2007 Lowndes V8SC

20th January 2008

Triple Eight Race Engineering started the 2007 season with a splash of colour. Their cars were presented with a clean two-tone colour scheme that was in stark contrast to the multi-coloured, multi-sponsored liveries they team ran from 2004 to 2006. This is a 1:18 Classic Carlectables model of #888 machine that Craig Lowndes drove to victory several times during the year. He didn’t quite enjoy the success he had in 2006 and finished the season one spot lower in third overall.

1988 Exoto Sauber Mercedes C9

10th August 2007

Introduced in the 1987 Group C Prototype World Sportscar Championship, the C9 used a Mercedes Benz source turbocharged 5.0L V8. The team struggled in 1987, but in 1988, with the Black AEG backed cars, they won five of the championship rounds to take second overall behind Jaguar.

Team Australia!

26th January 2007

HDT drivers Peter Brock and Larry Perkins swapped their VK Group C Commodores to share a John Fitzpatrick Porsche 956 sports car in the 1984 Le Mans 24-hour endurance race. The car started from twentieth position and had made it to fifth place just past the halfway point (2am) but was retired after Perkins crashed the car at the Esses. The 1:18 model made by Minichamps was originally due to be released just before Bathurst 2006, but was delayed after the untimely death of Peter Brock in September 2006. Each and every one of the 2500 made has long since been accounted for.

1987 Soper/Dieudonnes RS500 Sierra

5th October 2006

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the BADDEST of them all? 1987 saw the Eggenberger team at the height of their powers. The Swiss team managed to massage Ford’s RS500 Cosworth Sierra into what will always be the sexiest Group A touring car of all time. In ’87 the Great Race, the James Hardie Bathurst 1000, was part of the inaugural World Touring Car Championship; round eight to be exact. The Eggenberger boys presented two immaculately turned out Texaco RS500s. Steve Soper (GB) and Pierre Diedonne (B) were in car #6 and Klaus Ludwig (D) and Klaus Niedzwietz (D) were in car #7. The Kraut pair took out the pole on the Saturday, relegating the Soper car to start from third place on the grid. The race saw the two Factory Ford cars steamroll the opposition into dust! The foursome brought the Fords in for a 1-2 finish after 161 laps with the Soper/Dieudonne car ahead… The finish, reminiscent of Ford’s 1-2 from 1977, drew lengthy protests. After a period of three months, the Eggenberger team was stripped of its quinella due to minor irregularities of their Ford’s wheel arch dimensions. It was a cruel blow for the team which had gained no performance advantage from the modifications carried out on their cars. The fairytale ending may have eluded us, but the memories will always be strong (thanks to the DVD). To put things into perspective, the lap times set 20 years ago by this car was merely 10 seconds (over 6km) adrift of today’s V8 Supercars which have double the number of cylinders and more than double the engine capacity and massive tyres!

AMG 300SEL 6.3

8th March 2007

It was a relief to have sourced one of these 1:18 Minichamps 300SEL Benzes. The car which the model depicts signalled the turning point for the fortunes of a small time tuning shop called AMG. Even though they had been around since 1967, their first really successful car was the W108 300SEL with the 6.3 litre V8. I have no idea how such a heavy car could compete so successfully in touring car events, but the AMG team went on to race works Mercedes Benzes in the DTM throughout the ’80s, ’90s and the present. Of all the S-Class Benzes, the W108 looks the most gangster and is consequently my favourite.

Team Germany

27th January 2007

Dirk Muller's 2005 Team Germany BMW 320si that Schnitzer used in the World Touring Car Championhip.

9 - Jag Parts VK SS Group A Commodore

30th April 2008

The 2008 Diecast Covention had a few special edition cars released to serve as a memento of the event. Again Classic Carlectables were contracted to produce the 1:18s. I chose to get the Jag Parts VK SS Group A Commodore driven by Gerald Kay and Geoff Munday. The car finished the 1988 Bathurst 1000 in eighth place after dropping one of its eight cylinders. The model is one of 700 produced and comes with Kay’s signature. I quite like it because it is my first VK SS Goup A and the car looks damn good too!

10 - Mazda 3

3rd October 2008

This was an interesting pick up. It was the first time I had bought a model made by a Chinese company called Pauldi. They seem to specialise in all the entry level Japanese cars like the Nissan Tiida and Toyota Camry. I got this car ’cos it reminded me of the very first car that I covered in my Test Drive segment- Lightning’s SP23. The model has the right body kit and wheel size, but the engine is only a 2.0L. The car is also badged as a 2.0S. The car lacks the detail of the latest AUTOart models and the rear doors don’t open, but it still looks quite good for the price.

11 - Senna's First Win

20th March 2009

The Renault turbo powered Lotus 97T was the car that Senna drove brilliantly to a debut victory in the very wet Portuguse Grand Prix of 1985. The model is my first diecast Formula 1 replica. The 1:12 model is made by Minichamps and is of a limited edition. I’m not happy about the missing John Player Special logos, but it doesn’t look too bad in its bare appearance. This will need to be partnered up with the 1:12 McLaren MP4/4 that Senna became World Drivers’ Champion with in 1988.