It's been nearly 30 years since Penske Racing rolled out the mightiest road racing machine ever built, the Porsche 917/30, for Mark Donohue to campaign in the 1973 Canadian American Challenge Cup series. Donohue won 6 of 8 races that season, seizing the Championship and setting lap records that would stand for more than a decade. The 'Panzer' stomped the competition, including the latest creations from Team McLaren, which had dominated the Can Am from 1967 thru 1971. I was fortunate enough to see the 917/30 in action 3 times that season (Road America, Mid Ohio and Watkins Glen) and Donohue was unbeatable in all three.
The Panzer's performance dealt a knockout blow to the unlimited sports racing series and sadly, it disappeared from the scene after the 1974 season.
In 2001, Minichamps honored the legend of the 917/30 by releasing a pair of highly detailed die cast miniatures of Donohue's Panzer in attractive display boxes. Both models were an immediate hit with collectors and dominated our first Model of the Year Collector's Poll. The 1/18 scale version took 24% of the total vote in a very tough field while the smaller model dominated the 1/43 scale voting with nearly 40% of the vote (there were 12 nominees in each class).
The Minichamps Porsche 917/30's domination of our Poll was reminiscent of Donohue's superiority in 1973. Congratulations!
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There you have it. TMC's customers have spoken. 2001 was perhaps the best year ever for collectors of high quality die cast racing cars. The trend towards larger (1/18 and 1/12) scale models continues, with several landmark 1/12 scale models on the agenda for 2002, led by GMP's 1967 LeMans winning Ford GT Mk IV - due in late January. Classic racing cars such as the Porsche 917/30 and Chaparral (any version) were well received by collectors. Several new manufacturers are making their mark, most notably CMC and Hobby Horse.
What to look for in 2002? In 1/43, the rebirth of Vitesse Group as IXO. Late 2001 releases of Jaguar and Ford GT LeMans winners drew great reaction from collectors. In 1/18 scale, what will the 2002 Minichamps catalog bring? Will we see more classic Porsches and Chaparrals in larger scales? Collectors anxiously await the first 1/18 Mark Donohue Penske Trans Am Camaro release from GMP, due in 2002.
Notably absent in our 2001 Poll was Exoto. Although they still produce some of the finest 1/18 models on the market today, they continue to alienate dealers and collectors alike with misinformation, high prices and poor customer service. As we see here, several other manufacturers have stepped up to challenge Exoto with great products and customer service. If and when Exoto becomes dealer and collector friendly, we will be honored to represent their line once again.