Ettore Bugatti’s birth. The EB110 was a supercar ahead of its times in several ways. Sadly, sales results weren’t one of its successes.

Now Autoart has creates a 1:18 version of the 110 GT with its usual eye to detail, and in four colors, blue, white, silver and the dark red of our sample.bug6

The History

Bugatti, an Italian who built his successful company in France, created beautiful high-performance cars for years, its heyday being the 1920 and 30s. But the company floundered after World War II and ceased production in 1963, only to be revived in 1986 by Romano Artiolli. When it appeared in 1991, the 110 GT was Bugatti’s first car in roughly 40 years and it was spectacular.

The supercar featured the low lean look that Ferrari and Lamborghini had been taking to the bank for years, but added scissor-style doors and a 3.6-liter quad-turbo V12 and all-wheel-drive to make it both racy looking and giving it top-shelf performance. Continue reading Die-cast: Autoart’s Bugatti EB110 GT →

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Die-cast: Autoart 1:18 Aston Martin One-77

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Autoart nails sexy Aston Martin One-77aston1

Fortunately not many cars cost nearly $2 million, but then the rarity of such cars makes them all the more curious and collectable.

That’s especially true with smooth, slinky, sexy hot rods like Aston Martin’s limited production One-77. Only 77 were made from 2011 through 2012. Now Autoart unveils its version in 1:18 scale as part of its Signature Series, and what a beauty it is.

The History

Talk about a “halo” car, the One-77 is an extremely limited production super car of sorts created by England’s Aston Martin. It was an exercise in art and automotive technology first teased at the Paris Auto Show of 2008 and fully revealed at the Geneva show the next year.

aston2Its highlights include a carbon fiber monocoque chassis with hand-made aluminum body to help it click the scales at just 3,594 lbs. That’s unusual, but Aston Martin, which won the 24 Hours of LeMans back in 1959 with Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori at the wheel, has always been a purveyor of power. So the One-77 drops a gutsy 7.3-liter, 750-horse naturally aspirated V12 under its long clean swept-back hood.

That’s one of the most powerful naturally aspirated engines ever and reportedly will push the One-77 to 220 mph and 0-60 mph in about 3.5 seconds. Quick indeed, but some super cars have bettered that mark already. Continue reading Die-cast: Autoart 1:18 Aston Martin One-77 →

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Die-cast: Norev 1970 Porsche 917K

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Norev creates colorful 1:18 Porsche 917K racer

Racing fans, especially those dialed into the LeMans scene of the 1970s know Porsche 917s were king of the hill, or racetrack, as the case may be.

Cool paint scheme!
Cool paint scheme!

These Germanic wonders created massive horsepower and their sleek lines and body work created massive downforce. They were the unchallenged endurance racers of the time.

Norev, a French die-cast model maker, introduces a new 1:18-scale collection of 917s that raced at LeMans in France, along with other noted circuits worldwide. The review car was the blue and green Martini & Rossi Racing Team’s No. 35, driven by Gerard Larrousse and Gijs Van Lennep in the 6-hour endurance race at the famous Watkins Glen circuit in 1970.

The History

The 917K was the highly successful short-tail version of the 917, winning the 24 Hours of LeMans in both 1970 and 1971. The long-tail models originally introduced by Porsche in 1969 were highly unstable. The short tail Kurzheck version, which is where the K comes from, ran away with the sports car championships for both years.

In 1971 a 917K was clocked at a top speed of 243 mph at LeMans and was the presumed victor, even before the race was run. The Martini team was a popular and successful entrant for years and this model is of Martini’s “psychedelic” livery that featured a wild blue and bright green paint scheme that excited fans and journalists, even though it was not, ultimately, a winner. Continue reading Die-cast: Norev 1970 Porsche 917K →

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Die-cast: Auto World 1971 Plymouth Road Runner

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1971 Road Runner creates an eyeful of muscle carrr main

American Muscle came in various shapes and sizes in the late 1960s and early 1970s, before the first oil embargo put the nix on giant V-8s and the awesome grumble and power they delivered.

