My rare auto models

[Gramps46]

OK, I am truly impressed once again with what you have accomplished with these Corvettes.  I still have the custom parts that came in the 1961 and 1962 SMP kits and had always intended to build them some day now you have provided some inspiration.

 

 

[caapa]

On 7/5/2024 at 1:10 AM, Gramps46 said:

OK, I am truly impressed once again with what you have accomplished with these Corvettes.  I still have the custom parts that came in the 1961 and 1962 SMP kits and had always intended to build them some day now you have provided some inspiration.

 

 

Wow, unknown (for me) design elements of a Corvette. Is there any picture or name of this custom car?

[Gramps46]

2 hours ago, caapa said:

Wow, unknown (for me) design elements of a Corvette. Is there any picture or name of this custom car?

I am afraid I do not have any information on the custom parts in the upper portion of the photo but will keep looking.  I had them labeled as 1962 SMP kit.

Sending you a PM.

[Gramps46]

I did find this built up which looks like it used the parts.

1962 Chevrolet Corvette - Customizing kit - Amt (forumactif.org)

 

[Gramps46]

Bingo!  I found the kit on the bay.  It is an AMT kit and not SMP.

This must be the stock version I built from that kit.  Hood still won't stay down after 62 years ?

[caapa]

Ferrari 599XX 2010

At the 2010 Beijing International Auto Show, Ferrari announced that the  599XX had run the  lap of the Nürburgring in 6’58,16”, the second fastest time ever recorded for a production-derived sports car. The 599XX based on the 599 GTB Fiorano. („599” is the displacement of the V12 engine divided by 10 – why 10, probably nobody know it even at Ferrari) The engine is 6,0 l, V12 placed front-mid with 700 HP at 9000 rpm. The car accelerates 0-100 km/h in 2,9 sec and the topspeed is 315 km/h. (red line speed) The 599XX isn’t road-legal, nor is it even track-ready without  the aid of a team of Ferrari mechanics. Buyers of a base 599XX got, for their $1.75 million, the car along with six Ferrari-sponsored track test days. For an additional $250,000—that is, about the price of a new Ferrari 458—existing owners will receive another six track days, along with upgrades. It’s the upgrades  that make this such a bargain: there’s all the usual engineering tweaks—changes to the suspension, increase the power to 730 horses—but the crux of this all is the active rear wing, similar to the Drag Reduction System (DRS) technology from Formula One. It features two flaps which rotate automatically, based on telemetry of the car’s speed, steering angle, lateral acceleration, and more, in order to raise or lower the downforce on the rear wheels—and the best, the front wheels as well.  Manufactured  from 2009 to 2012, with only 44 units built.

The model made by a NoName manufacturer in China in 1:64 scale. It is with nice wheels and rubber tires, inserted plastic front and rear lights, opening doors. Would be a credit to any well-known manufacturer.

Enjoy the pictures.

[caapa]

Crysler Crossfire 2001

The Crossfire was a concept/show car design that actually got built – which is rare. It was Crysler`s first sports car and based  on the Mercedes SLK. (that time Chrysler was owned by Daimler-Benz)  It was a very good sports car but it was less a performance car than a casual cruiser. It was fast and fun to drive with excellent handling and bracking and even had an active aero with small rear wing for downforce at high speed. The 3,2 litre V6 engine pushed 215 hp, later the SRT6 version a much healtier 330 hp. The acceleratrion 0 – 100 was about 5 sec, which was rather fine.  Despite all this the car wasn`t  a great success and 2008 was the swan song of a love child born out of the troubled Daimler - Chrysler marriage.  Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear) said :  Great looking car, and let's face it, they could have chosen a worse platform to base it on, but they didn't.

The model made by Motormax  in 1:24 scale. I repainted the body and detailed the interieur by painting.

Enjoy the pictures.

