This charming Town garage comes from newcomer brickbink of Flickr, and it is quite gloriously French. A Citroen 2CV van, Renault 4 (we think), and a baguette all add gallic authenticity, and there’s more to see at the link above.
Despite being more expensive yet not as good as the hatchback or saloon on which they’re based, demand for crossover vehicles is booming. Several cars claim to be the originator of this pointless trend, including Toyota’s RAV4 and Nissan’s Qashqai, and a few more were derided at the time of their launch and failed miserably – yet if they were sold in today’s market they would probably do rather well, such as Rover’s Streetwise and Pontiac’s Aztek – however it was actually a forgotten little French company that came up with the idea of a normal car with off-road looks first.
Matra’s Rancho was based on the little Simca 1100, but with the addition of fibreglass rear bodywork and faux-4×4 styling, and was built from the mid ’70s to the mid ’80s. In a curious twist of fate Matra then invented another new class of car as the Rancho’s replacement, the world’s first MPV; the Renault Espace.
It was the Espace that gained immediate popularity and spawned a whole new market, with every major motor manufacturer copying the formula by the mid ’90s. However, by the 2010s demand for MPVs was plummeting, to be replaced by – you’ve guessed it – the crossover, the car which the MPV had replaced three decades earlier. Weird.
This colourful Lego version of the late ’70s Matra Rancho comes from TLCB favourite Ralph Savelsberg aka Mad Physicist, and it’s apparently the star of a Dutch TV show called ‘Bassie & Adriaan’. You can see more of Ralph’s Rancho, as well as the neat caravan in tow, at his photostream – click the link above to see more.
Nope, not an annoyingly generic 4-wide Lego creation, but Renault’s remarkable early ’80s R5 Turbo.
Downsized turbocharged engines are all the rage now, but Renault had the formula nailed more than thirty years ago. The little R5 was powered by a dinky 1.4 litre motor, one that in rally-tune kicked out over 200BHP. America couldn’t get that much power from a V8 four times the size…
The downside of all that power from such a small engine was chronic fragility, and the road-going R5 Turbo quickly gained a reputation for not working a lot of the time – which meant that it nicely set the tone for the next three decades of French automotive production.
However, unreliable though it was, the R5 Turbo is still regarded as one of the greatest motoring achievements of the 1980s, winning four WRC events and pioneering turbo-charging for the masses.
This brilliantly-built Model Team recreation of the 1982 Tour de Corsa winning rally R5 Turbo comes from MOCpages’ REGIS Michel, with Power Functions remote control drive, working lights, and some of the nicest decal-work* we’ve blogged. There’s more to see at his MOCpage via the link above.
*This particularly excited our Elves for some reason.
Discovered by both a very excited TLCB Elf* and a TLCB Reader, today we’re bringing you seven models in one! TLCB favourite (and previous Master MOCer) Nick Barrett has beautifully reconstructed six cars that he’s previously owned, plus a truck on which to transport them.
The truck steers and the trailer has a realistic mechanism to allow the cars to drive on, but really it’s all about that payload. See if you can identify all six of Nick’s eclectic cars before visiting MOCpages or Flickr to find out if you’re right!
*Which did of course try to ague that 7 meal tokens and 7 smarties were an appropriate reward. It did not win its case.
Carl Greatrix makes his second appearance in as many days here at TLCB with another unbelievable classic Formula 1 car. This time the prancing horse is Carl’s subject matter, and he’s recreated their gorgeous 1979 312T4 beautifully.
Underneath the perfect bodywork lives a chassis of jaw-dropping detail, including the famous flat 12 Ferrari engine, the last before Scuderia Ferrari finally got with the times and built a turbocharged unit to challenge Renault.
Although the 312 was still a race winner in its ‘T4’ configuration in 1979, by the following year its outdated flat 12 engine relegated it to very un-Ferrari like positions. An entirely new car was conceived for 1981 which had half the cylinders, but it also had a turbo… and by 1982 Ferrari were the Formula 1 constructors champions again.