Now Auto World creates a beautiful 1971 Plymouth Road Runner in Petty Blue with white vinyl top (remember those?) in 1:18 scale. This is part of the aptly named American Muscle lineup that retails at roughly $80-85, a good price for this scale considering some 1:43 scale diecast and resin models are approaching that price range.

An advantage here too is that the doors, hood and trunk all open, so you can easily see the interior, a bright blue in the sample car, plus the well detailed V-8 under its long hood with black Air Grabber scoop.

Road Runners were fast, on- or off-track, and yes, Richard Petty, the King of NASCAR, successfully raced one in 1971. Auto World makes that one too. Continue reading Die-cast: Auto World 1971 Plymouth Road Runner →

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Die-cast: Autoart 1:18 McLaren MP4-12C

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Autoart nails its McLaren MP4-12C supercar

Supercars are exciting because they embody the auto world’s future technology, they are, to some degree, like the old auto show concept cars, the Futurama vehicles.

Gotta love these scissor doors!
Gotta love these scissor doors!

Today we immediately think of brands such as Lamborghini, Pagani and McLaren, swoopy cars with scissor or gullwing doors that ooze speed and aerodynamic prowess. Certainly the McLaren MP4-12C, now known primarily as the 12C, fits this bill. No wonder Autoart chose it for a terrific 1:18 scale version in its Signature Series.

Personally I love the sleek smooth lines of a Lamborghini better, but there’s no denying the 12C looks like a racer. Certainly it has the pedigree, what with Bruce McLaren, the firm’s founder being one of the premier Formula 1 racers of the 1960s and with the McLaren race team’s continual success through the years.

The 12C looks a little like a Porsche from the front and Ferarri in profile, but with big gills carved behind the doors to let plenty of air into its swagger-inducing McLaren M838 twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8. As with all supercars, the engine sits amid ship, just behind the driver and powers the rear wheels. Horsepower? How do 616 ponies sound?

Like many supercars, which favor light weight and high horsepower, the 12C starts with a carbon fiber composite chassis, what it calls a Carbon Monocell, that weighs just 176 lbs. Heck, overall the car weighs just about 3,100 lbs.

Unlike the funky, but speedy, 3-seat McLaren F1 before it, this sports car has the standard 2-seat, side-by-side interior and scissor-style doors that fold up and forward.

Price? If you have to ask you can’t afford one!McLaren

Continue reading Die-cast: Autoart 1:18 McLaren MP4-12C →

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Die-cast: Autoart F1 Porsche 804

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Autoart’s rare F1 Porsche ‘simply’ beautiful

How rare is Autoart’s new silver F1 Porsche 804?porsche1

Well, consider that you probably didn’t know that Porsche ever raced Formula 1, and won. Consider too that only four of these cars were ever made.

Thanks to Autoart, that number is now growing, of course these are 1:18 scale diecast, so not quite as fast, or as dangerous as the originals.

A little background
In the early 1960s, the racing world, led by Formula 1 in Europe, was transitioning from front-engine to rear-engine cars. Porsche joined Ferrari, Lotus and others in developing new chassis and engines to show off their design capabilities.

Porsche was only in it for a short time, with moderate success in 1961 with its 718 and 787 models. But in 1962 Porsche created the slim 804 racer that won Porsche its one and only F1 race, the French Grand Prix at Rouen. American Dan Gurney drove the car, beating Tony Maggs’ Cooper by a lap. Gurney also won the non-points Solitude Grand Prix shortly thereafter.

porsche 4This is Autoart’s version of that racer’s sister car, as driven by Joakin (Jo) Bonnier at Germany’s Nurburgring later that summer. The Gurney car also is available from Autoart, and both models also are available with driver figures. Continue reading Die-cast: Autoart F1 Porsche 804 →