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Post by jager on Apr 7, 2023 7:07:54 GMT -5
While I won't call these cars ice scrapers like Jeff, for those of us that don't follow LMP Racing closely, they do have a repetitiveness to them only made better by creative liveries. This car looks tons better in my estimation than the bland Toyotas in the same basic colors of red, black and white. If I collected models of these cars, I could see the attraction. Nice add. Although its hard to tell, United's colours are actually red, white and blue which I suspect is a nod to their American origins. The very dark blue is easily mistaken for black and I think theirs liveries might work better if it was a brighter blue. Concur with Jerry here. The livery looks good, surprising since just about everyone used those same colours. I agree they could do more to differentiate their cars Tom. We've seen some great Amercian themed liveries over the years, but this probably isn't one of the better ones. As you say a conservative livery, on a car from a team that just goes about its business efficiently. I can't say that they provide any whoo-hoo type moments for me but you always know its a United Autosports car and will most likely be near the front of the field. I'm happy to endorse these LMP2 purchases. Oh, and I do have an ice-scraper - it gets cold enough in our neck of the woods to require ice to be removed from windscreens in the depth of winter! As you say Martin, they just get on with their business quietly and efficiently. However, I've enjoyed following Paul Di Resta whose been with the team fairly consistently since his F1 career stalled.
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Post by jager on Apr 21, 2023 9:16:07 GMT -5
Back in March I added Spark’s 2021 Le Mans winning #7 Toyota GR010. I almost wasn’t going to bother adding the identical sister car, but as new acquisition have been a bit sparse, here it is. The GR010 Hybrid was developed specifically for the FIA’s new 2021 Le Mans Hypercar rules and replaced the Toyota TS050 Hybrid that competed in the WEC and Le Mans from 2016 to 2020. The striking look of the new prototype reflects the appearance of its inspiration, the GR Super Sport hypercar which made its public debut at the 2018 Tokyo Auto Salon. However, the road car programme developed in parallel with the racing programme was cancelled early in 2021. As part of a cost-cutting initiative incorporated in the Le Mans hypercar regulations, the GR010’s 3.5 litre twin-turbocharged V6 with a hybrid system had ~30% less power than its TS050 Hybrid predecessor. Weighing 160kg heavier, the GR010 lapped Le Mans around 10seconds slower that the TS050. For the GR010 Hybrid's debut season, Toyota maintained their driver lineup unchanged from the 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship, with Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, and Brendon Hartley in this car and Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and José María López in the #7 sister car. Traditionally it had been the #8 car that was the more victorious taking wins in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. In qualifying, it was the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid that came out on top with Kamui Kobayashi setting the overall fastest lap in the Hyperpole session. The #8 Toyota was 0.3 of a second behind in 2nd place. At the start, the circuit was wet from a heavy rain requiring the first three laps to be run behind the safety car. When the race got underway properly, the #8 Toyota’s race was effectively ruined at the 2nd corner when Buemi was hit by the No. 708 Glickenhaus, sending him spinning onto the Dunlop Chicane run-off area and losing more than 90 seconds to teammate Conway.  Having taken pole, the #7 Toyota led for most of the race. Only once, in the 13th hour did the #8 Toyota briefly take the lead. However, it was the #7 Toyota that took the victory and the #8 Toyota had to be content with second place.   Car : 2021 #8 Toyota GR010Team : Toyota Gazoo Racing Drivers : Sebastien Buemi (CH)/ Brendan Hartley (NZ)/ Kazuki Nakajima (J) Qualifying : 2nd Result : 2nd Model : Spark (S8231) |
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Post by Tom on Apr 21, 2023 10:41:48 GMT -5
Commendable race result for a very professionally-run team. This has to be in your collection. I wonder how we'll view this car in 25 years' time (though I likely won't view it at all  ). |
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Post by Alfaholic on Apr 21, 2023 22:27:59 GMT -5
You must make offerings to the Collecting Gods on a regular basis Ian and I guess a LM Podium finisher will keep them happy until some pre-orders come through.
