Introduced in 1985, The 911-ish looking 959 was geared to group B rallye racing. With a twin turbo water and air-cooled 2.8 liter flat six that produced 450 hp through a a transmission with 5 forward speeds plus a special "off road" gear. It came in two versions, the "Komfort" and the "Sport" model which was a dedicated race car with roll bar, full harness, S steering wheel and rear seats deleted. The base price was $225,000 with its alumimun, Kevlar and Nomex construction, it was just too expensive to enter that crash prone world. That "off road" gear did come in handy as 6 were outfitted for the Paris-Dakar Ralley with 3 each entered the 1985 and 1986 events finishing 1 & 2 in the longest rally ever of 9300 miles. 5 of the 6 exist today. Only 345 929s were built until 1993 with the Sport model the most desirable with the last sale I found went for $1.7 million. Model of the "Komfort" version by AUTOart.
Here's a 1/24 Bburago kit build of Jackie Ickx's winning Dakar 929 that's not spectacularly accurate, but the Cartograph decals sans "Rothmans" gives you a pretty good idea what it looked like (the body came in solid blue).
I always wanted the AutoArt 959 but was unwilling to pay the price.
Unfortunately the gentleman that I used to sell models with never had one of those otherwise I'd have nabbed it up real quick as I would work with him and just pick the models I wanted at the end of the show. This way he didn't have to pay me any cash but I always went home with the models that I thought were the best looking with the least amount of defects and with the most perfect paint jobs.
I loved working with Randy and God bless his soul. I understand he passed away. RIP Randy Van Horn.
When the 959 was introduced, I was totally fascinated by the design. To this day, it still captivates me.
Years ago, I built a 1:16 scale Fujimi plastic model version of the car. Unfortunately, they don't make glue like they did in the good ol' days with inhaled fumes that wielded plastic pieces together! As a result, since then, the model has fallen apart as the glued pieces detached themselves. I should invest in an Autoart version but have been reluctant because, on the secondary market, they aren't cheap.
I absolutely love the 959. I have the old Bburago 1/24 & numerous 1/64s. I skipped the Polistil 1/18 from the late 80's, but did get the Exoto Motorbox 959, which was pretty good, until I got it next to the best diecast 959, the AutoArt. Thrilled to have this model in Guards Red.
@gavinI have, and was not impressed with the Exoto Motorbox (actually by Revell) 959. I did a comparison shoot back when. What killed me was the air ducts were just dimpled and painted black. I remember Tony Keusseyen posting a reply saying that having open ducts was impossible to diecast. So I replied with a pic of that $15 Bburago, and never heard back. (I bought the first run of the white and I had to paint them black!!! they were just white dimples. Later issues were tampo'd black with dots for shading). The other thing was the use of thick clack line surrounding the filler caps and a rocker panel lines.
What killed me was the air ducts were just dimpled and painted black. I remember Tony Keusseyen posting a reply saying that having open ducts was impossible to diecast. So I replied with a pic of that $15 Bburago, and never heard back. (I bought the first run of the white and I had to paint them black!!! they were just white dimples. Later issues were tampo'd black with dots for shading). The other thing was the use of thick clack line surrounding the filler caps and a rocker panel lines.
@rich-sufficool...That's part of the reason I went with black. The ducts & the thick line you mention blended in, instead of really sticking out on the lighter colors. The shape of the Exoto is also wrong...it looks like it was flattened. It was a nice model for its time & one of my first real splurges ($50 or so shipped from Exoticar). I keep it displayed in my office at work, but the AA is the one to get.
When the 959 was introduced, I was totally fascinated by the design. To this day, it still captivates me.
Years ago, I built a 1:16 scale Fujimi plastic model version of the car. Unfortunately, they don't make glue like they did in the good ol' days with inhaled fumes that wielded plastic pieces together! As a result, since then, the model has fallen apart as the glued pieces detached themselves. I should invest in an Autoart version but have been reluctant because, on the secondary market, they aren't cheap.
I did build a 1/24 by either Fujimi or maybe Hasegawa or Tamiya.
I have no idea what happened to it. Those Japanese model kits are so precise and $$$$ now.
@gavin - I've considered buying the Exoto Motorbox version, but I have one Motorbox model and that's enough for me. If I can't have the Autoart, I'm opting for nothing.
@gavin - I've considered buying the Exoto Motorbox version, but I have one Motorbox model and that's enough for me. If I can't have the Autoart, I'm opting for nothing.
Hi Marty, I just did a quick check on the bay and they range in price from $440 to $700, holy moly dominoli, that's a lot of cannoli !
@gavinI have, and was not impressed with the Exoto Motorbox (actually by Revell) 959. I did a comparison shoot back when. What killed me was the air ducts were just dimpled and painted black. I remember Tony Keusseyen posting a reply saying that having open ducts was impossible to diecast. So I replied with a pic of that $15 Bburago, and never heard back. (I bought the first run of the white and I had to paint them black!!! they were just white dimples. Later issues were tampo'd black with dots for shading). The other thing was the use of thick clack line surrounding the filler caps and a rocker panel lines.
T
I'm pretty surprised at what's missing on the 1:1 and of course the model..... There's no passenger side mirror on the door.
Come on if you're going to drive that fast on the Autobahn don't you want to be able to see what might be next to you... Oh, never mind you're going so fast there's nobody going to be beside you.
