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Exoto 1:18 1953 Ferrari 500 F2 #18- Swaters- Grand Prix of Berlin Winner- Ltd Ed of 1953

Reviewed by: Bill Bennett

Exoto’s yellow 1953 Ferrari 500 F2, driven by Jacques Swaters representing the Ecurie Francorchamps is one of the most handsome 1:18 monoposto models from the pre- and post-war eras I have seen.

Enzo Ferrari began his automotive career with Alfa Romeo in 1920. He started as a race car driver, then sales manager and finally director of their racing team until 1939. In 1929 he formed Scuderia Ferrari a factory-supported organization that set-up competition events for its members. During the Second World War, Ferrari moved his operation from Modena to Maranello. In 1945 after the cessation of hostilities, he began producing his own race and road cars with the first car rolling out of the shop in 1946.

In 1951, when Alfa Romeo pulled out of Grand Prix racing, the FIA announced that the 1952 World Championship would be run to Formula 2 specifications. Ferrari was the only racing team with a car built to these specifications. The Aurelio Lampredi-designed 500 F2 was a simple machine with a four-cylinder dual-overhead-camshaft engine with a set of two Weber dual-choke carburetors. With Alberto Ascari driving, the 500 F2 won the 1952 and 1953 World Championships.

On July 12, 1953, Jacques Swaters won the non-championship Grand Prix of Berlin in his number 18 Ferrari 500 F2. Swaters was a Belgian with a great passion for racing and for Ferrari. He initially began his relationship with Enzo Ferrari as a privateer racing driver, then became the team manager for Ecurie Francorchamps and ultimately became responsible for the distribution of Ferrari cars to Belgium and all of northern Europe.

Exoto’s model of Swaters’s car is a real beauty! With all of its detailing, I have to say that Exoto has really responded to the challenge put forth by their arch-rival CMC. The bright yellow paint is really eye-catching and sports large black roundels surrounding white #18s. The car has a wealth of microscopic detail with tiny rivets dotting the body and side panels that are realistically louvered. A small oil filler door for the transaxle, the gas filler cap and a small cowl vent all open just as they would on the 1:1. The car comes shipped with a transparent plastic engine cover in-place and the real engine cover nestled in its own space in the foam cocoon. This is a good idea, because if the cover was shipped installed, there are probably those who would be intimidated by the hood hold-downs and would never get to see the gorgeous engine. That would be a shame! It is truly a little jewel unto itself.

Many things catch your eye in the engine bay: the sparkplug wires coming from the dual, front-driven magnetos feeding into miniscule wire looms and down to the eight individual sparkplugs. The dual-choke Weber side-draft carburetors are beautifully cast and have four individually turned velocity stacks directing the air into the engine. The throttle linkage has the tiniest return springs imaginable! The valve covers are painted in a wrinkle-coat black paint as close to scale as I’ve seen, with tiny “Ferrari” lettering sitting proudly between the fins on the cover. The exhaust running out of the engine is 4 into 2 into 1. The miraculous thing about the exhaust is the simulated rust on the mild steel headers. Totally believable! The last thing that jumps out at you when the hood’s off is the brass steering rod that snakes its way through the engine bay on its way from the steering wheel to the steering box. It is a maze of precision! The shaft has three tiny universal joints to allow it to clear the engine and headers and these look as precision and real as you could ever imagine.

Look at the suspension; it looks so realistic with its transverse leaf springs, four-link front suspension and DeDion rear suspension. They’ve even gotten rid of most of the Phillips head screws that screamed: Model! The rear tires are about 10% larger than the front tires and give the car a slightly nose-down, purposeful look that is consistent with the pictures of the real cars. The wire wheels are made with real wire and each features one spoke wrapped with lead solder to balance the wheel. I feel confident that nearly all of the purchasers of this car will never see the balancing solder unless they read this review, but it’s amazingly there……. Trust me!

When you turn the car over, things change a little. Exoto has chosen to fill-in some of the underbody shell to give room for two molded-in Exoto trademarks, plus a large diamond-shape plate with the “Grand Prix Classics” emblem and a smaller plate with the serial number. I believe these take away from the accuracy of the car, but being on the underside are not nearly as obtrusive as they might have been elsewhere.

So how does this car compare to CMC’s version of the same Ferrari? I think very well! In comparing both cars, they both are masterpieces. That said, I happen to prefer the Exoto, but they both have their strong points. There has been some concern about the quality of the products that Exoto would market now that they’ve transferred production to Dubai. If this model is an example of the quality coming from their new manufacturing facility, and it is, I say wonderful! I could not find one manufacturing defect on the whole car. It was perfect! As for which car to choose, I’d say “sit them down side-by-side and examine each offering then make your own decision.” As you can tell, I’ve made mine!

(09/21/2007)