First thing in the New Year, AUTOart announced a trio of 1:12 Honda NSR 500 replicas from the 1989 500cc motorcycle racing season, as ridden by legends Eddie Lawson, Wayne Gardner and Mick Doohan.

One of the most exciting releases of the year so far has been the ‘Garage 56’ Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 from the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours. We have received it in both 1:18 and 1:43 scale, courtesy of TopSpeed and its sister brand TrueScale Miniatures. In both sizes you can choose between either a ‘clean’ or a race-aged ‘dirty’ version.

Nigel Mansell took a lucky victory in the 1986 British Grand Prix. He was an instant retirement at the original start after the driveshaft broke, but a multi-car accident saw the race red-flagged and restarted from scratch. Nigel then took the fight to team-mate Nelson Piquet and scored a hugely popular home win.

Tecnomodel’s recent flurry of new announcements was augmented by the 1971 Lotus 56B, which has to be a contender for the most wedge-shaped design of all time. The 56B really did push any number of boundaries, because it was four-wheel-driven and was also powered by a gas turbine.

One of Tecnomodel’s many new announcements just before Christmas was the last Lotus Formula One car, the 109 from 1994, in 1:18 scale. The once-great British team sadly entered into decline at the beginning of the 1990s, having been in world championship contention just a few years previously thanks to the efforts of Ayrton Senna. Things really reached the point of no return in 1990, when Lotus lost its title sponsor (Camel) and a works engine deal (with Lamborghini) at the end of the season.

The P4 series of mid-size, luxury saloon cars was produced by the Rover Company from 1949 right through to 1964, overlapping with the P5, and only being withdrawn with the announcement of the Rover 2000 series. The body style was not known initially as the P4; that came in to common parlance only after the arrival of the P5.

The other day, we finally received 12 Art’s 1:12 replica of the Aston Martin DB4 GT. We had only been waiting for three years! The DB4 grand tourer started production in 1958, while the high-performance GT version was introduced the following year, at the London Motor Show in October.

The other day, we finally received 12 Art’s 1:12 replica of the Aston Martin DB4 GT. We had only been waiting for three years! The DB4 grand tourer started production in 1958, while the high-performance GT version was introduced the following year, at the London Motor Show in October.

Tecnomodel recently announced 1:18 replicas of the distinctive Jaguar C-Type Longtails that raced in the 1952 Le Mans 24 Hours. Following Jaguar’s victory at La Sarthe in 1951, the team continued to enjoy success in the early part of the 1952 sportscar racing season. Stirling Moss won the production sportscar race that was part of the Daily Express International Trophy meeting at Silverstone, and then also took Tommy Wisdom’s privately-entered car to victory in the Formula Two-supporting Sportscar Grand Prix at Reims. Ian Stewart notched up successes in less prolific affairs in Jersey and Scotland as well.

At the end of 2022, Porsche launched the Porsche 911 Dakar. It was positioned as a 911 that would be just as comfortable off the road as it would be on the highway. The new model was limited to just 2,500 units, and it was designed to evoke Porsche's first overall victory in the 1984 Paris Dakar Rally, an event that also saw the birth of the all-wheel drive 911.

One of Tecnomodel’s more exciting recent new 1:18 announcements was the Lotus 94T that was campaigned by Nigel Mansell and Elio de Angelis in the 1983 F1 world championship. The Lotus 94T was only in service for seven grands prix, as it was introduced midway through the 1983 Formula One season, and already replaced by the 95T in time for the start of the 1984 campaign.

Now in stock is Maisto’s 1:18 replica of the sensational Aston Martin Valkyrie from 2022. With an asking price of just £46.99, it represents phenomenal value for money, especially given that it comes complete with opening parts.

Jim Clark’s Gold Leaf-liveried Lotus 49T from the 1968 Tasman Series is one of the most significant classic 1:43 Formula One announcements to have come out of Spark for quite some time. After retiring from the first two events, Clark won four of the remaining six races of the Antipodean championship to secure the crown from Ferrari’s Chris Amon by eight points.

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.