As already mentioned there are several themes that one can build one's collection on; with me these intersect at several points. I love Italian cars and mainly focus my attention on Lancia with Fiat playing second fiddle...I also love aviation and having worked in the business for over 20 years I have a small part of my collection to aviation themed models.
My selection of Alitalia as a focus to this blog was a natural; in the 70's Alitalia, Italy's national airline became a major sponsor of Lancia's rallying campaign and subsequently that of Fiat's as well. These models entered my collection primarily due to their Lancia and Fiat connection and at some point I realised I had quite a few decorated in Alitalia liveries and ended up having a special display at home. As I also have a small collection of airline buses, inevitably one of those makes an appearance as well!
The relationship between Alitalia and Lancia and Fiat was and remains one of the most iconic relationships between a sponsor and a manufacturer and in the realms of rallying must be one of the most enduring and memorable. Alitalia must be enjoying this continuous 'free' advertising...
The car most closely associated to Alitalia's sponsorship is the Stratos which unquestionably is one of the most famous and impressive rally cars in the history of the sport. The car has been modelled by most serious (and some less so...) toy or replica manufacturers. The collector has lots to choose from. Here is my sample.
Schuco 'Piccolo', No. 05960, Limited Edition of 1000, Monte Carlo Rally 1975, No. 14, Made in China
Norev, Lancia Stratos, No. 863, 1/43, Made in France ca 1975
Altaya, 1/43, Stratos, Winner of 1977 Monte Carlo Rally, Made in China, released 2005
Bandai, No. 200, Made in Japan, 1/43, Lancia Stratos Turbo Gr. 5
The model is solidly made, with fixed axles and with opening doors and rear engine cover.
A group shot of five different 1/43 scale models.
But there is one more in my collection!
Minichamps, 1/43, 1975 winner of Swedish Rally, WALDEGAARD & THORSZELIUS
Here is a review of my roughly 1/60 (Matchbox) sized Stratos
Hot Wheels; Made in China Ca. 2002 (was in a gift set with a set of tracks)
This model was never issued individually and hence pretty rare. Alitalia not mentioned, but what else could it be mimicking?
Tomica, No. F66, Stratos Turbo, 1/62 scale, Made in Japan
Now we'll skip to the 1/18 scale.
Kyosho, 1/18, Made in China, 1975 Monte carlo rally, Munari-Manucci
Solido, 1/18 scale, 1971 Monte Carlo Rally, Munari-Maiga
The detail and finish of the Kyosho is significantly superior, but so was its price!
Odd-balls...
Takara, ca 1/41, Made in Japan, Turbo Gr. 5, ca 1983
The following two models are rather cheap toys and although not marked as Alitalia are included as they are undoubtedly inspired by the Alitalia liveried group 5 Turbo.
Cheap plastic pull-back action model with no indication of provenance; roughly 1/43 scale
Cheap die-cast pull-back action model with no indication of provenance; Made in China, ca 1/62 scale
This is very similar to the casting of the Tomica 'copy'
Of course, rally cars needed support teams and in the early 70's the Lancia rally teams were supported by Beta Berlinas.
PEGGO, No. PG1047, Lancia Beta Berlina, Assistenza Rally Alitalia, 1/43, Made in China, 2010
This model by PEGGO of Italy must reflect the actual support car quite closely, but nearer the period, Polistil released this:
Polistil, No. AE41, Lancia Beta Alitalia, Made in Italy, 1/43, Released 1976
(The antenna has sadly broken off...)
This model was based on standard Beta released under No. E41 in 1973.
Mercury, No. 52, Lancia Beta Coupé Rally, 1/43, Made in Italy, Released 1974
Although most of the attention on Lancia's rallying history rests with the Fulvia, Stratos, 037 and Delta Integrale, the Beta Coupé also had a short career in rallying before the Fiat bosses decided to conentrate on the Stratos and Fiat 124 Spider Rally. The Beta showed a lot of promise but sadly the programme was terminated prematurely.
Lancia Beta Coupé, RAC Rally UK, Simo Lampinen, November 1976
I actually had the pleasure of seeing a stage of that rally live in Northwest England and somewhere in my archives I have a blurred photo of the Beta...when I unearth it it will appear here...
In the following photo one may see both the Betas, the Coupé as well as the Berlina support car, on a Fiat car transporter.
Polistil, No. S84, Fiat 131 Abarth Rally, 1/24, Made in Italy
Bburago, No.10-30000 Abarth R1, 1/43, Made in China, Released 2011
This is a very beuatifully made model (for the price) and clearly designed as a toy rather than as a pure collectable, but its quality and detailing is superior to the 'normal' offerings of Burago at 1/43 scale.
I picked up this model on a trip to Torino in the Spring of 2011. As far as I can tell, it is not distributed in Switzerland or Germany - a strange policy as I'm sure many collectors outside italy would love this!
Matchbox, No. 74, Fiat 131 Abarth, Made in Macau, 1981
Zyll, No. D94, Made in China
Burago, No. 4172, Lancia Beta Alitalia, 1/43 scale, Made in Italy, released in 1982
This car was a development of the Lancia Beta Monte Carlo, sold as the Scorpion in the USA as GM had the Monte Carlo name registered for use in the country.
This model depicts the car which participated in the Giro d'Ialia in 1979 being driven by none other than the legendary Canadian F1 driver Gilles Villeneuve (who sadly lost his life in a Ferrari F1 in April 1982 at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zanvoort) along with the Germans Walter Röhrl and Christian Geisdörfer of Rallying fame.
The following model, although appearing in Alitalia colours, to the best of my knowledge never officially competed in such a livery; at the time of the Fulvia's success Marlboro became a major sponsor and that was already towards the close of the Fulvia's career as a front line factory entered competitor. Nevertheless, since the theme of this Blog is Alitalia, here it is:
Mebetoys, No. A91, Fulvia HF Alitalia, 1/43, Made in Italy, Released in 1975
Well, its not only rallying and racing...several die-cast manufacturers produced toy buses emblazoned in airline liveries and I have a small collection in my aviation section...here is an Alitalia decorated bus by Majorette of France.
Majorette, Made in France
The same model was issued under the livery of numerous airlines. Matchbox also issued a version and similarly in many versions, but initially came in a box depicting a British Airways version even if the content was different e.g. I have one where the model is of an American Airlines version. Later picture boxes were replaced by a window box.
Matchbox, No. 65 Airport Coach
Matchbox also issued toy aeroplanes at one of those was of an Alitalia Airbus A300. It will be included once located...
Enjoy the Blog! I'd appreciate any comments.
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