23 RACING CAR

First came the 23 Racing Car, a simple record breaker, based on Captain George Eyston’s MG EX127 “Magic Midget”, a tiny car, taylormade around Eyston’s body and much in use in the years 1931 and 1932 on the beaches of Pendine Sands/UK and on the Montlhéry racetrack near Paris, then sold to the German Bobby Kohlrausch before finally disappearing before WW2.

The British DINKY model appeared for the first time in the April 1934 MECCANO Magazine and was made of lead. Four small exhaust stubs on the left side, just like the real thing, no drivers head, unlike the French DINKY version, which came out a little later, in August 1934.

23A RACING CAR

By the end of 1934, DINKY TOYS England had made an entirely new mould for a second record car model, the 23a Racing Car, looking almost exactly the same as the 23 Racing car. But a closer inspection revealed two major differences: a rounder and steeper front end and a six-branch exhaust system, leading to the back of the car, ending in a fishtail. The new model was therefore representing Captain Eyston’s new MG record car, the 1934 EX 135 or “Magic Magnette”, soon nicknamed “Humbug” after a popular candy, sporting the same colour scheme with those distinctive seven stripes.

Both DINKY TOYS England and France launched their new 23a Racing Car models in spring 1935. DINKY England used the new mould, whereas DINKY France continued to produce the model with the old 23 Racing Car mould, just adding the new exhaust pipe whilst keeping the 4 little stubs!

23B AUTO DE COURSE PROFILÉE

In the early ‘30s, several companies tried to brake long-distance records at the Montlhéry racetrack with specially prepared cars, amongst them Renault with their 8-cylinder “Nervasport”, equipped with four powerful headlights for night driving. In April 1934, they succeeded, achieving an average speed of 168 km/h over 48 hours, totalling 8’000 km with a maximum speed of well over 200 km/h.

Announced in April 1935, DINKY TOYS France’s only indigenous pre-war creation of a record car was a model of this Renault Nervasport, called the “Auto de course profilée”, even though they had somewhat missed the true shape of the rear of the car.

23B HOTCHKISS

This record car model was based on the French closed-cockpit Hotchkiss - another one of Captain Eyston’s specials, in which he achieved fame at the Montlhéry racetrack in 1933 and 1934.

DINKY TOYS England released the Hotchkiss model in June 1935, thereby completing their initial group of three record cars. DINKY TOYS France followed in early 1949, after the mould hab been sent to Bobigny for further production. Due to shortness of rubber after the war, the first series of French Hotchkiss models had metal wheels.

35B RACER

A brand new red-hot MG racer called the “R-type” entered the scene in 1935, soon to become a nightmare for its competitors in the smallest racing category. 10 were built, then MG stopped all works racing activities to focus on commercial business by building series production cars only.

This little racer was part of a new series of three small scale 1:63 DINKY cars in April 1936, whereas all the previous DINKY models were made in approximatively 1:43 scale. Some were equipped with white tyres, most with black, a driver came later.

23C MERCEDES BENZ

In 1935, the Mercedes Benz “W25” Grand Prix Racing Car became the first “Europameister”, in the hands of Rudolf Caracciola, then the top German racing driver.

DINKY TOYS England selected the Mercedes as their first model within a new generation of three racers; a racing car and two more record cars, all with structured baseplates and large black herringbone tyres. The Mercedes became available in May 1936. The mould was shipped to DINKY TOYS in France where production continued from May 1949, first with metal wheels due to rubber shortage.

23D AUTO UNION

In February, before the start of the 1935 racing season, the German driver Hans Stuck achieved a new speed record with 320 km/h over the flying mile with a modified Auto Union Grand Prix racing car on a highway near Lucca, between Pisa and Florence, hence the nickname “LUCCA” for this fearsome vehicle.

It was DINKY TOYS England’s next record car model, appearing in the MECCANO Magazine for the first time in May 1936. After the war, the mould was shipped to DINKY TOYS France where production continued from November 1949.

23E SPEED OF THE WIND

Another one of Captain Eyston’s record cars was selected as pattern for the last of the three new DINKY TOYS racers, the “Speed of the Wind”. Equipped with a V12 Rolls Royce aero-engine and front-wheel drive, the monster was designed for long distance- and endurance record breaking. After having achieved records in 1935 and 1936, a diesel engine replaced the aero-engine, the car was re-named “Flying Spray” and continued happily thereafter until it found its sad end when the Germans bombed London in 1941.