Carl’s Ferrari 312T4 is pictured here alongside his previously featured Renault RE20, and it’s one of our favourite photos of 2014. It also makes us wish that modern Formula 1 allowed some innovation and a variety of engineering approaches, as was the case until the modern era. We think it’d be much more exciting to watch cars as different as these two racing against one another. If only TLCB ran Formula 1…
To see more of this historic Ferrari – and Carl’s other incredible creations – take a trip to Flickr by clicking here.
With the 2013 F1 season well underway we’re looking back at one of the greatest team, engine and driver combinations of all time. Williams, Renault and Nigel Mansell came up with the winning combination in 1992, claiming both the F1 Drivers and Constructors Championships. Mansell also became the only driver to hold both the F1 and CART Championships simultaneously. bobalexander! is the builder of this brilliant Championship-winning Williams-Renault FW14B. See all the photos on Flickr.
AA Renault Trafic
This miniland-esque creation is, for our overseas readers, an British ‘AA’ roadside assistance van. A common sight at the side of UK roads, they’re regularly seen helping those who’ve broken down, or far more likely, changing a wheel for someone who’s too incompetent to do so themselves. Ironically for anyone who’s owned a French car, the van is a Renault – we wonder what the AA will send out when the van itself breaks down… Anyhoo, the amazing Ralph Savelsberg aka ‘Mad Physicist’ is the builder behind it, and you can see more on Flickr.
In 1975, was this Lego’s first attempt to create an AFOL market ? Discuss…
All the sets in the ‘Hobby Sets’ line from the mid to late Seventies are rare items now, and highly sought after; but they weren’t at the time.
Take the blocky beauty above, for example; who’s it aimed at ? For kids, it wouldn’t fit in their town layouts, older kids want models that do something; if an adult market existed at the time, it’s just not intricate enough thanks to the lack of specialized pieces in 1976.
The whole line bombed, and that’s a shame. These are nice models. Not snazzy, complex or huge; just pleasant display pieces. I remember the 395 Rolls-Royce I got when I was about 7, still have it in fact, and I loved it. Standing proudly atop it’s cardboard display stand, here was a thing that said Lego bricks can make something nice.
It’s not entirely without detail. Those old 1×1 yellow windows make fine vintage headlights and the white spoked wheels are great. They only ever appeared in this and the 391 Renault. Mostly though, it’s an assemblage of white bricks and black plates in the rough shape of a car…
Nice car, mind. But again, it falls between two stools. Kids want stuff of the moment (apart from me, but then I was a strange kid…what do you mean I still am ?!); adults want more realism, yet the bricks weren’t quite up to it.
The first set in the series was even simpler, but it’s still a pretty thing….
It’s a 1913 Cadillac – a curious choice of launch model for a whole new line of sets. First car with an electric starter, apparently.
So, what are these ? Toys ? Not really. I don’t remember making ‘vroom vroom’ noises with mine. I’d just look at it, and make inevitably similar alternatives with it.
Are they an attempt to create something like the modern VW camper ? Perhaps. That’s a thing that’s a joy to build and behold, for all that you can’t play with it. But that works because it’s so exact – you instantly know what it is.
Hang on – they came in nicer boxes with classy, simple artwork; which could be used as a display stand – they’re ancient Architecture sets on four wheels! Hmmmm…
I’m probably over-analysing. They’re of their time in design, and ahead of their time as an idea.
Feast your eyes on the biggest of the first three cars, an impressive looking 1926 Renault Limousine – this was quite a bit longer than the other two and doesn’t the blue look fab ?
Anyway, enough of my prognostication, these can all be enjoyed today for what they are; nice models made from basic bricks that have a certain period charm. If you’re a vintage car fan, you’ll enjoy having any of these three.
Just don’t scroll down and compare them to Malte Dorowski’s Porsches. It’s simply not fair.
They don't just make F1 cars and Clios
Another day, another elf returns from the hunt. A good find too. Marek Markiewicz produces some brilliant workhorses, and his Renualt 155-54 applies Model Team techniques to something typically created in Technic. View it at his Flickr page or on MOCpages.