1949 Ferrari 166MM Pilots: L. Chinetti, L. Seldson Team: Lord Selsdon Race: 1st overall (S class) at Le Mans in 1949 Hot Wheels (Elite) - P9940 (diecast)
Published 03/11/17
So where to start? With the 1st one, where else . This Ferrari 166MM is the one that started the 1:43 ball rolling for me. I bought it in a brick & mortar store (much rarer nowadays than the model), and obviously paid more then what I would have paid online, but it’s a nice sensation to pay and get the car in hands right away. Unfortunately though, this one was all the store had for me. The sad part is that it was a store that had loads of 1:18s back in the day .
This 166MM was the first Ferrari to win at La Sarthe. It used a 2.0-liter version of the “Colombo” V-12, the smallest displacement of all Ferrari V-12s. Displacing 1995 cm³, it produced 140 hp, enough to take the barchetta to 220 km/h. The 1949 24 Heures du Mans was the first race after the war. Ferrari had two 166MM in the race, and this #22 came in first, completing 235 laps.
A few years ago I had the 166MM in 1:18, but it was the civilian version. At the time this Le Mans version was not available in 1:18 – Le Mans’ cars were scarce in 1:18th. So I had the decals made and transformed my car into the winning #22 version. Fortunately, with the huge variety of Le Mans cars in 1:43, this time I could go directly to what I wanted.
Well, here we start. My first 1:43 and also first Le Mans car. With my love for all things Le Mans, I think I started out okay. And I have a suspicion that there will be many after this… 😋
Consequently, stay tuned for more. Many more 😁