The Porsche 917/20, widely known as
"Pink Pig" or "Big Bertha" raced at the 1971 Le Mans with drivers
W.Kauhsen and R.Joest. The overall achievement was disappointing as it did not
finish, but it had showed some good performance and was racing in a
respectable position before crashing out with brake failure. The "Pink Pig"
nickname was brought around when the major team sponsor, Martini, would
not allow the team to depict the sponsors over the car. This was because the
car was widely considered ugly and 'fat'. So the team painted the car pink with
cutting lines used in butchery.
The model is a Minichamps, they
refer to it as a limited edition of more than 9000 pieces. I really cannot
understand how 'limited' and '9000+ pieces' can go together, its price is
even much higher than normal Minichamps models. The car is sold in a
special box with its history. The box has also a speaker and every time the box
is opened the engine's sound can be heard, quite a nice touch!
The model is mostly metal and
painted with a thick layer of pink. The colour is even throughout. The livery
is a first. It seems that Minichamps used tampo printing on this car on
most, if not all, sponsors/colours. Minichamps nailed the exterior details and
stance very well. The only let down are the lights, which although accurate,
all are fitted with attachment stubs. The mesh at the front end is perforated
and feels like metal, but the vents over the front wheels are sealed.
The rear end is somewhat ugly in my
opinion, it sits low and fat. I have to agree with the Martini guys on this!
However, Minichamps did well, details are reproduced finely, everything seems
to be there. The exhausts are hollow and realistic.
The undercarriage is difficult to
judge as I cannot find any pictures from the real car. However, it looks good
enough with some intricate engine detail and realistic brake cooling ducts at
the front end. I am somewhat disappointed to see that Minichamps omitted the
suspension system which should be on all four wheels. The four wheels however
do have the experimental drilled disk brakes. The caliper is fixed and the disk
rotates with the wheel, but the detail isn't as good as you would expect.
The model has a sealed front end,
the doors swing forward and the rear cover opens vertically hinged right next
to the cockpit. The engine looks pretty good, but after comparing it with the
real engine, a lot of details are missing. Not important things, but
small details like wiring and better coloured parts. Still has some good
details and some wires, but it isn't enough. Minichamps did take the effort to
reproduce "Berta" and some other writings the mechanics painted on. Nice
detail!
The cockpit is another spot
Minichamps always suffered, it has a respectable level of accuracy and the
objects are well defined. I don't think Minichamps did miss any details in this
reproduction, but a cheap decal as gauges? First, there are 3 gauges and
from the pictures I had found, they are under separate lenses and secondly a
high priced model SHOULD NEVER have such a cheap detail in it. It's utterly
toyish. Other than that, Minichamps finally put in some fabric seatbelts which
are glued onto the hard red plastic seat.
This model can be considered old
nowadays and it shows. It has some nice details and an unusual box, but it is
too expensive for what it is. I must say that I am very happy to
own the model but with all the lack of detail in some areas, I really
cannot reccomend it to anyone. But just think of this, it is a one
off car which never had any race success, and it is neither a superb replica,
but for a Le Mans and Porsche nut, it is quite a unique model which I doubt we
will ever see in the diecast world again. Myself? I love Porsche racing cars,
and any 917 has to be part of it.
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