[caapa]

1-75 story 31 Cugnot Fardier á Vapeur 1770  

Nicolas Joseph Cugnot a french military engineer  designed the „Fardier á Vapeur” in 1769 for a new way to transport heavy equipment  – artillery pieces  first of all – to battlefield.   The first steam-propelled vehicle in history was born - an automatically moving vehicle, or automobile for short.  The base was a gun carriage that would have normally been drawn by horses, but he adapted a large boiler in front where water was heated with firewood, which produced steam. The steam powered the pistons of two side cylinders that moved notched discs on the front wheel. It was planed to reach a top speed of 15 km/h, but the absence of pressure regulation in the boiler made it very difficult to control. To make things worse, the steering was unwieldy and there were no brakes. At nearly three tons of weight and with some problems of stability , it was not exactly an easy vehicle to handle. According to eyewitnesses the vehicle reached a speed around 5 km/h during the first tests, which ones ended with the fardier crashing against a wall. That was the world’s first automobile accident . It was enough for the opponents and disbelievers to stop the projekt.  The prototype built by Cugnot more than 250 years ago is a distant cousin of today’s cars and still exists. It is on display at the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Paris.

I built the model trying to use the original materials, construction and tecnologies - as much as it was possible. So the boiler made of sheet-copper, upper and lower part are embossed with hammer, the middle part is from 4 bent segments. The chassis is made not from oak but a rather homogen hardwood with tongued and grooved joints. The wheels are made with wooden segments, spokes and hub. The iron parts are made of metal and plastic. The rear wheels are rolling free, all other moving parts are moving (except the steering and steam regulator arms) – but only to a rather limited extent .

 

 Enjoy the pictures.

[caapa]

Audi Project Rosemeyer 2000

Named after the legendary race car driver Bernd Rosemeyer who made the 1930s Auto Union „Silver Arrow”  race cars famous. . He died at the young age of just 28 behind the wheel of an Auto Union Streamline.  It happened during a top speed record-breaking attempt while doing around 440 km/h on the Frankfurt to Darmstadt motorway. The concept car debuted June 1, 2000 at the Autostadt in Wolfsburg, Germany. The car was planed with a - from Bentley Hunadiéres known -  monstrous W16 8.0-liter naturally aspirated engine, 700 horsepower, quattro all-wheel drive and six-speed manual gearbox.  Audi said the Rosemeyer would do 350 km/h. As a matter of fact, the concept was not even functional. But the W16 engine came to life in the Bugatti Veyron 2001 with 4 turbo chargers and lived longer heavily upgraded still today in the Bugatti Chiron.

 

The model sold by Suntory Boss in 1:50 scale. The head and rear lights are inserted plastic and the car is driven by flywheel. But it has a little dinamo too - the headlights come on while driving. So the toycar has more function as the 1:1.

 

Enjoy the pictures.

 

[caapa]

Benz Patentwagen 1886

Benz was the first to develop a „horseless  carriage” with internal combustion engine into a product for everyday use. Karl Benz applied on 29 January 1886 a patent for a three-wheel trolley with petrol engine and chain drive. He used a 954 cc single-cylinder four-stroke engine with trembler coil ignition.  This new engine produced 2⁄3 hp at 250 rpm.  It was an extremely light engine for the time, weighing about 100 kg.  The fuel is a petroleum fraction ligroin called as heavy naphtha too.  The car had not been built with a carburettor, rather a basin of fuel soaked fibers that supplied fuel to the cylinder by evaporation. The original cost of the vehicle was 600 imperial German marks, approximately 150 US dollars – that time.  For the first time Karl Benz publicly drove the car on July 3, 1886, in Mannheim at a top speed of 16 km/h. But his wife Bertha demonstrated its feasibility in a trip from Mannheim to Pforzheim  - 106 km - in August 1888. The original vehicle remains extant and was restored in 1906 and donated to the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany.

The model made by a NoName manufacturer /China in 1:12 scale. The engine is „working” : you need only push the car forward and thanks for the rubber belts of transmition,  cone gear, crank shaft with counterweight and piston rod the piston moves for and back in the cylinder. The flywheel helps the smooth runing of the „engine”. (originally the engine could started by the flywheel)

Enjoy the pictures.

[mrm]

The one that started it all. 

The amount of people in US who think that Henry Ford invented the automobile is just mindblowing. 

[caapa]

VW W12 Nardo 2002

 

Reason this concept car was to prove to the world that the VW Group can build a supercar and can build a large and reliable engine for its luxury cars and sportscars. Italdesign team was tasked to design  a mid-engined car with a 600 PS 12-cylinder engine in a W configuration and the Volkswagen's  Syncro all-wheel drive system with six-speed sequential  transmission. Italdesign did its job and created a supercar which could be considered the predecessor of the Bugatti Veyron. In 2001, at the Tokyo Motor Show, VW Group released their most powerful W12 sports car concept yet. It could accelerate from stand till to 100 km/h in about 3,5 seconds and had a top speed of 357 km/h. Weighed just 1200 kg only and it was one of the fastest sports car concepts in the world at that time. And indeed, in 2002 the coupe took the world record for all speed classes over 24 hours over the Nardo Ring, covering a distance of 7,740.576 kms at an average speed of 322.891 km/h.