The DINKY model appeared in May 1936 and remained in the catalogues until 1956, one of the DINKY models with the longest production time.

23M THUNDERBOLT/ 23S STREAMLINED RACING CAR

Eight giant wheels, two Rolls Royce engines of totally 73 litres capacity, 4’700 HP, a total weight of more than seven tons: Eyston’s “Thunderbolt”. Sitting in this leviathan, Eyston beat the absolute land speed world record three times, finally reaching almost 600 km/h, always on the salt lake of Utah. All that is left of the Thunderbolt is believed to rest about 15 feet below the runway of Wellington International Airport where - in 1946 - it fell victim to a warehouse fire, ready to be shipped back to Europe after the war.

DINKY TOYS England released the Thunderbolt model in April 1938, for the first time with its own box. The identical “Streamlined Racing Car” appeared 1939 in the toy shops, in different colours, without Union Jack transfers as used on the tail fin of “Thunderbolt” and without a box.

23P GARDNER’S MG RECORD CAR

In 1939, parts of Eyston’s famous MG “Magic Magnette” were used to build a new record car, in which Major “Goldie” Gardner started to capture record after record, before and after the war. The so-called “Gardner MG” can still be viewed in the British Motor Museum in Gaydon.

DINKY TOYS England had selected this car as their next (and last) record car model, announced in September 1939 but launched only in December 1939, right after the outbreak of war. For some, DINKY’s prettiest model ever made.

23F ALFA ROMEO

The famous Alfa Romeo 158 “Alfetta” was a pre-war design, seven survived the war to dominate post-war racing and - driven by Dr. Giuseppe (Nino) Farina - to become World-Champion in 1950, the first year of the new Formula-1.

A new generation of DINKY racing cars came out in the early ‘50s, slightly bigger in scale than pre- war. Six new models; the Alfa Romeo was the first, issued in August 1952, initially without its own box.

23G COOPER-BRISTOL

Father and son Charles and John Cooper were making small 500cc Formula-3 racers since the ‘40s. When they learned that the World- Championship in 1952 and 1953 would be held for Formula-2 racing cars, they decided to play in this league with the Cooper-Bristol T20. Despite their handicap - the lack of a really competitive British engine - Mike Hawthorn and others were quite capable to bother the superior Italians here and there.

The second DINKY racer from the new series - the Cooper-Bristol - was released in March 1953, packed in its own box.

23H/23J FERRARI

The Ferrari F2 “Tipo 500” dominated the two seasons 1952 and 1953, when the World Championship was open for Formula-2 racing cars with engines up to 2 litres capacity.

The third DINKY racer of the group of six was a faithful copy of an early version of this Ferrari, with the correct 4 little exhaust stubs on the left side. Strange enough, DINKY TOYS England had chosen the Argentine racing colour scheme blue/ yellow for their model when they launched their model in April 1953, whereas DINKY TOYS France’s model - issued in 1956 - was red.

23J HWM

Hersham and Walton Motors or “HWM” stood for a small garage in Surrey, always short of money, but always performing well with drivers like Stirling Moss and Peter Collins. In the early ‘50s, their Formula-2 racing team was very popular with spectators and organisers but apparently less so with the kids!

As a result, the British DINKY TOYS model of the HWM, issued in May 1953, had the shortest lifespan of all the six new racers, the only one never to receive the aluminium- or plastic rims, all the other five did. A pity, in fact.

23N MASERATI

Towards the end of 1952 and during the 1953 season, when the World- Championship was held for Formula-2 cars, it became more and more obvious that the Maserati “A6GCM” could hold its own against the Ferrari. Highlight was the victory of Fangio in Monza 1953.

June 1953 saw the release of the British DINKY TOYS Maserati in the traditional Swiss racing colours Red and White, perhaps a tribute to Toulo de Graffenried, then a popular Swiss Grand Prix Driver.

23K/23H TALBOT-LAGO

Based on a pre-war design, the Talbot-Lago T26C Grand Prix Racer of 1948 was a bit on the heavy side, rather slow, but reliable. sometimes even successful, provided the Alfas and Ferraris were absent from the grid.

