Tecnomodel 1:18 1950 Alfa Romeo 158 diecast model car review

We have now received Tecnomodel’s 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).

Farina drew first blood in the first ever round of the Formula One world championship, which was held at Silverstone, while Fangio retired. In the second race at Monza, the roles were reversed. In the Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten, the roles were reversed yet again; Farina winning while Fangio posted a DNF. In the fourth round in Belgium, guess what; it was Fangio’s turn to win again! But this time Farina scored a crucial fourth place finish, the only time all season that the championship combatants didn’t either win or fail to score.

In the penultimate race at Reims Fangio took the initiative, claiming his third win of the season compared to Farina’s two. On this occasion the Italian driver finished out of the points in seventh place. Heading into the decider at Monza, Fangio headed Farina by four points.

The season would bookend with another victory for Farina combined with an early bath for Fangio. While both had scored 27 points from their three victories and three fastest laps over the course of the year, that single fourth place for Farina made all the difference in the final tally, and he became the first ever Formula One world champion to the tune of three points.

Of Tecnomodel’s four 1:18 replicas of the 1950 Alfa Romeo 158, two are for Farina and two are for Fangio. The Italian’s cars are his winning steeds from the first ever F1 world championship race at Silverstone, and from the Italian GP when he secured his place in history as the sport's first world champion. The Fangio models are of the Argentinian's winning cars from the Belgian and French Grands Prix.

Click Tecnomodel 1:18 1950 Alfa Romeo 158 to order.