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Exoto 1:18 1975 Porsche 917/30 #6- Donohue- w/ Driver Figure

Reviewed by: Rusty Hurley

One last hurrah. For a man. For a machine.

Talladega is 2.66-miles long, four lanes wide and is banked 33 degrees on each end, with 18-degree banking in the tri-oval. This layout has produced some of the fastest and most competitive racing in history. The backstretch is nearly 4,000 feet long, and the corners allow the driver to keep their right foot planted and the engine revving on the ragged edge.

In 1975, Formula 1 bound Mark Donohue intended on breaking the world closed course speed record at this track in the heart of Dixie where A.J. Foyt had set it in 1974 with his own Coyote. The weapon of choice was a modified Porsche 917/30 that single handedly obliterated competitive Can Am racing two years earlier. This time it wasn’t painted in the famous blue and gold Penske Sunoco colors but in the brilliant red, white and black of CAM 2, the auto lubricant giant that wanted its name on the ultimate performance record.

Donohue, an engineer himself, led the effort under the banner of his “Racemark” team with additional support from both Penske and Porsche. One failed attempt was made at Daytona in January. While Can Am racing required that cars be able to change speeds rapidly in order to cope with road courses, modifications were needed for the engine to run flat out at high revs. Changes were made to the turbos and aerodynamics (intake, ventilation and wing) including an innovative dual intercooler system.

In August, 1975, under heavy Alabama skies, the first attempt resulted in the car catching on fire. Undeterred, the relentless Donohue brought the car in to the pits and changes were made even as the rain moved in. He launched the turbo Panzer out onto the legendary tri-oval for one more attempt and in a shining moment created his own thunder and lightning at 221.10 mph, good enough to eclipse Tex’s record.

The Exoto model memorializing this moment is a piece that shows great craft, historic honor and a few contradictions. It is available in two versions, one with a cold cast resin driver figure, one without. It is based on the award winning Exoto 917/30 platform which took the diecast world by storm in its debut (complete with rolling chassis). Many of the attributes that made this mold stunning in its original Sunoco guise are no less breathtaking here.

So what’s different about this version?

Well, let’s start with the paint, a brilliant red white and black combination faultlessly applied. The cow catcher or front end main ventilation has also changed, with red filigree mesh. There is the resin version of a determined Donohue in the cockpit, his driver’s suit with correct sponsor logos and delicate black pin striping on the helmet such detail (that doesn’t easily show up on most photos I’ve seen). The model comes with removable full moon hubcaps that are unique to this 917/30 but I really like displaying the black lacquered wheels open – something very sinister about that look.

Exoto’s website features period photographs of the actual car and a proper history. While I wish every diecast model maker would go to the trouble that Exoto does to document their models, it does make compromises on this particular issue apparent, such as the omission of the unique dual intercooler system deployed to keep the cylinder heads from melting and some of the aerodynamic modifications unique to the record holding car from its heritage (deleted rear view mirrors, changes to wings and louvres, etc). Given the documentation on their own site, my guess is compromises were related to the model’s cost of production than lack of historical awareness. In car dealer parlance, what we have here is a good "appearance package", not atypical of secondary production runs.

So what's the verdict? I think this is a model worth having and cherishing –especially the figure version. Ten days after the record was set, Donohue’s amazing career came to a horrific conclusion as he died while practicing for the Austrian Grand Prix. So for me, this model echoes down the generations of a day when under threatening skies and long odds, a man and a machine had one last hurrah.

Editors note: read Bill Bennett's full review of the original 917/30 mold for further information.

(08/12/2007)