AUTOart recently provided us with some preview shots of its new 1:18 replica of the Aston Martin DB5 that Sean Connery’s James Bond drove in the ‘Goldfinger’ movie. This model is currently slated to be released towards the end of the year.

Tecnomodel recently announced no less than five 1:18 replicas of the iconic Jaguar C-Type. Over the course of its three years of production, there were three variants of the C-Type, with the final variant created for the 1953 running of the Le Mans 24 Hours. The cars were fitted with three twin-choke carburettors. Their bodies were built of very thin alloy sheet metal, and to save weight an aircraft-style rubber fuel tank was fitted.

Tecnomodel has just announced a quartet of new 1:18 replicas of the Lotus 38 that was campaigned in the famed Indianapolis 500 in 1965 and 1966. These new versions will come complete with driver figures. The Lotus 38 was an evolution of Colin Chapman’s previous Indy racers; the 29 and 34. Unlike its two predecessors, it featured a full monocoque tub chassis.

MCG has just announced 1:18 replicas of the Ferrari 126 C2s that were driven by Gilles Villeneuve (MCG18629) and Didier Pironi (MCG18628) during the 1982 Formula One season, each retailing at £72.99. This is without doubt a rather poignant subject, as for both drivers the 126 C2 would prove to be the final race car of their career.

Max Verstappen secured the 2022 Formula One world championship with his victory in the Japanese Grand Prix, but his coronation was far from a straightforward affair. Although the Dutchman took the race win rather easily, he wasn't confirmed as the 2022 champion until a little while after the event had concluded.

One of several recent new announcements from Tecnomodel is a quintet of 1:43 replicas of the legendary Ford P68 from the 1968 sportscar racing scene. The FIA completely rewrote the rules for sportscar racing for 1968, but Ford opted not to design a new car to carry on competing in the category. So Alan Mann decided to build a brand new prototype car around Ford’s recently introduced 3.0 litre DFB V8 Formula One engine. The P68 was born.

The 2.7 RS was first developed as a homologation special. Porsche originally planned to build 500 examples in order to homologate the car for Group 4 Special GT cars series. It was launched at the Paris Motor Show in 1972. At the time it was the fastest German production car to date. With an unladen weight of 960 kg and 210 PS, the RS could accelerate to 100 kph in 5.8 seconds, and reach 150 mph. These are figures that are not to be sniffed at today, but back in 1973 they were astounding.

When the Silver Shadow first wafted out of the Crewe factory in 1965, the starting price was around £6,500; equivalent to about £130K in today’s money. It was originally going to be called the Silver Mist, until somebody worked out that the word Mist had another meaning in German.

The famous ‘Derby Bentleys’ were first presented in 1933. Fitted with a 3669cc version of the six-cylinder engine already fitted in the Rolls-Royce 20/25, Bentley maintained its sporting credentials through a higher compression ratio, twin carbs, a more aggressive camshaft and a cross flow head.

The factory Ferrari team returned to the top class of the Le Mans 24 Hours last year for the first time in half a century. The scarlet machines would line up on the front row of the grid on the Saturday afternoon, Antonio Fuoco having taken pole in the #50 499P from team-mate Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #51.

The other day, AUTOart furnished us with a preview image of the first of its new 1:18 replicas of the iconic Aston Martin DB5. It is of the car finished in Caribbean Pearl Blue. It will be joined by Silver Birch, Dubonnet Red and British Racing Green. These models will all come with opening doors, bonnet and boot, and are all slated to be delivered later this year.

The Sunbeam Tiger is a high-performance, V8 version or the Rootes group’s Sunbeam Alpine roadster, which had first been introduced in 1959. Rootes realised that the Alpine needed more power if it was to compete successfully in world markets, but the company lacked a suitable engine, and the resources to develop one.

The Jensen Interceptor was a luxurious Grand Tourer launched by Jensen in 1966. The Interceptor name had been used by Jensen for a previous model made between 1950 and 1957. But that car had a glass-fibre body; the new car, made at the Kelvin Way factory in West Bromwich, was steel bodied.

In 1988, Jaguar formally entered into a 50:50 partnership with Tom Wilkinshaw who was, at that time, Jaguar’s racing partner, and whose cars were starting to become successful in endurance racing. The partnership with Wilkinshaw’s TWR operation was established to create sportier versions of the company’s existing range of cars.

AUTOart recently provided us with preview shots of its 1:18 replica of the McLaren MP4/6 that Ayrton Senna used to secure his third and final Formula One world championship. And what’s more, we have been told to expect to take delivery of it in the next couple of months or so.

The XK120 OTS (Open Two Seater) was first revealed at the 1948 London Motor Show. It was basically little more than a test bed to show off the new XK engine that had been designed by Chief Engineer William Heynes. It caused a sensation, which persuaded founder and chairman, Williamn Lyons, to put the car into production.

As had often been the case during its turbulent history, Aston Martin was facing financial pressures in the mid-1970s. They needed something to bring in much needed funds. Now, traditionally, Aston Martin had always produced 2+2 sports cars, but the company decided to create a full-size, four-door, luxury saloon using the Lagonda name, derived from the marque that Aston had acquired in 1947.

2008 saw a fantastic championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, that lasted all season long. Going into the final race at Sao Paulo, the duo had five victories apiece, although Lewis had a fairly healthy seven point lead (these the days when only 10 points were awarded for a race win). But, after rain arrived in the closing stages, Massa was leading the race while Hamilton was toiling away in sixth position. This would have seen the two combatants tying on points, but the Brazilian prevailing on a countback of most wins.

Tecnomodel has just announced a quartet of 1:18 replicas of the 1950 Alfa Romeo 158. This, of course, was the dominant car in the inaugural season of the Formula One world championship. Giuseppe Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio were the key players in the 1950 title fight. They would end the season with three wins and three fastest laps each from the six races that made up the campaign (discounting the Indy 500, which was officially a round of the championship back then).

In early 1936 Aston Martin developed a completely new two-litre engine, fitted with a dry sump. The top brass were so impressed with the new power unit that they felt it was deserving of a completely new chassis to be installed into!