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Saturday, April 02, 2011

The start of something good!

An event that is a prelude to something life-changing (for the better) is always a great time to remember. All of us have them in abundance, and these make it worthwhile when looking back. I’m compelled to share examples, which are the prerequisite of the best journeys taken. Such is the development of the Porsche 907 in 1967 by Ferdinand Piech (now the VW Chairman) for the 24 hours Le Mans race. It was a David among the Goliaths, as it was powered only by a 2000cc engine as opposed to the all conquering 7000cc of the reigning champ, the Ford GT40. But Porsche saw fitting to forge ahead, and came 5th overall in 1967 only bested by the much bigger engine Ford and Ferrari. In 1968, saw the winning streak of the Porsche 907. First winning the 24 hours of Daytona with the staggering 1-2-3 sweep of the podium finish! Next was the 12 hours of Sebring with an equally impressive 1-2 finish wins. Winning the legendary Targa Florio was subsequently in the list of impressive victory of this mighty mite. Then all it needs was the Le Mans win that would make the icing on the cake…but that didn’t happen. The Porsche 907LH (Langheck aka Longtail) would take the 2nd spot after the winning (3 year, grand-slam) Ford GT40. At the end of the 1968 season, the development of the 907 and its subsequent prelude to Porsche’s ambition for an overall Le Mans win, has taken serious root. The 907 opened the doors and has paved the way for the development of the greatest racing car in history, the legendary Porsche 917!

Ironically, my search for the 3 inch scale of the Porsche 907, was a wonderful start of something good as well. I have posted my search for the only known manufacturer of it, that being Majorette of France. A kind-hearted gentleman heed my call and thus as we say ‘’the rest is history’’. The wonderful Porsche 907 has led and brought me a very good friend! I can’t thank him enough for these charming Majorette cars!

Solid Red with the early regular wheel variant. Marked; #8, BP (British Petroleum) & Dunlop
Metallic Red with the 5-spoke wheels. Marked; #3, BP (British Petroleum) & Caltex
Orange with the 3-spoke wheels (background).
Light Blue with the 5-spoke wheels. Marked; BP (British Petroleum) & Shell
Metallic Blue with the 3-spoke wheels. Marked; #3, BP (British Petroleum) & Elf
Baseplate says 1/63 scale.
There are more colors and combinations apart from these....
... all are very good examples of the mighty mite 907!

10 comments:

Kin said...

Hi Erwin ,

Good review & history of this beautiful "ICON".
Is really a great moment in motorsport history.

Great casting & story.

Congratul...

Kin.

komenda said...

Hi Kin,
Thanks, appreciate it much :-)

I have another of this casting which I converted to replicate the 1968 Daytona winner...
(I'm sharing the link)
http://ekomenda.blogspot.com/2009/07/rescued-to-be-1968-winner.html


I liked this casting a lot!
Cheers!
Erwin

Scratchydub said...

Hi Erwin!

Great story and great car! :)
Your replica of the 1968 Daytona winner is so beautiful, everytime I see those pics, I go "Wow"! :)

Cheers,
Maarten

komenda said...

Hi Maarten,
Glad you like the feature on the meaningful Porsche907. Happy you liked the conversion to make it into the Daytona winner ;-)
Of course, double thanks for everything!
My best regards!
Erwin

JDMike's Diecast Site said...

ohhhhh!!! they are getting harder to find every moment!!

congrats Erwin!!

i still have the scirroco custom with me... will just do a nice wheel swap and take a pic before giving it to you :-)

komenda said...

Hi Mike,
It's been a while :-) happy to hear from you!
Yup these little cars are difficult to find in our part of the world :-) and glad to add these in the collection.
About that Scirocco, wow I'm very excited about it my friend! So looking forward to that nice custom!
Cheers!
Erwin

danielh said...

hi Erwin!
great stories and very hard to find cars here.

komenda said...

Thanks Danielh!
Glad that these vintage small cars are in my collection :-) a great friend help me on finding them.

Gaucho Man said...

what a discovery,
i did not know that majorette had produced this car,
the chrome base seems to be dated by end of sixties, begin of seventies, contemporary to the real cars.

komenda said...

Hola Gaucho!
Majorette was the very first to produce a 907 :-) a good vintage model of a charming era! I too, did not know previously that it didn't exist. Glad to have them in my collection.
Gracias Amigo!
Erwin