Amalgam Launches 1:18 Race Weathered Porsche 917 KH

The craftspeople at Amalgam Collection have released the details of the most recent addition to their exclusive Race Weathered collection of models, the Porsche 917 KH at 1:18 scale. This new edition is based on chassis number 917-053, as raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on the 12^th and 13th of June 1971 by Gijs van Lennep and Helmut Marko. The #21 car’s triumph secured a second consecutive victory at Circuit de la Sarthe for Porsche and established a race distance record that would last for the next four decades. 

The special edition is limited to just 100 pieces and each model has been meticulously hand-painted and detailed by the artists in the company’s Bristol workshop. It shows every detail of the race dirt and damage as the car crossed the finish line. The team at Amalgam referred to archival imagery to ensure the completed model is a faithful replica of the real car raced in 1971, from the oils stains and mud that adorned the bright white livery right down to the car’s damaged front left corner and missing headlight cover. Every order will be accompanied by an archive quality Rainer Schlegelmilch Giclée print of the car mid-race, selected by the Amalgam team from the Motorsport Images collection. The model was developed using data supplied after scanning an original 917 chassis, and Porsche scrutinised the resulting prototype to ensure complete accuracy of the model. Development of the 1:18 model took over 800 hours and only concluded once the experts at Porsche were fully satisfied with the accuracy of representation.

Collectors can now secure a model by ordering from the Amalgam website.

“Our extraordinarily detailed race weathered and race damaged models are handcrafted in small limited editions,” said Sandy Copeman, a founding partner of Amalgam Collection. “The artistry applied to these scale replicas is driven by our commitment to creating beautiful hand-made pieces which fully capture both the spirit and precise appearance of iconic race cars. The 917 is one of, if not the, most famous racing Porsche and we continue to take delight in capturing its unique characteristics at scale. Our artisan modelmakers excel in pushing the boundaries of detail to capture a very significant moment of motorsport history.”

With the ban for over 3.0 litre engine displacements imminent, the race turned into quite the swansong; a long, fast track and extended good weather produced the fastest race in the event’s history to date. There were not many accidents, but many cars were delayed or forced to retire due to mechanical problems, so only twelve cars were classified as finishers. The #21 Team Martini Porsche finished two laps ahead of its rival John Wyer Porsche and an incredible 29 laps (386km) ahead of the third place Ferrari. The two Porsches were the first cars to cover over 5000km at Le Mans, a record that would stand for 39 years, cementing the 917’s dominance over this era of motorsport.

The 917 KH joins Amalgam’s growing Race Weathered Collection. It is the fourth 1:18 scale model to be weathered by the team of artisans, following the 1970 Daytona 24 Hours-winning Porsche 917, the 1966 Le Mans-competing Ferrari 330 P4, and the 1962 Le Mans class-winning Ferrari 250 GTO. The Bristol UK based company has also created weathered models at its flagship 1:8 scale, and they have already given the race weathered treatment to the 1971 Le Mans-winning 917 at that larger scale.

The Race Weathered Porsche 917 KH at 1:18 scale is available from www.amalgamcollection.com.

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Jim Pickering

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