After three years of design and enhancement, the German model maker has launched a 1/18 scale model of the famous "Berlinetta" in its exclusive “Competizione” version: based on the standard 275 GTB, and with a special eye on racing, only twelve of them were built. This miniature car is dedicated to the only two road versions fitted out.
Photos courtesy of CMC - Classic Model Cars
Scale reproductions continue to reach higher quality levels today. Technologies such as 3D scanning and printing, CAD and prototypes made directly from digital models have assured excellent results in both form and detail. Standing out in a market where the quality of a model is determined more by the IT skills of a technician than the sculptural skills of a craftsman may seem less fascinating than in the past. However, some brands still seem able to add that unique personal touch: fine details that make a model something that goes beyond the mere pleasure of the aesthetic reproduction, it becomes an emotion.
The German CMC is one of those model manufacturers that never ceases to amaze. Each of its reproductions reveals an attention to detail - from the choice of the materials to the skill in replicating tiny parts and mechanisms to scale - that goes further than the eye can see.
Simply observe the hinges used to open the bonnets, examine the attention paid to replicating the car underside, stop to admire the details of how the suspensions were fastened and how they work. Or the spare wheel, in a boot with an opening mechanism and shape that makes it almost impossible to see. What counts is knowing that if a part or detail was present on the original car, you will also find it on the model. And if the reproduction is of such a unique and exclusive car like a Ferrari, your expectations are bound to be very high.
After three years of development and enhancement, physical and on-line model shops are able to start selling the Ferrari 275 GTB/C, reproduced by CMC in scale 1/18. We’re talking about one of Ferrari’s most iconic cars ever, both because it is considered the heir of the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO, and due to the objective beauty of its lines: so many personalities from the jazz set of the time wanted one, starting from the Hollywood stars Clint Eastwood and Steve McQueen, who even had two.
And what makes the “Speedholics” fans and readers even more envious is the fact that the model made by CMC presented in this article is something even more exclusive: it is a “C” version Gran Turismo Berlinetta, the C standing for “Competizione”.
As the name suggests, it is the variant made in 1966 with a special outfitting for racing. It is said that twelve cars were built, with aluminium bodywork on a tubular steel chassis, lightened and reinforced compared to the “standard” 275. Of the eight made with left-hand drive, two were intended for road use (chassis #9067 and #9085). And the CMC reproduction is dedicated to these.
CMC’s expert designers and shapers took nothing for granted, in the three years they worked on the design and finish of this model, not content with the forms generated by the initial 3D print of the prototype. Using period photos and drawings, they were able to interpret and internalise the original forms, producing a model with the same sensuality and the same smoothness of the actual Ferrari. In particular, special care was paid to the rear mudguard, with its pronounced, rounded shape, which characterises and gives balance to the line of the whole car.
Talking of details, we would like to take a look at the door handles. The special shape forced the CMC technicians to carefully analyse it, seeking the best solution in terms of construction, aesthetics and solidity. Plastic would have been the simplest material to use, given that it is easier to replicate the correct shape of the component, but the result would have been too cheap and fragile. Having also excluded aluminium, considered too rough, an attempt was made at photoengraving, but this could not guarantee the required three-dimensionality. And so they decided on the stainless steel solution: pressed and modelled, a perfect handle was reproduced to scale. As the component is solid, and to prevent it from falling off when opening the doors, each handle is carefully fixed inside the door.
The “Competizione” was fitted with Borrani wire wheels, the only exception being the two road cars that were fitted with Campagnolo magnesium alloy wheels, which are those you will find on the CMC reproduction.
Also in this case, this is the result of a careful analysis and meticulous refining. True to CMC tradition, like the original car, the central locks are screwable with right and left thread. Looking closely, we wonder how it was possible to achieve such fine detail: using a magnifying glass, the Ferrari rearing horse and the wording Ruote Borrani, as well as the instructions for dismantling, engraved on the central lock are all perfectly legible. The same goes for the plates on the sides of the car: laser engraved on a stainless steel plaque less than a millimetre high, you can easily read the words “Disegno di Pininfarina”.
In addition to the race-like design of the passenger compartment, with rollbars and four-point seat belts, another distinctive element of the 275 GTB/C is the flap along the front right fender that hides the oil cap, which was needed for the dry sump lubrication engine that this version featured and which CMC faithfully reproduced. Beneath the bonnet is the legendary V12 Ferrari engine.
On the cars produced in Maranello in the Sixties, this dry sump lubrication variant of the “275” engine, with 3286 cc displacement, reached 290 HP at 7600 rpm. According to the declared data, the car could reach a maximum speed of 275 km/h, accelerating from 0 to 100 in 4.9 seconds.
Once again, in the models made by CMC everything is in its place, with an amazing attention to the reproduced details and the materials used. Six spark plug cables run from each of the two distributors; the water hoses are really flexible. Finally, three Weber 40 DF13 carburettors with two parallel rows of trumpets, made in special steel that could be flared and shaped like the originals.
“Our goal is perfection, perfection is endless”, CMC states. Certainly none of the 781 pieces making up this Ferrari 275 GTB/C was left to chance. Quite the opposite. It would appear that this work is not limited to mere aesthetic accuracy, but behind this reproduction work lies that same passion that once drove the noble skills of the designers and manufacturers of unique and extraordinary cars like the 275 GTB. One more reason for reserving it a place in the front row of our display cabinets and - why not - feeling part of the legend.
[The model presented in this article can be ordered from the official CMC website]