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Post by jager on Apr 23, 2023 7:07:23 GMT -5
Commendable race result for a very professionally-run team. This has to be in your collection. I wonder how we'll view this car in 25 years' time (though I likely won't view it at all ). In 25 years time Le Mans will almost definitely be run with EV’s (imagine an electric car that car run non-stop for 24 Hours), and I hope we look back on cars like the Toyota GR010 with its 3.5 litre twin-turbocharged V6 with hybrid system as something a bit special…a bit like the way we view the 1970's 5.0 litre Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512 today. You must make offerings to the Collecting Gods on a regular basis Ian and I guess a LM Podium finisher will keep them happy until some pre-orders come through. At the moment I seem to buying more trading stock to sell than models for my own collection Martin. It was nice to add something to my cabinet, even a humble Toyota. |
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LM24HRS
Member
Paul - "Collecting Motorsport in Miniature; for the passion and its history".
Posts: 550
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Post by LM24HRS on Apr 26, 2023 15:40:45 GMT -5
Your introduction story into the Ecurie Tibidado Porsche 908/03 is the very reason why I get consumed so much in sportscar history.
Excellent piece and one that would of passed me by if I hadn't read it. Ideal pre-order move Ian, thanks
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Post by jager on May 22, 2023 0:03:31 GMT -5
Your introduction story into the Ecurie Tibidado Porsche 908/03 is the very reason why I get consumed so much in sportscar history. Excellent piece and one that would of passed me by if I hadn't read it. Ideal pre-order move Ian, thanks Thanks Paul, sorry for not spotting your post earlier. I think this is one of the huge benefits of the forum - over the years there are certainly many models I would have missed if not some of the posts here. |
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Post by jager on May 22, 2023 0:24:34 GMT -5
OK, you know how it goes, you receive nothing for over a month, then suddenly two or three parcels arrive at the post office all in the same week. As a result, here's the first of 8 new arrivals I need to post - Spark's 1952 Constantin (Peugeot) 203. Having acquired the sister car from 1953 through a pre-order in 2021, a similar pre-order for the 1952 car was never filled and I decided earlier this year I need to find an alternative to ensure I didn't miss out. That proved quite difficult as the 1952 car seems harder to find than the 1953 car, but eventually I found this one. From its launch in January 1949, the Peugeot 203 attracted a lot of attention for its sporting potential and many French tuners used it as the basis for their creations, the best known of which was the Darl'Mat Sport. Despite its good performance, the 203 Darl'Mat was rarely raced because of its high price, with amateur drivers preferring the cheaper production sedan that they could tune themselves. One of those who modified the Peugeot 203 for racing was Alexis Constantin. From his workshops in Montreuil, near Paris, he designed a supercharger for the Peugeot 1290cc engine from the 203. By enlarging the engine to 1425cc and adding the supercharger, it doubled the power and allowed the top speed of the Peugeot to be increased from 115km/hr to 160km/hr. Like a lot of other European engine tuners and modifiers, Constantin decided the 24 Hours of Le Mans would provide the perfect opportunity to showcase his car. He first entered the race in 1951 race, but withdrew before the start. However, his ‘Çonstantin 203’ took the start in 1952 (the car shown here) with Constantin himself sharing the driving with fellow Frenchman Jacques Poch. Not only did the car feature his engine upgrades, the rear doors were welded to turn the standard 4 door Peugeot 203 into a coupe.  The Constantin started well, and from 42nd position on the grid it was quickly up to 30th position after the first three hours. By the end of the sixth hour, it had improved to 26th position. It lost two places the next hour, but soon reclaimed them and ran in 26th position for the next two hours. As the race approached the midway point, the Contantin 203 rolled, coming to rest on its side. That was the end of its race after 117 laps. Alexis Constantin returned to Le Mans with his 203 the following year, by which time the car had undergone a significant transformation to remove weight. It completed the race but wasn't classified due to completing an insufficient distance. However it did go on to compete in the 1953 12 Hours of Reims where it finished in a creditable 13th position.   Car : 1952 #43 Constantin (Peugeot) 203CTeam : Alexandre Constantin Drivers : Alexandre ‘Alexis’ Constantin (F)/ Jacques Poch (F) Qualifying : 42nd Result : 29th (DNF – Accident) Model : Spark (S4741) |
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Post by Tom on May 22, 2023 0:38:18 GMT -5
I can think of only one reason to pick the 203 as a racer: it’s strong. There's quite a lot to conquer in order to make it competitive, as Constantin found out... Very nice model.
