Vintage Race Car Collections For Sale in Scale

To be a caretaker for vintage race cars is an expensive endeavor. The cost of maintenance, preservation and inherent risks associated with running on-track can give even the most cavalier collector heart palpitations. 

Take for example the Ferrari 640 ½ , widely considered to be one of the most beautiful Formula One cars ever created. One resides in New York’s Museum of Modern Art on display as part of a “Designed for Speed: Three Automobiles by Ferrari'' exhibit. In 2015 Gooding and Company recorded a sale of a 1990 Ferrari 641/2 for $990,000USD (1.27MM in 2023 rates). And that’s just the entry price. If you are going to take it to events, show it and maintain it, expect a much steeper invoice.

Perhaps endurance racing is more your outlet? The 1971 Porsche 917K, that was in Steve McQueen’s film LeMans, in the Gulf livery is iconic as it is beautiful. This car went to auction in 2017 and sold for an eye-watering $14,080,000 USD (17.55MM in 2023 rates)!

If these are too modern, there is the Mercedes-Benz W196 Monoposto. Debuted in 1954, the W196 was Mercedes' return to Formula One after World War Two. The car competed for two seasons winning the manufacturer's title each year. One example, driven by Juan-Manuel Fangio went across the block in 2013 at Bonham’s Goodwood Festival of Speed sale for £19,601,500  ($32.58MM USD in 2023 rates).

Each of these vehicles are significant to motorsports and the automobile as a whole. Thus the odds of one collector retaining and caretaking for any of these, let alone all three at the same time  seems unlikely. But when there is enough desire, solutions will present themselves. 

Enter Amalgam Collection. It was 1985 in Bristol, UK that Amalgam Collection started making fine architectural models for British and German architects. Ten years later, they pivoted to more automobile models after company founder Sandy Copeman approached a couple Formula One teams. 

Nowadays the company is involved in high-end bespoke models for cars, planes, and yachts. 

Those first Formula One teams mentioned prior, you may have heard of them. Jordan Grand Prix and Williams F1 teams. Ferrari quickly was added to the fray. And today, you’ll find Red Bell, Mercedes-AMG, Tyrell, McLaren, Lotus & Maserati among others. 

The company continues to forge relationships with multiple iconic marques and companies to recreate their vehicles in breath-taking detail.

These reproductions can take nearly 5,000 hours for one of the 1:8 scale models to be completed. The company has access to confidential CAD files, provided by manufacturers to duplicate the vehicles. Then also digitally scan the vehicle and gather roughly 1,000 photographs of the real example to help get details for its build. With the use of CNC machining, 3D printing, resin castings and traditional handcrafted methods, the models are created and assembled. 

If you found the Porsche 917K’s auction price of $14MM to be out of range, you can still own one at a fraction of the price, and scale as well. A 1:8  scale version in a weathered race scheme is available for $23,460.00 from Amalgam. Not bad considering it’s only going to run you 0.16% of the auction price! 

The race-weathered Mercedes W196 from Amalgam would only set you back 0.09% of the actual version.  is the same price as its Porsche 917K.

Unfortunately, the Ferrari 640 ½ from Nigel Mansell in a weathered scheme is no longer available. But if current prices reflect its original purchase price, you’re still into one for just 2.3% of the full-sized option. And if interested, Amalgam does bespoke builds so it’s not a stretch to imagine they could reproduce it again.

So if you don’t have the spare $51.4MM for the three actual race cars, you can have three duplicates that makes one believe, by just adding some fuel you can fire it up, for a comparatively scant $70,380 USD (0.14% of the total cost for real). 

Check out Amalgam for all their incredible offerings, and if you’re fortunate enough, snag some of these incredible works of art that strike all the right cords with automotive collectors and enthusiasts.