[Dave7872]

Congrats on another 917K mate, Your going to have as many me soon. Gary has posted my Daytona winner this weekend. Now I have my eye on the #35 Hippie version. I saw one sell across the pond last week for crazy low money.

 

[Jersey_Devil]

Thanks, my friend. I think the #35 doesn't get much love because 1) the 917K is nowhere near as sexy as the original "Hippie" 917, the 1970 Le Mans long-tail 917L; 2) the drivers for the car in this livery, Gijs van Lennep and Gerard Larrousse, were not "stars"; and 3) the #35's record is not particularly impressive, qualifying 5th and finishing 9th in the Watkins Glen 6-Hour and 6th in the Glen Can-Am the next day.

 

[Dave7872]

Strange you say that Red, There is an abundance of 917L out there, And hardly any 917K. And they go for well over £100 each over here in Europe.

 

[Jersey_Devil]

I'm just speaking about the #35, Dave - I've seen it many times and relatively cheap. As for the available 917Ls, most are the 1971 Martini and Hippie versions which apparently were either produced in too high numbers or just don't pique peoples' interests. But you know the 1971 Gulf 917L and the white 1970 Salzburg 917L are few and far between.

 

[spanky17ab]

Those GT 40,s are my favorite, I've always liked that car in all its configurations over time. Awesome Awesome collection.

 

[Jersey_Devil]

Thanks, Spanky - love them myself and will supplement the ones I have with more as they become available (undoubtedly not from Exoto anymore!)...

 

[Oldtimer]

Used to have this one as well! Went nicely with the 1970 LM winner. Don't have either anymore.

Me, too! Once had all the AutoArt 917's on display, but as I downsized, kept only the silver Martinis and the Gulf's, along with the two from the 1970 LeMans race (and McQueen movie).

 

[Jersey_Devil]

In my recent review of my Minichamps Jaegermeister Ford Capri turbo, I discussed the DRM (Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft - German Racing Championship) of 1972 - 1985. In 1981 the Capri Turbo was still the car to field, but an oddity of the championship prevented the driver of my new add from taking the championship. There were two divisions in the DRM for under- and over-1.5L Turbo engines and they raced separately - but there was only one championship and the points earned in the separate divisions counted toward the same title. Manfred Winkelhock's Zakspeed-prepared, Liqui-Moly sponsored Ford Capri Turbo was battling Bob Wollek's Kremer Racing Jaegermeister Porsche 935 K3 in Division 1, but Klaus Ludwig's Zakspeed Ford Capri Turbo (also released in 1/18th by Minichamps) was dominating Divsion 2's separate races and would win the title, with Wollek and then Winkelhock following in the standings.

Manfred Winkelhock's Capri Turbo leads Bob Wollek's Porsche 935 K3

Minichamps' release of the Winkelhock Capri Turbo is as beautifully rendered as my Jaegermeister 1982 version of the car. The paint job is superb and the tampos exactly match the sponsorship decals on the 1:1. There's not a lot more to say except I love the colorful livery and the few photos I was able to find of the 1:1 confirm their accuracy (except the tape on the headlights - though it seemed to change race-to-race, I was able to find one that had the cross-shaped tape but it was black rather than white, although an "X" or no tape at all were carried on the car during other races).

 

[Jersey_Devil]

By 1973, the Canadian-American Challenge Cup series (Can-Am) was showing its flaws - the superior performance of the Penske Sunoco turbo Porsche 917/10s in 1972 had convinced McLaren to abandon the series that used to be their playpen and there was no realistic competition left. Mark Donohue, Roger Penske and Porsche continued to develop the car, lengthening it for greater stability, expanding fuel capacity for the thirsty twin turbo by 20 gallons, going from a 5-liter flat-twelve to 5.4-liters and increasing race-time horsepower by over 200 (up to 1100!). The French aerodynamics company SERA (responsible for the design of the 917/20 "Pink Pig") created a new nose and tailpiece but Donohue insisted on the bodywork that had been used at Le Mans in 1971. When testing at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, Donohue did 212 mph on the straight with the SERA bodywork and, after switching to the tail he demanded, hit 240!

