8/29/03 UPDATE: Lots of new die cast arrivals today led by the three 1/18 scale models pictured above. Left to right: CMC's Tazio Nuvolari Auto Union Typ D as it appeared when the legendary pre-war driver won the Donington Grand Prix in 1938 ($139.00). By the way, CMC's C-Typ Auto Union will becoming later this fall. Reserve now, they're going fast. The latest 2003 IRL car is this Tony Kanaan Dallara in 'The Hulk' livery ($79.95). Last but not least is the Bob Estes Special from Carousel 1 ($109.95). This Kurtis copy, built by Jud Phillips and A.J. Watson was driven in the 1954 Indianapolis 500 by Don Freeland.
Leaving on Wednesday for Watkins Glen. See you there!
It's that time of year again! For those of you into slot cars, our Slot Car Specialist Jeff Rutt will be available at our Downers Grove gallery every Saturday in September from 10 to 5. Stop by or call Jeff for the latest info on this growing hobby.
8/29/03 UPDATE: Today's new book arrivals include "Peter Coltrin: Racing in Color 1954-1959' text by Chris Nixon ($149.95) and 'Piers Courage: Last of the Gentleman Racers' by Adam Cooper (Forward by Sir Frank Williams) ($49.95). Both have received extremely good reviews in the UK motor racing press. Our first shipment of 'Formula 1 In Camera 1970-1979' featuring hundreds of previously unseen photos from Rainier Schlegelmilch ($39.95) has come and gone. We recommend it highly, and encourage you to reserve your copy asap. Our next shipment is due shortly.
We'll be closed Monday, Labor Day. See you
at Watkins Glen next weekend!
8/28/03 UPDATE: Our first update today covers the new arrivals from IXO, which included several restocks. All IXO LeMans winners now feature special packaging, as seen in the photo above. Not pictured are the 1930 LM winning Bentley and the 1937 LM winning Bugatti. We'll post photos when our restock order arrives next week. IXO continues to deliver a lot of quality, accuracy and detail for just $29.95. Check out the photos on the New Die Cast page.
8/27/03 UPDATE: You'll find photo sets of 10 new arrivals from Minichamps on our New Die Cast page this afternoon. The models fit a wide variety of interests, from the 68 Mustang Fastback to the Viper Anniversary Set and the 2002 Sebring GT Class winner from Alex Job Racing. Hans Stuck's 1976 Jagermeister March to 17 year old Nico Rosberg's Williams FW24 and Jos the Boss's Minardi 2003 Showcar. In the larger scales, we have 2 Moto GP bikes in 1/12 scale and a stunning red Scuderia Filipinetti Porsche 904 GTS in 1/18.
And be sure to play the Sauber sound effects mpeg as featured on the Sauber Petronas C21 Boxed Commemorative!
Tomorrow, we'll upload some of the new arrivals from IXO and a surprise for you collectors of McLaren F1 GTR diecast - a selection of long out of production road and racing GTR's in 1/43 and 1/18 scale in an amazing package of McLaren 'stuff'.
Next week, the latest roadster from Carousel 1 is due to arrive. It's the Bob Estes Special driven by Don Freeland in 1955 ($109.95). Next up - the Jim Clark 1965 Indy 500 winning Lotus - Ford. Reserve now, they're going fast!
The release date of 'Porsche: Excellence was Expected' by Karl Ludvigsen has been pushed back until mid September.
8/26/03 UPDATE: Not enough time to post photos of all the new Minichamps
and IXO models that have arrived this week but some of the Minichamps
new arrivals were posted as 'coming soon' last week - including
this sweet 1/43 scale '68 Mustang fastback. Click HERE
for photos AND be sure to check out the sound chip on the Sauber
F1!
8/25/03 UPDATE: Unpacking from the ALMS race at Road America. Lots of new Minichamps and IXO to tell you about. We should start putting up photos tomorrow morning. For those of you who missed the 1/43 Minichamps 2002 LeMans winning Audi, the IXO version is in stock for $29.95.
More tomorrow!
8/20/03 UPDATE: We've always been impressed by Auto Art's series of 1/18 scale Viper race cars, but their latest release, the Oreca PlayStation2 car that ran at LeMans in 2002, is the best looking one of the bunch. We'll have a few with us at our display at the Road America ALMS race this weekend, or you can order one before we leave. Check out the full photo set HERE.
8/16/03 UPDATE: Some encouraging news from Carousel 1. Many of you have called recently to ask about the first releases in three new C-1 series promised for Spring 03, but delayed until later this year. Word today from Carousel 1 President Frank Dalton is the 1/18 scale Jim Clark 1965 Indianapolis 500 winning Lotus 38 (first prototype pictured above) and the Dan Gurney 1967 Belgian Grand Prix winning Eagle Weslake are due to arrive in the US in time for late October, early November release.
The A.J. Foyt 1967 Indianapolis 500 winning Sheraton Thompson Special Coyote is due to arrive in the US a few weeks later but should get here in time for Christmas delivery.
We know it's a bit early to make accurate predictions for Christmas die cast delivery (especially after last year), but we stongly suggest that you place your advance orders soon for these very special models. Hard core collectors have been waiting (rather impatiently, I might add) for these cars for a long time and we suspect they will be the most popular 1/18 scale models on Santa's list this year.
We're accepting reservations at $129.95 each plus shipping and will keep you aware of the latest developments on our Recent Additions page as they arrive.
