Ten more of my favorite Racing Transporter Dioramas

In my long overdue second installment of favorite racing transporters and support vehicles from my collection (here is the first one), I again present you with ten models that are among the favorites.  As I said in my first article, trying to limit my favorites to just ten is a futile exercise and I present to you here models of vehicles I hope you find as fascinating as I do.  As before, most models are hand-built, limited production models in 1/43 scale and all are generally  no longer available, but do turn up at auction and specialist shops on occasion.

1. 1968 OM 150  “Ferrari” – Model by Tron Models

OM (Officine Meccaniche ) was a subsidiary of Fiat which produced trucks and buses up until 1975 when the brand was consolidated with Fiat and discontinued.  Sometimes referred to as OM Fiat, the company produced reliable, powerful truck chassis popular with coachbuilders that turned the robust trucks into racing transporters.  The OM 150 replaced the Tigre and Tigrotto trucks in the OM range in 1967.  Ferrari used this transporter well into the 1970’s, transporting their F1 and prototype sports cars to race across Europe.

2. 1962 OM Leoncino “Scuderia San Marco” – Model by IV Model

OM named their truck models after jungle cats and this “lion cub” small flat bed truck was no exception.  The OM Leoncino range included both light trucks and vans of two-to-two-and-a-half-ton capacity and were usually powered by a 4.6L diesel engines capable of 48 mph.  Made from 1950-1968, they were popular with tradesmen and in this case, one was used by the small Scuderia San Marco racing team to haul their Ferrari 250 GTO from Venice to Sicily for the Targa Florio in 1963.  Imagine hauling such a valuable car like that today!

3. 1972 Fiat 673N “Lancia” – Model by GILA Modelli

The Fiat 673N was a heavy truck capable of hauling loads to 18 tons, produced from 1970-1973 in Italy and up to 1985 under license in S. America.  It had a 7.4L six-cylinder diesel engine which produces 145 bhp and a top-speed of 50 MPH.  Not land record speed stuff, but fully capable of hauling Lancia’s rally cars across Europe.  Beginning in 1972, Lancia used this transporter up until 1976 for its World Championship rally efforts.  There are two current production versions of this truck available by IXO with Alitalia Airlines sponsorship liveries.

4. 1970 AEC Reliance “Team Lotus” – Model by SMTS

Lotus replaced their older, smaller Bedford transporters with this much larger transporter built on a AEC Swift bus chassis.  The AEC Swift chassis was 33-foot long with diesel engines that ranged from 9.4L to 12.4L in capacity and were used heavily by London Transport.  Painted in its resplendent Gold Leaf Team Lotus livery, Lotus used this transporter for their F1 cars into the early 1970’s when it was replaced by a semi-truck transporter.  Originally available in both kit form and factory-built models like this one.

5. 1939 Fiat 621 “Maserati” – Model by Bardini Valerio

The Fiat 621 was a popular 2.5-ton truck, powered by a 2.5L six-cylinder petrol engine producing 45 bhp and could haul a crew of three.  With a custom body, the truck could haul one car and often, an open trailer was used to haul another behind the truck.  Maserati used three of these trucks in their pre and immediate post WWII racing efforts, allowing them to bring up to six cars to large Grand Prix events.  As a side note, besides being a car manufacturer, Maserati was a large producer of spark plugs and batteries into the 1950’s, hence the advertising on the side of the van.

6. 1955 Mercedes Blue Wonder “Mercedes Benz” – Model by Conrad

Perhaps one of the best-known racing transporters of all time, the Blue Wonder was specially made by Mercedes in late 1954 to transport its sports and F1 racing cars at high-speed (105 mph) to and from racing circuits across Europe.  Powered by a 3.0L Mercedes 300 SL engine, this sculpted beauty could quickly dispatch and deliver race cars to circuits or take them back to the factory for quick repairs.  The original was scrapped in 1967, but a faithful recreation has since been built by Mercedes Benz for their museum.  Versions of this transporter by other manufacturers is generally available.

7. 1968 Mercedes Benz 0317 “Martini Porsche” – Model by Premium Classixxs

Another iconic, well recognized racing transporter, Porsche had three transporters built on Mercedes 0317 bus chassis in 1968.  Racing transporters built on bus chassis platforms had become very popular with large racing teams as the mid-chassis bus engines resulted in a much lower transporter with a flatter floor for easier loading and unloading as well as additional storage.  The three transporters were used by Porsche and sister teams like Martini Racing over the years and appeared in several different liveries up until the early 1990’s.  BMW bought one in 1972 and used it until 1985.  Models of these transporters are general;ly available at on-line auction sites.   A great article on these transporters can be read here.

8. 1962 Bedford VAL 14 Plaxton Panorama “Brabham” – Model by St. Petersburg Tram

With a name almost as long as the transporter, yet another built on a bus chassis.  This transporter started out life as an experimental prototype bus and was on Bedford’s show stand at the 1962 Commercial Vehicle Show.  Purchased by Brabham in 1964, the bus was rebodied into a purpose racing Transporter and used by Brabham in the World Championship F1 years of 1966 and 1967.  With its unique dual steering front axles allowed the 36-foot-long transporter to easily negotiate the tight European roads and its 100 mph top-speed got three cars and five crew to races and home again in speed as well as comfort.  St. Petersburg Tram is still in business, but deliveries from Russia are not currently possible.

9. 1959 Leyland Royal Tiger Worldmaster LRT1 ‘BRM” – Model by St. Petersburg Tram

Perhaps one of the most beautiful of the coach-built racing transporters of the 1950’s and 60’s, this Leyland Royal Tiger was used to haul BRM F1 cars until 1977.  In its original livery seen here, the Owen Racing Organization which owned and sponsored BRM, ordered a LHD Worldmaster bus chassis, which was bodied by Marshalls of Cambridge.  Even though the team was British, LHD steering made driving the 11.4L mid-chassis- engined transporter easier on the continent.  It could carry three cars, spares and its crew up to 60 mph.

10. 1938 Lancia 3RO “Gordini” – Model by Paddock

Purchased In 1947 by Amadee Gordini from the French Government, this truck was a well-used WWII surplus vehicle liberated from the German army.  Gordini operated Equipe Gordini in the immediate post-war years up until the mid-1950’s, entering his cars in races across Europe.  Always operating on a shoestring, Gordini still managed to attract some of the best French drivers and results from his diminutive sports and formula cars.  This truck, sometimes held together with bailing wire and hope, was used all along the way.  It could carry two cars, spares, a crew and an open trailer behind at 50 mph.  Rebuilt and modified over the years, it was retired in 1957 when Gordini stopped his racing efforts.

I find that racing transporters often have a rich and interesting history.  Sometimes as colorful and as interesting as the cars they hauled, but usually without the glory.  I find the stories of crews trying to nurse an old lorry non-stop across Europe, or crossing the Alps with no brakes and other such  adventures to be great reading and fabulous parts of the fabric of motor racing during the eras I especially love.  I have often thought that if I were to start collecting models all over again, perhaps it would only be these trucks. If you like to read my first blog post in this series you will find it here.