When the series started at Mosport, Donohue's major opposition was year-old 917/10s driven by future World Driving Champion Jody Scheckter and ex-Penske teammate and 1972 Can-Am Champ George Follmer. Donohue was fastest and led early but an encounter with a far slower backmarker damaged the 917/30 and he ended up seventh after repairs, leading to one of the rarer Exoto releases, as seen here:

Due to the assumption of the impending dominance of the Penske operation in 1973, all the Can-Am events after Mosport were scheduled as two-heat races to give spectators the chance to see all the cars close together twice - if only at the beginning of races. At Road Atlanta, Donohue was on pole again and walked away with the first heat. The second heat was the next day but would be run as a continuation of the first heat rather than as a separate race. A fuel leak in his cockpit forced Donohue to stop twice to pour water on his fuel-soaked driver's suit to relieve his burning skin and to finally fix the leak. He unlapped himself but ended up second to Follmer's ex-Penske 917/10. At Watkins Glen he blew an engine and then a broken suspension piece forced a crash that sent him to his backup vehicle, the repaired Mosport car. Despite it still being geared for Mosport, Mark took pole at record speed (faster than F1 through 1974!) and finally christened the 917/30 by winning both heats. He would do the same at Mid-Ohio three weeks later.

Two weeks after that, the Road America Can-Am was business as usual for the all-powering 917/30 that my Exoto model is based on; the Porsche Panzer Division would sweep the rest of the Can-Am events, basically ending the series.

Penske Sunoco Porsche 917/30 in front of the technical scrutineering shack at Road America before the 1973 Can-Am

I took a while to photo this after I received it a few weeks ago because I was somewhat annoyed when I opened the box of this model in "Excellent condition" (to quote the seller's ad) and saw the removable right rear wheel was not mounted (see in the last pic in this review below, the wheel/tire assembly is in the styrofoam container SIDEWAYS - I have no idea whether it was deliberately removed or fell off during shipping) and the right rear stoplight was detached, with the wheel nut and stoplight rattling around loose in the Exoto styrofoam clamshell. But I was able to mount the tire using the enclosed wrench and it seems to be holding so, aside from the car being dirty (disturbingly visible in the photos), no other complaints.

It is a typical Exoto model, with superb detail, as the photos below show. The body appears to have been molded in blue diecast material with excellent trim decals that match the 1:1. The body rides high with too much clearance, but that may be due to my caution in assembling it before returning it to its box. The lip below the front nose is missing the red trim (visible in photo of 1:1 above) that I've seen in several pics of the car at this and other Can-Ams. The Sunoco decals on the sides of the nose are too small, the rudimentary windscreen is a bit too large compared to the real car and the rear wing second element is different than in the pics of the 1:1 on which it looks more like an attached Gurney tab rather than a separate piece with connecting joints as on the Exoto. But the amount of detail in the cockpit, the engine and under the front deck is mind-boggling and worth the price of admission with pipes, wires, fuel and oil lines, turbocharger and a myriad of other features - right down to the laces on the driver's shoes!

 

[drivinghermad]

Both Fantastic updates,both models are Stunning and your hard work to let us all know the History is beyond the norm.Thanks again for putting the effort in so we can all enjoy these updates.

 

[Jersey_Devil]

Thanks again for your appreciation, Darren - it's a labor of love, as always

!

 

[Dave7872]

Another bout of stunning models mate, Those Capris are brutal. Could all be used in the winter as a snow plough lol.

And the 917/30 is bloody brilliant, Detail upon detail to see there, Exoto nailed this one. I wish Exoto would make a 917 in Gulf or Martini colours, I think they had some on their site at one point for pre order, But I am not falling for that old chestnut.

I've read all about these Exoto pre orders.

Congrats on the adds my friend. Please PM me about the Job etc.

 

[StratosWRC]

My biggest ever holy grail which I finally ended up buying. Congrats! I love this model

 

[CreepyVanMan]

Congrats man! It's one of my favorite models, I never thought I was going to get this sucker. Thanks again for the history and I almost crapped myself thinking you got one of the damaged models. I scrolled past the intro because I couldn't wait to see the pics haha! Loving the collection man, it's full of beauties with lots of history to share!

 

[Jersey_Devil]

Thanks guys - I'm considering ultimately collecting all the Capri turbos, like I have the Exoto Le Mans Ford Mk. IIs - the first time I saw a pic of these DRM cars a few years ago, I remember thinking "This is 427 Cobra-type HAIRY! Someone has to make this in diecast!" It took Minichamps a few years, but they came through big time

!

Dave, believe me, the list of cars I wish Exoto had followed through with their promises to release is as long as...the list itself, but with their reimagining themselves as a "boutique-style" diecast company catering to the very wealthy, I am not going to pay their current prices no matter how iconic the release (well, MAYBE the '66 Nurburgring-winning Chaparral 2D, but that's IT!). But I will NEVER be rich enough to be willing to pre-order anything from that company - money used for that is money set fire to, burned to a crisp and then the ashes dumped into the deepest canyon you can find....

Wes and CVM, delighted that you appreciated it - it's another one of my "sold it and got it back again" models. As such, that fact is one of my primary sources of shame: I bought my original 917/30 (a driver-less version) in 2008 from Speedgear brand-new - for $131.45 shipped

. Needless to say, I paid more than that for this used one, though I still paid far below market.

