Category: Miscellaneous

I’ll be honest: I entertained the idea of not doing a Top 5 list this year. As you undoubtedly noticed, I’m very rarely showing new models 😥. A son studying abroad has the tendency to wipe away your toys & candy fund. Moreover, like everything else, 1:43 models are each year more expensive, so that complicate things. Even so, right now the W-143 Garage counts on 584 cool models 😎! Okay, okay, there may be some not-so-cool ones in there and even some dogs, but most are cool. Since this year the new acquisitions were slimmer, it was easier to make the Top 5 Models of 2025 list (in chronological order):

1️⃣ OBVIOUSLY, the 9X8. In my eyes the poster boy for the Hypercar era, even though that wingless design was a disaster, it looked cool af. No doubt, perhaps THE most unique-looking car at La Sarthe in the last 30 years. And of course, a grail model for me.

2️⃣ Perhaps I may have mentioned before that I’m not a great Maranello fan 🤔? Yeah, maybe once or twice… 😂 Well, I may not like the brand very much but they have two important things going for them. First, Ferrari has some VERY gorgeous cars. And second, they have history, which for me is paramount. And in this case, 50 years in the making.

3️⃣ The Hoonipigasus is for sure one of the wackiest racecars I’ve ever seen. Something that for any rational purpose, shouldn’t exist. Yet, thankfully to some individuals that think “Why not?”, it exists and I have it in the W-143 Garage. It’s one of those models that you have to know the history behind it to fully appreciate it.

4️⃣ A NASCAR racing at La Sarthe? For 24 hours 🤨? Sounds like a publicity stunt… Well, it was, but a VERY cool publicity stunt. The last time that happened was in 1976, also as a publicity stunt. The difference is that none of the 1976 NASCAR cars finished, and the ZL1 #24 finished in 39^th place. And it came in first in its (one car) class. Helluva good publicity stunt if you ask me.

5️⃣ In my eyes, the 205 T16, along with the Audi Quattro and Lancia S4, are THE best Group B cars ever. It took a long time for me to add one to the W-143 Garage, but in June I finally got one. Nowadays, these models are HTF and usually expensive, but a gorgeous model from Ixo, very well represented in 1:43. So of course, one of my rally grails.

Oh well, there goes 2024… You know the the expression “time flies”? I’m certain you already heard it. However, trust me, it only acquires meaning after you reach a certain age. And yes, I’m already over that age. The year came and went and here am I writing a new Top 5 list. The year of 2024 was a bit rough, with few new models. Specially in terms of Le Mans cars. It started out slow, totally stopped by mid-year and only got going in the second semester. There were months that I didn’t get a single new model…🙄 Even so, as of this writing, the W-143 Garage is at 560 models. It was a slim year, however good enough to make the Top 5 Models of 2024 list (in chronological order):

1️⃣ First things first: even to me it sounds a bit weird to post a van in a Top 5 list. Nonetheless, Ixo did a heckuva job on the model and it looks FANTASTIC with my Quattro S1 E2 towed behind. As I said before, a shame Ixo doesn’t also make Le Mans’ service vehicles.

2️⃣ This one is easy to justify: GRAIL MODEL, period. The Delta is one of my all-time favorite cars, and a rally version, from Spark? Puh-leeze, just take my money.

3️⃣ Another rally car? And a Toyota 🤨?!? As I’m certain you noticed by now, I’m always complaining about dull liveries. Yeah, those bland, flavorless and boring red-white-black-silver corporate affairs that big manufacturers insist for their cars. And here you have a works car from Toyota (yes, TOYOTA!) with a cool off-the-wall livery. Awesome!

4️⃣ Rexy: a Porsche painted as a green T-Rex racing at La Sarthe. The coolest Le Mans livery of all times? If not, in my humble opinion certainly one of the Top 5. No doubt, like the Pink Pig or the Calder BMW, one of the greatest.

5️⃣ This one is also very easy to explain: the first Porsche that won at Le Mans. With the 356 Gmünd Coupe, Porsche began it’s long relation with La Sarthe. And finally, in the second semester of 2024 Spark released their version of the car. Another case of take-my-money.