24 May 2022
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Ixo VW Beetle 1303 S #3 Rallye Elba 1973 Trombotto/Zanchetti
PRICE: £47.99
REF NO: RAC326
SCALE: 1/43
One of five rallying Beetles so far released by Ixo from the 1973 season (three from Rally Portugal - RAC360A, B & C - and the sister car from this Elba event - #5, RAC324), this marvellous model fetures some lovely detailing and prefectly replicated markings. The sister #5 car might have won this event outright, but this model has really won our appreciation.
Ixo's Beetle casting is nothing new, of course, but this series of rallying VWs look particularly good in their simple silver with black bonnet. Those 'Austrian' go-faster stripes on the roof make all the difference, of course.
The 1973 Rally dell'Isola d'Elba, to give the event its full title, was the 6th running of the event and the 5th rally of the year that counted towards the European Rally Championship. The entry list was impressive for the popular Rallye Elba this year, featuring cars that would leave any classic car enthusiast drooling today - Lancia Fulvia, Lancia Beta, Fiat 124 Abarth, Fiat 125, Fiat 128, Fiat X1/9, Simca Rallye, Volvo 142, Ford Escort Mexico, Opel Ascona, Simca Rallye, Renault 12, Citroën DS 19, Škoda 110 and, of course, VW Beetle - a quintet to be precise.
Driven by Luciano Trombotto with Giuseppe Zanchetti, this was the pairings first and, as it turned out, only outing in this car. Having campaigned since 1968 in a variety of Fiats (124s and an 850 Lombardi), Trombotto and Zanchetti drove together from the end of the 1972 season. After this solitary Beetle-based outing, the pair switched to an Opel Ascona for two further rounds in 1973, then an Alfa Romeo Alfetta for 1974.
Ixo's 1/43 scale replica is wonderfully executed. As mentioned earlier, the company's casting is tried and tested, but it certainly looks the part in this rallying guise, with the simple put purposeful-looking black bonnet (a legacy from earlier times, supposed to reduce sun glare off the bonnet).
The detailing is lovely and the whole model just looks absolutely right. The neat auxiliary lamps round it off perfectly and the graphics are spot on. We love this!