 

The model made by Motormax 1:24.

 

Enjoy the pictures.

[Gramps46]

Nice design,

[caapa]

Audi Avus Quattro Concept 1991               

 

It was first introduced at the 1991 Tokyo Motor Show. However the car shown here was a precision painted dummy, crafted from wood and plastic only. The real concept car made with panels from polished 1.5 mm thick aluminum that was hand-beaten. The engine was supposed to be a 6.0 litre, 60-valve W12 engine producing 509 PS, The intended powertrain was still in development. The engineers did the math and projected a 0 - 100 km/h run in three seconds and a top speed of 334 km/h. Audi had no intention to put the supercar into production. Rumor has it that didn't stop a few wealthy individuals to try and convince the Ingolstadt-based automaker to build the Avus for as much as $12 million apiece. Ultimately, it didn't happen. The Avus Quattro is now on display at Audi's headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany.

 

The model sold by Suntory Boss in 1:50 scale. The head and rear lights are inserted plastic and the car is flywheel driven.

 

Enjoy the pictures

 

[caapa]

Lancia Stratos HF Stradale 1975

The Lancia Stratos is a true demonstration of visionary design, engineering innovation and rally dominance.  Lancia traditionally used the design house Pininfarina and had not used Bertone till one day Nucio Bertone himself appeared at the Lancia factory gates with the Stratos Zero and he passed underneath the barrier with the car, to great applause from the Lancia workers. After that Lancia and Bertone agreed to develop a new rally car based on the ideas of Bertone's designer Marcello Gandini.   The Lancia Stratos HF Rally is an in racing simply unstoppable  rear mid-engined sports car designed for rallying. This was winning the World Rally Championship in 1974, 1975 and 1976, five times the Tour de France Automobile and three times the Giro d'Italia Automobilistico.  The Stardales engine is a V6 (Ferrari-Fiat – aka Dino) 2419 cm³, 190 PS with 5 speed manual  gearbox and RWD. The acceleration is 6 sec  0 to 100 km/h, top speed  230 km/h. Totaly 492 examples were produced, but the actual number of road-going Stratoses (Strati?) will be far fewer than that.

The model made by Bburago in 1:24 scale. I repainted the full car, plumbed and wired the engine bay, scratchbuilt new head and rear lights. I made the decals, the vents on the front lid, the spoiler on rear and over the top.

Enjoy the pictures.

[1959scudetto]

On 8/29/2024 at 4:00 PM, caapa said:

Lancia Stratos HF Stradale 1975

 

The Lancia Stratos is a true demonstration of visionary design, engineering innovation and rally dominance.  Lancia traditionally used the design house Pininfarina and had not used Bertone till one day Nucio Bertone himself appeared at the Lancia factory gates with the Stratos Zero and he passed underneath the barrier with the car, to great applause from the Lancia workers. After that Lancia and Bertone agreed to develop a new rally car based on the ideas of Bertone's designer Marcello Gandini.   The Lancia Stratos HF Rally is an in racing simply unstoppable  rear mid-engined sports car designed for rallying. This was winning the World Rally Championship in 1974, 1975 and 1976, five times the Tour de France Automobile and three times the Giro d'Italia Automobilistico.  The Stardales engine is a V6 (Ferrari-Fiat – aka Dino) 2419 cm³, 190 PS with 5 speed manual  gearbox and RWD. The acceleration is 6 sec  0 to 100 km/h, top speed  230 km/h. Totaly 492 examples were produced, but the actual number of road-going Stratoses (Strati?) will be far fewer than that.

 

The model made by Bburago in 1:24 scale. I repainted the full car, plumbed and wired the engine bay, scratchbuilt new head and rear lights. I made the decals, the vents on the front lid, the spoiler on rear and over the top.

 

Enjoy the pictures.

 

You turned a crude die-cast into a pretty model, Janos !

