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BBR Models 1:18 1954 Ferrari 375 Plus 1954 Le Mans Winner

Reviewed by: Rusty Hurley

My initial sighting of the BBR 375 Plus was in Greg White’s Designs in Motion shop in St. Louis, Missouri. Greg kept the place open late for me, a refugee from diecast bereft Minneapolis in the show-me state on business. I raced from my last appointment to get there about a half hour after Greg should have been home. Once inside I reveled in the jillions of cars and the warmth of Greg’s hospitality. Then Greg saw my eyes the second I locked on to the BBR 375 Plus sitting unboxed on a table.

“A real beauty, isn’t it?” he said. I picked it up, completely captivated by the sleek shape and audacious grill. The butter soft leather looked crafted by Coach. I’m not sure when I regained the ability to speak but after inquiring about the price, I decided that a model that expensive shouldn’t be brought back through the cattle call of airport security. So we chatted-up each other a bit and I ended up with a few lesser prizes. But I knew from that day forward I was going to get one. As I left, I stole another glance - just a matter of time.

Months passed, and I could still remember every haunting detail.

The machined look of the car’s joints and rivets, the beautiful red paint that stood out against other red models in DIM like Polaris on a starry Christmas Eve. Internet photos reminded me of the readable gauges nestled in the utilitarian steel dash. The most stunning single feature though was the originality of the 375 Plus LM as a diecast mold – there are just not many 1950’s era sports car racers made, much less any that have such grace in motion as this rough beast had. The Ferrari 375 was introduced at the Paris Salon in 1953 and 45 were produced by the time production ended in May of 1954, the same year the modeled version beat the Jaguar D Type at Le Mans. Finally the day came where my VISA whispered to me "go ahead and get it, at least you'll get the miles".

The day it arrived at the Hurley estate here in Minnesota I opened it carefully inspecting every inch and every bit of magic my camera eye had taken in was there. One of the sconces on the front had broken off – but that will be easy to repair and is more symptomatic of a general issue the upper level of this industry needs to evaluate: the fragile co-existence of delicate mounted parts yoked to heavily cast diecast chassis (and I mean this thing is a brick). When there is a sudden weight transfer during handling, small parts can become vulnerable to unintended consequences.

Hand crafted quality is part of the BBR attraction yet sometimes an issue. The perfect example opening the front and rear bonnet. Undoing the perfect little engine straps and spring loaded hinges, you are left to wonder how long it must have taken to make a pit stop if you had to do engine service. Thank goodness for all the working access caps for engine fills, etc. You can’t argue with the meticulous execution here by BBR. Plan an afternoon to remove the bonnets as it requires working with tweezers, a magnifying glass and a shot of Jack Daniels (or it did in my case) to calm the nerves. Is the engine underneath worth it? If you are an engine junkie, absolutely yes! The 4.9-liter Lampredi designed V12 is ultra-detailed, like a CMC engine ratcheted up a notch. An example is the filigree steel-wrapped hose which is is not a trifle but a triumph. The engline looks completely metal though there are plastic castings hiding in plain sight. If you are squeamish at all about handing your models – you might want to enjoy photos of the engine and save yourself more than a little anxiety. I’m just sayin’.

Besides there is more than enough other stuff to entertain you from the functional worm and wheel steering to the delicate Borrani wire wheels with big hydraulic drum brakes. The working metal shifter with detailed console is perfect in the stripped down interior. The front and the rear leaf spring suspension punctuate a miraculously detailed chassis. Funny thing, there’s an optional tonneau cover for the cockpit, but I just can’t bring myself to hide any part of this gorgeous Ferrari spyder.

While BBR certainly has put more than a little golly-gee-whiz-bang in this model, the subject gets its charisma from the epic sweep and curves of the Pinin Farina body. And I haven't seen a better Italtian body this side of Gina Lollobrigida. (Some of you young people have some worthwhile Google Image searches to do if you don’t recognize the name.)

At it’s simplest level, this Ferrari has romance. And that’s ultimately what it’s all about isn’t it? The model literally makes me feel good; I get a rush every time I see it and I’ve had it now for six months.

How impressed am I? If you were to say this model, or the sister the Carrera Panamerica Winner, is the model of the year for 2007, you’d get no argument from me.

Note: If you are reading this review in the Mr. Magneto feature, there are 20 photos of this model in the Car List & Review Section of DZ.

(12/25/2007)