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LM24HRS
Member
Paul - "Collecting Motorsport in Miniature; for the passion and its history".
Posts: 550
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Post by LM24HRS on May 22, 2023 1:16:04 GMT -5
Not a naturally shaped car to go racing with but fitting a supercharger certain deceived the establishment I would suspect.
The shape reminds be more of the cars that raced in Argentina in the Panamerica during Fangio's time.
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Post by Alfaholic on May 22, 2023 5:16:06 GMT -5
As Tom notes, the 203 was a strong old girl as shown by their success in the Round Australia Trials in the 1960s. As an old Peugeot-phile I am happy to see this one join your collection - there have been many more strange choices to race at Le Mans than a 203.
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Post by Scalainjridesagain on May 22, 2023 5:45:30 GMT -5
Like that a lot. It's a strange car choice to us perhaps but at the time it fitted in with the Le Mans ethos of endurance of production cars.
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Post by reeft1 on May 22, 2023 7:05:31 GMT -5
That’s very nice
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oldirish33
Member
"All Jaguars run on Guinness!"
Posts: 3,333
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Post by oldirish33 on May 22, 2023 11:59:30 GMT -5
The thing I appreciate about the car/model most, is that it represents the end of the era at Le Mans when production based cars still made up the majority of the field with excellent prospects of finishing high up the order. Interesting days of drum brakes and antiquated steering and suspension, it took skill to drive them fast. In the case of this one, they could go turtle, righted and carry on. 😁 Outside my scope of collecting anymore, but super ads for a comprehensive Le Mans collection!
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Post by jager on May 22, 2023 20:35:02 GMT -5
I can think of only one reason to pick the 203 as a racer: it’s strong. There's quite a lot to conquer in order to make it competitive, as Constantin found out... Very nice model. Add a supercharger to increase the performance of an already strong foundation and you have a reasonable endurance car Tom. I guess that was the logic. Not a naturally shaped car to go racing with but fitting a supercharger certain deceived the establishment I would suspect. The shape reminds be more of the cars that raced in Argentina in the Panamerica during Fangio's time. It's a very "50's" looking car, that's for sure Paul. It probably would have done quite well in the Panamericana. As Tom notes, the 203 was a strong old girl as shown by their success in the Round Australia Trials in the 1960s. As an old Peugeot-phile I am happy to see this one join your collection - there have been many more strange choices to race at Le Mans than a 203. Peugeot are a marque that feature throughout my collection Martin, though as you know their participation in the race tended to come and go depending on the financial state of the company. They weren't alone in this respect. Like that a lot. It's a strange car choice to us perhaps but at the time it fitted in with the Le Mans ethos of endurance of production cars. No stranger than some of the Renault 4CV's you've shown us from the same era recently Andy. It was different times back then. Thanks Paul. The thing I appreciate about the car/model most, is that it represents the end of the era at Le Mans when production based cars still made up the majority of the field with excellent prospects of finishing high up the order. Interesting days of drum brakes and antiquated steering and suspension, it took skill to drive them fast. In the case of this one, they could go turtle, righted and carry on. 😁 Outside my scope of collecting anymore, but super ads for a comprehensive Le Mans collection! As you say Jerry, its easy to underestimate the skill level required to drive on of these fast, especially for 24 hours. They fact they ran mid-field for a long time suggests this car had more potential than you might expect, and the drivers were able to take advantage of that. |
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