9/29/2004 AFTERNOON UPDATE: We're looking forward to digging into this one when it arrives next week. 'Ferrari: A Champion's View' by Phil Hill, America's First World Champion (and 3 time LeMans winner) again drives many of the cars in which he competed during his long association with the Prancing Horse. Hill gives an inside look at Ferrari's entire sports racing history, from the early Auto Avio Construzioni 815 to the Ferrari 333SP. The book's 192 pages are filled with more than 200 photos, nearly all in color from Road & Track's John Lamm.
We'll have more info for you when the first batch arrives. Reserve your copy now for $80.00 plus shipping.
9/29/2004 UPDATE: 'Ferrari Prototype Era' by Alan Henry, a fantastic new coffee table book, is now in stock here at TMC. $79.95 plus shipping. Click HERE for more information.
9/28/2004 UPDATE: New from Minichamps: A red hot 1/18 scale BMW M3 GTR 'Street' car ($69.95) and two versions of the Lotus Cortina Mk I - the 'standard' road version ($34.95) and Jim Clark's Crystal Palace winning Lotus Cortina racer ($44.95). Go to the New Die Cast page for more photos.
Click here or on the banner above for a list of Minichamps models recently re-stocked. Some good stuff in there.If you missed them the first time around, please get your orders in as soon as possible. Quantities are very limited in most cases!
9/27/2004 UPDATE: Back from the Petit LeMans at Road Atlanta and a rare weekend of spectating. The TMC flag was flying above our canopy on Corner 5 (the well-lit white one on the top of the hill in this great photo from Motorsport.com) but there were no 'goodies' inside, just a bunch of middle aged men drinking beer, grilling brats and napping during the yellows. What great fun!
Pratt & Miller's extremely successful Corvette C5-Rs have just one more race to run before they will be retired at the end of the season. They have a chance to go undefeated in 2004 and join the Cobra Daytona Coupe as one of the most significant American racing cars of all time. GMP's 1/12 scale 2002 Sebring winning C5-R is expected to arrive at the warehouse any day. Only 500 of these magnificent replicas will be produced. If you're a serious road racing fan, this piece would make a historic addition to your collection. $599.95, plus shipping.
One of the most sought after autographs in motor racing is two time World Champion and 1965 Indianapolis 500 winner Jim Clark. The above image was scanned from a 1964 dinner menu where Clark was Guest of Honor just acquired by TMC. The menu is in excellent condition and one of the best Clark autographs we've ever seen. $1,295.00. Take a look at the full sized scans HERE.
Minichamps Collectors: We are getting an unexpected restock of some very desireable Minichamps models in the next few days. We will post a complete list as soon as they arrive.
9/22/2004 UPDATE: This one looks like a fun read: 'Red Wheels and White Sidewalls: Confessions of an Allard Racer' by Bill Pollack is the story of how a law student began racing a humble MG in 1950 and went on to drive the great marques of the era, Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Corvette, Cooper and Lister, and of course Allard. An insider's view of the birth and coming of age of sports car racing in California, a time when Clark Gable acted as a race starter, James Dean raced his Porsche and Gary Cooper was a frequent spectator. In stock now, $23.95 plus shipping. Softbound.
This week's shipment of new Minichamps models has been posted to the New Die Cast page. Remember, 2004 F1 Showcars are available in limited quantities only.
Has the 'Ghost Rider' moved to Minnesota? Check this out: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040922/D858M7MG0.html.
9/15/2004 UPDATE: We always like to pass on a bargain, and a Nicholas Watts print signed by 2 World Driving Champions (one of them a multiple Indy 500 winner as well) for just $100 is a bargain, no question about it. 'First Win' (seen above) is hand signed by both Emerson Fittipaldi and Sir Jack Brabham. We'll hold the price for at least 60 days or while our supplies last.
We've finished uploading photo sets of this week's new Minichamps on the New Die Cast page. Some great race and road car models there! We also added the 1/43 scale Action version of the 'Crispy Corvette' that Dale Earnhardt, Jr and Boris Said were to drive at Sears Point (sorry, Infineon Raceway) earlier this summer before Junior's fiery crash during Sunday morning practice.
The Tobacco Police have struck again with Minichamps's beautiful 1/18 scale Porsche 956L 1983 LeMans winner. The Rothmans logo has been tampo printed on the rear wing only but has been covered by 'Racing' decals. The rest of the model carries 'Racing' decals instead of Rothmans and probably can be converted with a bit of patience and a Rothmans decal set.
I'll be heading up to Road America tomorrow for our final road show of 2004. Our Downers Grove gallery will be open during normal business hours.
9/14/2004 UPDATE: Back from a beautiful weekend at Watkins Glen International. Lots of excitement surrounding their 2005 IRL race next September. Looking forward to seeing our friends and customers at The Glen maybe 3 times next year!
With all the hurricane activity the past month, there was a bit of a logjam when it came to new Minichamps releases. Well, things are getting back to normal down in Florida and a large shipment of new Minichamps models arrived at TMC this morning. We'll be uploading photos of all the new releases between now and Thursday (when I leave for Road America and our final 'trackside' road show of 2004). The long awaited 1/18 scale 1983 LeMans winning 'Rothmans' Porsche 956L is here along with Michael Schumacher's 1991 Benetton, Jody Scheckter's Wolf WR1 in 1/43 and lots of other great models. Advance orders ship today.
9/8/2004 UPDATE: TSV's 'Return of the Silver Arrows' DVD arrived just in time to make it on the trailer for Watkins Glen this weekend. Pre-orders ship today and tomorrow. $39.95 plus shipping.
9/2/2004 UPDATE: We'll be open our normal gallery hours this Friday and Saturday but will close for the Labor Day holiday on Monday. And, we'll see you next weekend at Watkins Glen.
9/1/2004 UPDATE: As promised, here is our Auto Art Preview page. Some great 1/18 scale models are in the works, including the '91 LeMans winning Mazda, a series of Porsche 908/3, 908/2 and 911 GT3R models, the 2003 LeMans Corvettes and some WRC winners. Not all the pricing is set, and the release dates are the usual wild promises but we're taking orders anyway.
The 1/18 scale Action Dale Earnhardt, Jr / Boris Said Corvette C5-R is here. This is the car that was to be raced at Infineon Raceway (Sears Point to us old timers) in June before Jr's fiery practice crash reduced it to ashes. We just have a few ($89.95). More photos here.
No word from Action as to a 'post race' version - yet.