[caapa]

Thank you Helmut for the nice comment.

The model was not only crude but the hinges of engine cover were brocken too. The repair of metal parts was new and challenging for me.

[caapa]

Ford Thunderbird 1956

The first 2-seat Ford since 1938. The Ford Thunderbird was the brainchild of two men – Georg Walker and Louis D. Crusoe.  The car was born from the idea that Ford Motor Company should have a sportier vehicle as part of their automobile line. This idea was followed by the company who decided to pursue a “true Ford sports car” for their 1955 model year. It was constructed using a body-on-frame  technique with a wheelbase identical to the Corvette's. The car has a 4,8 litre V8 engine with 205 PS and accelerated 0 – 100 km/h in 9,4 sec. The top speed is 174 km/h. Ford unexpectedly sold more Thunderbirds in 1955 than in 1956 (the fewest of the 3 years production of the 2 seater), even though the 1955 model didn't have a full calendar year of sales. Finelly the 1957 Thunderbird was the last two-seater Ford sold until the release of the 1982 Ford EXP.

The model made by Motormax in 1:24 scale. There is little detail painting in interiuer and engine bay only.

Enjoy the pictures.

[caapa]

Mercedes CLK GTR Roadster  1997

How to start building a super sports car for customers ? First make a good race car. That's exactly what Mercedes did too.  The CLK GTR was not only an excelent race car but symbolizes a significant milestone in motorsport history: Mercedes’ return to racing.  The total production of the GTR was 28 cars – 2 prototypes, 20 coupés and 6 roadsters. When the first production run of 20 CLK GTR coupés ended in 1999, one roadster was also produced and held onto by AMG until 2002. The engine was 6,898 cc by Ilmor, resulting in a power bump to 622 hp. This gave the GTR a 0–100 km/h of 3.8 seconds, and a claimed top speed of over 320 km/h, depending on gearing. The power was routed through a six-speed sequential transaxle. Modifications to the coupé included moving the engine intake from the roof to the sides, door-mounted mirrors, an integrated rollbar behind the seats, a revised front grille and rear wing which resembled the fixed rear wing of the race cars. At the time of manufacture, Guinness World Records named the CLK Straßenversion and its siblings the world's most expensive production car, retailing for US$1,547,620. Sotheby`s recently sold a GTR roadster for 10,235,000 USD.

The model made by Kyosho 1:64 scale.

Enjoy the pictures.

[caapa]

Ford Thunderbird Concept Car 1999

In the 1990s through the 2000s automakers and the buying public were obsessed with everything retro. The past was cool again. When in 1997 the actual Thunderbird was dropped some ones in Ford  felt that the heritage of the Thundrbird should be kept alive.  A dedicated group within Ford done the new design outside the usual ways by unofficial work - like for the first Thunderbird.  Ford unveiled the car as a concept vehicle at the 1999 North American International Auto Show. A design feature was taken from the original : the hood line is higher than the rear deck, the opposite of the currant wedge shape.  The body was created in fiberglass,  powered by a Lincoln 4.6-liter V8, 205 hp and a 5-speed automatic  transmission.  The construction used more components  from Lincoln and Jaguar.  There were 3 conceptcars  produced.  One is in the Sarasota Classic Car Museum in Sarasota/Florida.

The model made by Maisto 1:25 scale.

Enjoy the pictures.

[caapa]

Lamborghini Veneno Roadster  2014

Can a single car incorporate a car manufacturer’s fifty-year-long evolution in technology and style? When the Veneno was unveiled in Geneva Motor Show 2014, nobody could expect that a car with such an extreme design and incredible performance features could fully realize the Company’s 50th Anniversary motto: “100 Years of Innovation in Half the Time”. In the Veneno the Centro Stile Lamborghini wanted to raise once more the limits and boundaries of design. Only few Venenos were released to the public, three of which are coupes (grey with green, red and white accents) and nine roadsters.  The roadster was first shown at the 2014 Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show.  The car is based off the Lamborghini Aventador and uses a version of its V12 engine. It has a top speed of 355 km/h. It can also accelerate from 0–97 km/h in 2.7 seconds. The Veneno can slow down from 97–0 km/h in 30 m. Each one of these cars has been sold at a price of 3,300,000. euros before tax, and they were all sold out even before being unveiled.  One gray coupe is currently on display at MUDETEC (the Museum of Lamborghini Technologies hosted in the production plant in Sant’Agata Bolognese)  The roadsters are probably in well closed garages and seeing the sun seldom.

