Ferrari 375 Plus 1954 Carrera Panamericana

[alwaysindy]

I have been a fan of this Mexican road race for years...first, NASCAR like stockers...then the "big boys" of endurance racing showed up...Ferrari, Mercedes, Lancia, etc.
One of my favorites was the 1954 winner, Umberto Maglioli...a Ferrari 375 Plus...a 4.9 liter v12...the sound would have been unbelievable...he raced alone for the 2,000+ mile course, when others like Phil Hill/ Richie Gunther shared the duties (they finished second)....
The car as it appeared rolling out of Modena...

This is the K & R Replicas metal kit, purchased about 15 years ago...

The grill and wheels are photo etch...

I am in the process of decaling the car: the event encouraged massive, NASCAR like sponsors...some hated this, but some, like me, enjoyed it...more to come...
Questions comments welcome...thanks for looking!
Tim

[Chris K. Hale]

Very Nice Work, I think Patrick just did the Panamerica version of this car... Good Stuff guys...Chris

[Patrick]

Well, mine isn't that good!

Patrick

[robhart]

That is a good looking model. I love all of the lumps and bumps on the body.

[afx]

Very nice Tim.

[dustymojave]

Before my time, my dad went down to Mexico for that race. I'm not sure which year, it MAY have been '54. A pretty wild event, considering that they were racing on public roads for 2,000 miles. It would be so cool if such a model were available in 1/24.

[alwaysindy]

Richard:
This is 1/24th...K&R models in England...I would have loved to hear your father's tales...the atmosphere seems electric in the old videos...
As Maglioli rolled it out race morning, November 1954...

Almost 2,000 miles, and five days later, he would cross the finish line 24 minutes ahead of the second place car...

I am learning about metal kits...a few paint problems because the edges are much sharper than plastic or resin, therefore can flake along edges...

The decals were 15+ years old, but held up well...

To cap this thread, this is box stock except for the wire screen in the hood...

Thanks for looking....questions, comments welcome...
Tim

[dustymojave]

Nice that it IS in 1/24 then! I'd be happy to have it in my display case.

It's a pretty cool Ferrari too. One could probably use a Testarossa kit to add detail, as the chassis and engine were largely the same. YES, I know it's a 4.9, not a 3.0liter...

I myself have raced in Mexico, but in Baja, not the Carrera nor even the La Carrera. Still...it's quite a different experience than racing in the US.

[Art]

Very nice model, Tim! Great job.

[randyditton]

That looks Great Tim !! Love the decals.

Randy