Ferrari D50 car, 1956 GP France #14 Collins

After Lancia handed over its D50 project to Ferrari, the car underwent a series of innovative improvements to become a racing star in the 1956 Grand Prix season. In France, Peter Collins drove his Ferrari D50 to win a second Grand Prix victory over Eugenio Castellotti and Jean Behra.

After a break caused by the tragic accident at Le Mans, the Grand Prix de France resumed in 1956. As the fifth round of the world championship, it took place on July 1 at the "Circuit de Reims-Gueux." The race consisted of 61 laps of 8.302 km each, totaling 506.4 km. Scuderia Ferrari was primarily represented by Juan Manuel Fangio, Eugenio Castellotti, and Peter Collins. The remaining two spots were taken by Spaniard Alfonso de Portago, who was set to start his first Formula 1 race, and Olivier Gendebien. All were to race in the 265-horsepower Ferrari D50 with a short nose.

Maserati had Stirling Moss, Jean Behra, and Piero Taruffi in their team, each piloting the 250F. Among other competitors was the British team Vandervell Products Ltd with their fleet of Vanwall VW56 and the French team Gordini with Type 32 and Type 16. There were also several privateers aspiring to compete with their Maserati 250F.

During the qualifying practice, it became apparent that the Maserati 250F struggled to keep up with the pace of the Ferrari D50, while the Vanwall cars proved more efficient. Fangio secured pole position ahead of teammates Castellotti and Collins. However, in the drivers' standings, Collins and Moss even surpassed Behra and Fangio.

At the start of the race, Collins took the lead, and together the Ferrari trio distanced themselves from the followers. Moss engaged in a duel with Schell from the Vanwall team for fourth place. Their exhausting rivalry was first interrupted by an engine failure suffered by Schell, followed by a damaged gearbox that hit Moss. Both drivers, however, resumed racing in their teammates' cars.

After advancing to fourth place, Schell began chasing Castellotti and Collins and eventually overtook them. He was in second place behind Fangio for six laps. When Collins and Castellotti realized that the Brit was not a lap behind them, they accelerated significantly to overtake him. In the heat of the competition, Schell had to pit due to technical issues. At the same time, technical problems also forced Fangio to pit, ultimately bringing him down to fourth place. Peter Collins achieved his second Grand Prix victory, finishing 0.3 seconds ahead of his teammate Eugenio Castellotti.

About Classic Model Cars (CMC)

Fantastic products combined with the highest quality finish give us the synonym of the German brand Classic Model Cars. It is a true tribute to handcrafted products that captivate with their unique elegance and luxury.

CMC is one of the leading companies producing miniature vintage cars. The company creates classic and collectible car models using authentic materials and fabrics.

Since 1995, CMC has had its own production facility with highly skilled engineers and workers in China. The result of many months of research is a variety of classic car models, which are hand-assembled from over 1800 individual parts. The manufactory uses high-quality materials to fully maintain the "faithfulness to the original" of a given car model.

The company focuses on all major and popular collector scales: 1:12, 1:18, 1:24, 1:43. The first model produced by the company was in 1:24 scale - the iconic Mercedes-Benz SSK from 1930. It was built in 1995 and won many prestigious awards.

Each individual element is carefully assembled by hand. The instruments on the dashboard are mounted separately. The seats are covered with fabric or leather. The floor carpeting is laid inside and in the trunk. The replicas feature the smallest details in accordance with the original plans of the vehicle.