 

[Jersey_Devil]

Exoto Ford France #56 Cobra Daytona Coupe, driven by Jo Schlesser and Andre Simon to 12th place in the 1965 Nürburgring 1000 Km.

In 1964, Carroll Shelby's Cobras had come thisclose to winning the GTIII class of the World Sportscar Championship, missing out when the final race of the season, scheduled for Monza where the Cobra Daytona Coupes were favored over the Ferrari 250 GTOs, was abruptly cancelled after some under-the-table dealings between "Ill Commendatore" Enzo Ferrari and the Monza organizers.

In 1965, the FIA refused to homologate the Ferrari 250 LM for the GTIII class based solely on Enzo's promise that he would "eventually" build the 100 copies of the model required for the category. As a result, he gathered up his toys and went home in a huff, withdrawing from any official participation in the class and thereby leaving it wide open for the Cobras. However, on the American side, Carroll Shelby was told he was to focus on campaigning the evolving Ford GT40 which had been transferred from Ford Advanced Vehicles under John Wyer (of later J. W. Automotive Engineering fame) after FAV's efforts in 1964 had failed to see a single GT40 finish a race.

After Shelby-run Cobras won their class in the Daytona Continental 2000 Km. (the year before the race converted to its present 24-hour format) and Sebring 12-Hours, the Cobras were packed up and sent to the U.K.'s Alan Mann Racing which would campaign them the rest of the season. Chassis CSX 2300 finished 6th at Daytona and 13th at Sebring (both times 3rd in class behind two other Cobras) before being sent to Europe.

There it was leased to Ford France, painted white with blue and red stripes to represent the French flag and driven by Frenchmen Jo Schlesser and Andre Simon to 12th place (3rd in class behind two other Cobras

) in the Nürburgring 1000 Km.:

After that it was passed to Willment Racing (John Willment, the other "J.W." of J.W. Automotive Engineering), restored to the regular blue with white stripes and driven to ninth place (2nd in class behind another Daytona coupe) in the 12 Hours of Reims.

This Exoto rendering of the Ford France version is mostly a repaint of the standard Exoto 1965 Cobra mold but the paint job is much less heavy-handed than I originally thought from the eBay seller's pic, which is a pleasure to see. It's a very distinctive and welcome change from the standard blue with white stripes of nearly all the other Exoto Daytona Coupes (except for the red Filipinetti version).

The knock-offs stand out against the rather plastic-looking white wheels, but the rear wheels don't appear to be as deep as in the photos of the 1:1's. There are many nice detail touches but the three hood scoops are not as high and wide open as on the 1:1. The driver's side window has a sliding pane open (it isn't movable) but in every pic I've seen of this #56, the opening is toward the rear, not the front as on the model. As for the decals, they appear accurate except for the names of the drivers, which do not appear on the full-size car (at least not on the left side). The doglegs on the doors are somewhat obvious but, after all, this was originally a "budget" Exoto.

The grills on the side and front deck are nicely rendered, as are the small "pilot" lights around the car. The rear window has beautifully machined silver screw heads all around - superb work! The cockpit has the usual Exoto attention to detail, down to the well-done fire extinguisher.

And I love that despite all the effort to outfit the car as a French entrant, the Cobra still has a USA country plaque and license on it!

All in all, it's still a nicely executed model of a unique version of the classic car and, for price I paid for it, a welcome addition to my collection.

 

[simondc07]

Great addition there Red, the Daytona Coupes by Exoto never tire. Much like the GT40s, I have a soft spot for these American sports cars even though my blood bleeds Ferrari red. I have never seen this livery however, didn't Exoto do another white Daytona Coupe?

The 917/30 is such a beast also. I saw one being demonstrated at Phillip Island many years ago. Even at 50% it was shockingly fast. Can't beat the Exotos!

 

[Jersey_Devil]

Thanks, Simon - I've chased it for some time, though I refused to pay modern Exoto-type money for it

.

Although I can't account for every one of Exoto's latest attempts to dump its inventory of 17-year-old Cobra Coupes by slapping yet another paint job on them and releasing them as the 30th in a string of "Special Editions", the Ford France version is the only white-liveried Daytona Coupe they released. There IS the red one I mentioned, the Scuderia Filipinetti entrant in the 1965 Le Mans 24-Hour (day and night versions):

but all the rest of the versions of real racing cars are some shade of blue with or without white stripes.

 

[Dave7872]

Congrats on another fantastic model my friend. Looks great, I had one of the blue versions a few years back but let it go when I went with the Porsche theme. So I know just how good these Cobras are.

 

[Oldtimer]

Red - Every time you post up a new model, I have to run to my "Museum" to see if that spot is empty, and whether my wife's sold one under my nose.

Love the research and history you add.