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TECHING Benz Patent-Motorwagen 1886 – The car that started it all as 430pcs model kit
A Journey to the Birth of the Automobile Every car on the road today – from compact city cars and luxury saloons to Formula 1 racers and electric hypercars – owes its existence to one remarkable invention. Long before automotive giants such as Ferrari, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz or Toyota became household names, a visionary German engineer introduced a machine that would change transportation forever. That machine was the Benz Patent-Motorwagen. Officially patented on 29 January 1886, it is widely recognised as the world’s first true automobile powered by an internal combustion engine. Unlike earlier experiments that simply added engines to horse-drawn carriages, Carl Benz designed the Patent-Motorwagen as a complete vehicle…
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Sauber-Mercedes C9: The long journey to the top – Yung Shing FEATURETTE
Jolly 80’s or something resembling an introduction The 80’s are considered by many as the golden age of motorsport. And when you consider, it’s hard not to see why. In the same decade we got turbocharged monsters of F1, rocketships and absolute death traps of Group B rally and fire breathing monsters from IMSA’s GTP and GTO classes. Le Mans wasn’t an exception, blessing viewers with the absolute art that was Group C machinery. Group C produced some of the most iconic and insane machines that have ever raced. They sure are some of my favourite cars ever made and I still have posters of Toyota 87C and Pegueot 905…
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“F40 was never meant to be raced.” – Ferrari F40 Tarmacworks FEATURETTE
Ask a child to draw a car and certanly he will draw it red. You can hardly name a more iconic quote in the world of cars. And what is more iconic than a Rosso Corsa Ferrari f40? Born from the remains of Ferrari’s attempt on Group B rally programme with 288 GTO, the last creation of Commendatore, Enzo Ferrari, himself was created as a anniversary gift for the company’s 40-year-old history. Unveiled 21 July 1987 in Maranello, it was by far the most extreme road car Marranello ever produced. It was their first road car to have its chassis and bodywork built with extensive use of carbon fiber, Kevlar…
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Grello is here! – Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R by Trends Hobby FEATURETTE
New in the game: Have you heard of Trends Hobby yet? Brands like Mini GT, Pop Race, Tarmac Works and others have long become well-established names in the diverse world of 1:64 scale model cars. Now, a brand-new manufacturer is entering the scene – one that can easily compete with the major players and certainly does not need to hide. We realised this at the latest when we finally got our hands on the two Porsche 911 GT3 R models driven by Thomas Preining and Ayhancan Güven. These are not just any Porsche 911 race cars, but true fan favourites from endurance racing and the DTM – the iconic Manthey…
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Porsche 963 – The end of an ERA? – Sparky FEATURETTE
As expected, Porsche is pulling out of the WEC: after three years, the programme in the World Endurance Championship is coming to an end. Fortunately, the 963 is far from being history at Sparky’s, and in 1:64 scale, it will hopefully remain in our memories for a long time to come. Is the hype surrounding the Hypercar prototype class already over? What has been common knowledge for months is official since last week: Porsche is withdrawing from the World Endurance Championship (WEC). This is not the first withdrawal since the Hypercar class was introduced in 2021. Private constructors Glickenhaus, Vanwall and Isotta-Fraschini only had a short-term chance of survival against…