Delayed by about two months, the British DINKY Talbot-Lago became available in the toy shops only in September 1953, the last of the famous six DINKY TOYS Grand Prix racers. At about the same time, in fact even a little bit earlier, in April 1953, DINKY TOYS France issued their version, their first own post-war racing car model, slightly smaller in scale and without box.

133 CUNNINGHAM C-5R

To win Le Mans was reason enough for American millionaire Briggs Cunningham to build road racers. On the long “Hunaudieres” straight, the Cunningham “C-5R” - also called the “smiling shark” - was faster than the Jaguars, but the huge drum-brakes let him down in the corners, to finally finish third in 1953, behind two Jags, still before the first Ferrari.

The Cunningham was DINKY TOYS England’s first road racer model, announced in March 1955, painted in the correct US-racing colours and, for the first time, equipped with a plastic windscreen and a separate driver.

110/506 ASTON MARTIN DB3S

The Aston Martin “DB3S” racing sports car was a successful development, with excellent roadholding and perfect handling. 31 units were built, 11 works cars and 20 cars for private clients. 1953 saw some impressive results, 1954 became a flop because Aston Martin got their development priorities wrong.

In March 1956, DINKY TOYS England launched the Aston Martin in three (four?) colours, DINKY TOYS France followed with their green model in March 1960, after the mould had been received from England.

163 BRISTOL 450

The Bristol “450” won its class 1953 at the 12 hours of Reims and 1954 at the 24 hours of Le Mans. Its rather eccentric looks with the two tail fins was the result of extensive work done in the wind tunnel of the aeroplane manufacturer.

In July 1956, DINKY TOYS England presented the Bristol as their next racing sports car model.

236 CONNAUGHT

Impressed by the streamlined Formula-1 Mercedes W196, the small British firm Connaught built three such rather strange racers for the 1955 Grand Prix season, soon to be abandoned again due to poor drivers visibility and poor access to the engine compartment.

December 1956 saw DINKY’s next racing car in the toy shops: the 236 Connaught, about as short- lived on the playgrounds as the original on the race track.

238 JAGUAR TYPE D

Especially designed for the 24 hours of Le Mans, the Jaguar D-Type became second at its début in 1954, winning in 1955, 1956 and 1957, however with a slightly altered nose to increase top speed.

September 1957 saw the release of the DINKY 238 Jaguar, a month before the delayed 237 Mercedes Benz. No racing numbers on this model, the transfers had to be bought separately.

237 MERCEDES BENZ

The outright win at the French Grand Prix in June 1954 by two streamlined silver Mercedes Benz W196 shook the Grand Prix scene after 15 years of German absence.

DINKY England presented their model in October 1957 in various shades of white. Why not in silver?

239 VANWALL

What started as a hobby of a certain Mr. Tony Vanderwell - a British manufacturer of thin-wall bearings - developed into a mayor passion and obsession to beat Ferrari, ruining his health in the process but finally resulting in a Constructors World Champion title for Vanwall in 1958 and the setting of a new standard in Formula-1 racing.

DINKY TOYS England launched the Vanwall in April 1958, a truly wonderful racer, despite its lack of the famous wrap-around windscreen.

22A MASERATI 2000

Reliable, fast and virtually unbreakable, the Vignale-bodied 2-Litre Maserati A6GCS entered the stage in 1953 to become one of the most successful racing sports cars, most suitable for the immensely popular road races of the ‘50s.

DINKY TOYS France issued the 22A Maserati Sport 2000 in April 1958, their first and only Racing Sports Car without an 'English sibling'.

THAT WAS IT - FOR ME

Of course, DINKY TOYS went on to produce more racing cars. Like in 1963, when thy launched a new series with the 240 Cooper, the 241 Lotus, the 242 Ferrari and the 243 BRM. Or with the 225 Lotus in 1971 and the 226 Ferrari in 1972.

Fine models, with suspension and lots of plastic.

But somehow it seemed they had missed the taste of the kids.

And my passion for DINKY TOYS racing cars had to give way to other, more appropriate passions, of course.

But the fire never really went out.

Today, it’s burning again.