Welcome to another edition of my attempt to assemble a timeline of Porsche racing car history in 1:43 scale. It started with the impulse purchase of a 911 GT1 in Mobil colors, the 1998 LeMans winner. Then, after I found a 956 in Trust livery, I decided to start this collection and began to look for other Porsche racers.
I stumbled upon this 908/3 in an apparently forgotten part of Ebay, because I placed a minimum bid with more than six days to go, and I was still the only bid at the end! But everyone’s inattention is my gain, and yesterday it arrived.
The 1:1
The Porsche 908/3 was the 1970 open-top evolution of the earlier 908 and 908/2 that were introduced in 1968 and ‘69, respectively, and was developed to complement the 917 in twistier races like the Targa Florio and on the Nürburgring. It was a lot more compact than the 917, and, unlike the 908 and 908/2, it was based on the shorter 909 Bergspyder. In 1971 Porsche added vertical fins.
The 908/3 was powered by a 2997cc flat-8, producing 350HP, an engine developed to maximize the FIA’s 3000cc limit for Group 6 prototype racers.
This particular 908/3 came in third at the 1971 ADAC 1000 km-Rennen und Formel Super-Vau Rennen Nürburgring, almost exactly 44 years ago. The full results of the race can be found here. Piloted by Dutchman Gijs van Lennep and Austrian Helmut Marko in full Martini regalia, it came in 1:44 behind the winners.
Here is some video of it (gotta love youtube, and the age we are living in):
The 1:43
On to the model. This 908/3 was made by Best Models, assembled in Italy, and very nice in quality and feel. It has good weight, being diecast metal instead of resin, and has no functioning openings of any kind. This last part is of no harm to anything, since it’s an open-top car, and has an exposed gearbox and engine anyway.
The detail is excellent, from the tail lights, to the decals, to the emergency shut off switch.
Enough talk, let’s go look at some more pictures. Teutonic Tuesday, yo!!
Up next: a 911-based racer by yet another manufacturer. Apparently I am not only collecting Porsche racers, but also different manufacturers.