29 November 2022
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KK-Scale Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta 24h Le Mans 1949 winner
PRICE: £79.95
REF NO: KKS DC180913
SCALE: 1/18
As the racing fraternity was finally coming back to life, after the enforced break of World War II, a new name was emerging. On 15th September 1948, Ferrari unveiled a car for the first time at a motor show. The car revealed at the Turin event was the 166 MM, an open-topped version of the 166 S. The MM moniker was a nod to the Allemano-bodied coupé that had won the 1948 Mille Miglia.
The 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 17th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 25th-26th June 1949. This was the first race held at the circuit following the end of World War II. Even though the war had ended four years before, major infrastructure reconstruction throughout France meant that the return of the race was of secondary concern, and thus was not run until after France had established itself again. Following the end of the war the circuit needed extensive repairs too. Likewise, in that time, the car manufacturers had also been rebuilding.
The winning car, as modelled here, was driven by Luigi Chinetti (his third overall victory) and Peter Mitchell-Thomson, also known as Lord Selsdon. Chinetti drove for 22.5 out of the 24 hours in total!
Just released by KK-Scale, this rather fabulous diecast captures the lines of this famous Ferrari very well indeed. The model features flawless paintwork and the simple graphics are perfectly applied too. The sparse interior is very neatly replicated – very important for a model of an open-topped car – and the wire-wheels are an absolute delight. The only niggles are that the front end number panel is not quite right (the white square should be bigger and run into the white around the grille) and the spotlight is set a smidgeon too low for the model to properly replicate the Le Mans winner. Having said that, this still makes for a stunning display piece.