The model is made by Kyosho in 1:64 scale.

Enjoy the pictures.

 

[caapa]

Jaguar XK 180 Concept  1998

The XK 180 story began with a couple of Jaguar executives chatting over a drink. The topic was the 50th anniversary of the XK 120 and how to celebrate it.  Shortly was clear a concept car which is abel to go 180 miles/h would be worthy one.  The car was revealed at the Paris Motor Show in Oct. 1998, after an incredibly short gestation period of only  ten months. And it was a full funktion car not as the usually concepts made of wood and plastic. It had the XKR’s supercharged 4.0-litre V8, here with 450 bhp (80 more than standard), and a five-speed automatic gearbox specially modified to work with buttons on the steering wheel. Suspension was uprated and Brembo brakes was behind the 20 inch alloy wheels,  the largest ever seen on a Jaguar. The body made of aluminium just like the original XK-120. During the tests was the car prepared for track test of journalists. It was there behind the pits of Le Mans 1998 for this purpose. The 180 mph top-end seems like a reasonable assumption but no one know exactly how fast it was. There was built only two – one RHD for unveil in Paris, one LHD for the Detroit show, both roofless.

The model made by Maisto in 1:25 scale. I detailed the model with some painting.

Enjoy the pictures.

 

[caapa]

Renault Alpine Vision Gran Turismo 2015

The Alpine Vision GT came out of a company internal competition among 15 designs for virtuelle racing on computer. The winner was inspired by the single seater barchettas of the past. But as Renault was saying, they “couldn’t resist” producing one. So Alpine has created a full-size model of the design.  It got a 450-horsepower V8 engine, with  a seven-speed sequential gearbox.  It may not sound like a lot until you consider that the whole thing weighs under 900 kg , which is feather-light for a modern car. The theoretical top speed is 318 km/h. The car was displaying at the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris before moving it to the Rétromobile show at the Porte de Versailles as part of the marque's 60th anniversary celebrations.

The model is made by Majorette in 1:62 scale. I took apart the vehicle, painted yellow the areas which sould be yellow, painted rear lights and completed the paint on the headrest.

Enjoy the pictures.

[caapa]

Mercedes AMG Vision Gran Turismo 2013

It was developed as a concept car in a video game but later built as a real-life model.  The AMG Vision concept may look to the future, but several of its inspirations are clearly from the past.  So there are styling cues to both the classic 300SL and the current SLS AMG in its shape but its gorgeous side profile is a big departure.  The car frame was made of aluminum pipes, the body of carbon fiber. The power unit is a twin-turbocharged 5.5-litre AMG V8 engine with 580 hp. Acceleration is 4.1 sec           0 – 100 km/h and the topspeed is 315 km/h. Later the American company J&S Worldwide Holdings announced the production of 5 such cars. Two copies were intended for Europe and the Middle East, and one for the United States. Mercedes-Benz is notoriously very strict on copying its products and using its brand, especially for profit.  So we cannot be sure of the existence of replicas.  If you want to drive one, your only option is on your Playstation.

The model is made by Xinhaodi/China in 1:22 scale.

Enjoy the pictures.

[caapa]

Porsche Vision Gran Turismo 2021

The Porsche Vision was a project took around six months only.  Each of its innovative features was created by a group of Porsche designers and the in-game vehicle even becoming a tangible reality as it was built as a 1:1 scale model too. The designers made an emotional sportscar using the most eco-friendly options available that time. For example, vegan materials for the seats have fantastic aesthetics and are extremely comfortable. The car got a dual electric engine layout which delivers a system output of 1,098.6 BHP to an all wheel drivetrain. The top speed is 350 km/h, acceleration 0-100 km/h in 2.1 sec, to 200 km/h 5.4 sec. The accu packet is good for a 500 km range. One of the designers said of the role of such projects: “The real world is slowly going to be expanded by the virtual world. There will be exchanges between them and the virtual world will be an inspiration for the real one.”

The model made is by Majorette in 1:64 scale. I corrected the livery by painting on wheels, inteieur back part, front and rear lights, the black thinning stripes behind the headrests, as well as removed the original black stripe between the headrests.

Enjoy the pictures.