8/15/03 UPDATE: This is the week for big, heavy, comprehensive new books. Today's arrival is 'The International Motor Racing Guide: The Complete Reference from Formula One to NASCAR' by Peter Higham. Usually, I avoid stocking record books because they're out of date by the time they get into print. This one looks to be worth pulling off your shelf whenever someone comes up with a tough question. Higham has crammed more facts into 900+ pages than we've seen in any other record book. Only 270 photographs, but 225 circuit maps, results of Formula One, Can Am , World Sports Car, LeMans, F3, F2, Indianapolis, CART, IRL, Tasman, Touring Cars and a Driver reference. A great asset to your library for just $49.95 plus shipping.
8/14/03 UPDATE: J.J. O'Malley's history of the 24 Hours of Daytona ($89.95) arrived today and looks spectacular. Every race, from the 1962 Daytona Continental to 2003's Rolex 24 is lavishly illustrated and meticulously chronicled (Janos Wimpffen, author of 'Time and Two Seats' delivers the individual race results and an index of every driver to compete) in this 400 page heavyweight. Combine this with the updated book on the Porsche 956 and 962 and it's a great week for those of us who love the history of sports car racing.
Speaking of sports car racing, two new race winning Corvette C5-R's in 1/18 scale arrived today. Auto Art's latest releases include the 2002 LeMans GTS Class winning Corvette driven by Fellows/O'Connell/Gavin and the 2002 Road America 500 GTS Class winner driven by Kelly Collins and Andy Pilgrim. Check out the photo sets on the New Die Cast page. Both are in stock for $59.95 each plus shipping.
8/13/03 UPDATE: For months (years?) now, we've been talking to a lot
of you about the Mark Donohue Tribute weekend at Watkins Glen
on September 5-7 to be held in conjunction with the SVRA Vintage
Grand Prix.
It's shaping up to be quite an event, thanks to Paul Powell, the driving force behind www.unfairadvantageracing.com. More than 20 of Donohue's race cars, including the unbeatable Porsche 917/30, Trans Am Camaros and Javelins, Lola T-70 roadsters and the Penske T-70 Coupe, Indy Cars, Mark's Elva Courier, the Ferrari 512M and LOTS more are scheduled to appear along with David Donohue and crew members and teammates from Penske Racing who worked with Mark during those legendary seasons.
We'll be there with our usual 'road show' display in the Paddock area, but more than likely we'll be sneaking out to watch the action now and then.
A full weekend of activities is planned. For the latest information, click the Unfair Advantage Racing emblem above. See you there!
SOLD8/12/03 UPDATE: Here's another new arrival from sculptor Stu Povick: Michael Andretti's Formula One McLaren MP4/8 from 1993. SOLD More photos HERE.
'Porsche 956/962: The Legendary Race Winners' ($89.95) is now in stock. WOW! Pre-orders ship today. We're hoping the Daytona 24 book arrives by the weekend.
8/11/03 UPDATE:
For the past couple of months, I've been telling you about the
fantastic lineup of new books and reprints of important racing
histories we're going to see in the second half of this year.
Today, our featured title is the edited, expanded and updated
edition of 'Porsche: Excellence
Was Expected' by Karl Ludvigsen ($239.95
plus shipping). One of the most acclaimed marque / racing books
of the 70's is now an epic 3 volume 1,574 page definitive history
of one of the world's most famous automakers and their legendary
racing program. Expensive, but an essential part of the racing
historian's library. Due for release September 1.
We've kept Stu Povick pretty busy with commissions the past few months, but he had some spare time and sent us a little surprise today. Priced at just $95.00 plus shipping, I don't think it will be here very long. IT DIDN'T - SOLD
Click HERE for the 'big picture'.
8/7/03 UPDATE: Maurizio Tabucchi's ambitious history of Maserati has just arrived. 'Maserati: The Grand Prix, Sports and GT Cars model by model, 1926-2003' is an impressive 359 page collection of rare archive photos, technical data, production numbers and selected technical drawings sure to please Maserati and motor racing enthusiasts alike. $78.00 plus shipping. We also received a restock of Cesare de Agostini's 'Nuvolari: The Legend Lives On' ($44.95), following up his fine biography of Eugenio Castellotti released last year.
There's a great selection of new books on the way from now until the end of the year. Watch this space for regular updates.
8/5/03 UPDATE:
Back from a very wet Elkhart Lake (they STILL should have started
the race on time) and the CART Mario Andretti Grand Prix of Road
America. Our supply of John Tipler's latest book 'Lotus 78 and 79: The Ground Effect
Cars' ($34.95) arrived just in time
for the weekend and Mario was gracious enough to sign a few copies
for us.
8/06/03-Sorry, signed copies are sold out.
Lot's of new 1/43 scale stuff from Minichamps, including Peter Revson's Yardley McLaren M23, the car in which the American star won the British and Canadian Grand Prix races in 1973. Like the previous M23's, the 'YardleyMac' features a removable cowling and engine cover and a detailed engine. An extremely nice model for $39.95.
Also from Minichamps, several more 2002 Formula One Presentation Cars in 1/43 scale. Most of you don't collect the Presentation Cars, but some interesting - perhaps very collectible - pieces arrived today, including 2002 CART Champion Cristiano daMatta's first Toyota model, Justin Wilson's Minardi and the Minardi PS01 that tested at Valencia in January using Avon racing slicks when grooved F1 tires were not available to them. Jos Verstappen was at the controls.
Also in today's new Minichamps, the 2002 Lemans Corvette C5R driven by Pilgrim/Collins/Freon in a VERY limited run of just 1,008 cars.
Check them all out on the New Die Cast page.
For those of you looking for 2003 CART die cast, we understand Action will produce 1/18 scale models of Paul Tracy, Patrick Carpentier and Adrian Fernandez. The illustrations we've seen do NOT feature Player's markings.
More tomorrow.
