Got some space on the shelf at home? Here are some epic race transporter models to fill it

Lockdown always brings out some marathon eBay stints at Trucks at Tracks HQ. And now that we’re deep into another wave of strict lockdowns Down Under, we’ve been hitting the online listings hard.

For those of us with bank balances that would struggle to fill the fuel tanks of a big prime mover, replica transporter models are our best bet. Fortunately, there are some brilliant diecast models available to motorsport collectors with a taste for transporters. And we can guarantee that these are a worthy hit to the hip pocket.

We’ve compiled this list of race transporter models you can buy on the couch tonight. Time to make some room on the shelf, and uh, in the bank account too.

Fiat Bartoletti Alan Mann Racing transporter (1964)

Kicking off the list with this mid-century classic for the Ford sports cars of Alan Mann Racing. Alan Mann was a key figure in Ford’s UK racing program in the 1960s, winning multiple championships for the Blue Oval and contesting some of the biggest sports car races in Europe.

Carrying giant-killing Ford GTs, sleek Daytona Coupes and brutish AC Cobras, the Alan Mann Racing Fiat Bartoletti race transporter shouldered plenty of responsibility back in the day. The big Fiat was a staple in the paddock until 1967, when this transporter was moved on to John Woolfe Racing. You can read more about its history here.

That space on the shelf needs to be big to accommodate this one; 62cm to be exact. It’s in 1:18 scale, and when you think about the size of a car in that scale, you can begin to picture just how big this one is. Norev hasn’t spared on the detail either, with opening loading ramps and a complete interior right down to the gear stick. The question is; can you leave this one as is? Or would the temptation take over to buy a few classic Ford race cars to complete the display?

Manufacturer: Norev

Scale: 1:18

Price: $389.56 USD / $533.11 AUD

Link: Click here

Mark Martin Winn Dixie NASCAR hauler (1997)

Next up, we’re crossing the Atlantic to check out Mark Martin’s Busch Series NASCAR hauler from 1997. Mark was a heavy hitter in the Winston Cup by 1997, with two runner-up finishes in the premier championship. However, he was still a regular runner in the feeder series, with 15 races to his name and six wins that year.

Martin had a well-established sponsorship arrangement with Winn Dixie, an American supermarket chain that was using NASCAR to sell its brand of beef. And like he did in the Winston Cup, Martin represented Roush Racing, which ran a Ford Thunderbird on track and used a Ford prime mover for its #60 race hauler, which you can see here.

The listing we’ve stumbled on has the lot, including a replica of the Ford truck, the Winn-Dixie Featherlite trailer and the 1997 Ford Thunderbird stock car that Mark Martin campaigned that year, all in the same scale. It doesn’t get much cooler than this!

Manufacturer: Peachstate Motorsports

Scale: 1:64

Price: $82.50 USD / $112.91 AUD

Link: Click here

Arrows F1 Team Volvo transporter (2000)

The Leafield-based Arrows F1 team brought in the new millennium with a fresh partnership with Orange, a growing mobile service provider. That saw the Arrows F1 cars of Pedro de la Rosa and Jos Verstappen rocking the orange and black paint scheme that endured until the end of 2002.

There are no prizes for guessing that the F1 transporter carried the famous Orange brand colours too, with top of the line Volvo FH12 prime movers hauling the A21 race cars to all the European rounds of the 2000 F1 season. Eligor has recreated the striking Arrows ensemble in 1:43 scale, and they’re very tricky to find. Nevertheless, eBay is your friend with a couple of these transporters available in pre-loved condition, just as the real thing would be by now.

Manufacturer: Eligor

Scale: 1:43

Price: $226.49 USD / $309.92 AUD

Link: Click here

Mercedes-Benz ‘Blue Wonder’ transporter (1954)

When it comes to iconic race car transporters, it’s hard to go past ‘Blue Wonder’. This stunning rig hauled the Silver Arrows’ weaponry through its mid-century glory years in motorsport. And it did so at a fair clip.

While Mercedes-Benz race cars were winning plenty of races on track, they needed something that could make light work of the trips between race tracks and their racing headquarters. So, with an open cheque book and already established experience building race haulers, the engineers got to work designing a new, futuristic hauler that could leave the sluggish trucks of the day in its wake. You can read more about the project here.

Unsurprisingly, this iconic machine has been recreated in multiple scales. But we’re going for the biggest in 1:18 scale. This is a sizeable model with lots of detail, but keep in mind that it could only ever carry one race car, so the length of this iScale creation is slightly smaller than you’d otherwise expect at 38cm. It’ll take plenty of discipline not to splash out for an iconic fifties Mercedes-Benz race car to complete the look.

Manufacturer: iScale

Scale: 1:18

Price: $233.84 USD / $320.00 AUD

Link: Click here                                                                                                                                            

Lotus JPS Square Transporter F1 (1980)                   

It’s tricky to find information on the history of this one (might be an idea for a future story!), but we do know it’s a Leyland Leopard that was converted into a race transporter for the JPS Lotus F1 team by Marshall of Cambridge.

Its first year in Formula 1 was 1973, which was a championship winning year for Lotus. And our research suggests it was in use until the early 80s, meaning it would’ve carried Mario Andretti’s championship-winning Lotus 78 and 79 race cars in 1978.

Spark has recreated ‘JPS Square’ in 1:43 scale, and we can assure you that there aren’t too many of them around. There’s one just down the road from us in Melbourne, Australia, which we’ve listed at the link below. And there’s another one for sale in the UK here.

Manufacturer: Spark

Scale: 1/43

Price: $657.72 USD / $900 AUD

Link: Click here

Team Vodafone Supercars IVECO B-Double (2007)

We couldn’t possibly publish this list without a Supercars B-Double transporter from Australia! The trouble is, officially licensed models are hard to find, so the search engines were running overtime to find a one for this story.

Exclusive Replicas saved the day. Turns out they’ve recreated the Triple Eight Race Engineering/Team Vodafone B-Double from 2007. This was the last year before the Triple Eight Supercars dynasty began, as Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes found their feet in ever-improving BF Falcons.

The truck up front was an IVECO Stralis 550, and it pulled the B-Double trailer set with a unique design featuring the car and pit crew across the A and B trailers. The model is in 1:32 scale, but being a B-Double monster, it’ll still take up plenty of space on that shelf if Australian race car transport is your thing. And we know plenty of people who can say that!

Manufacturer: Exclusive Replicas

Scale: 1:32

Price: $101.58 USD / $139.00 AUD         

Link: Click here

Fiat Bartoletti Ferrari Racing Car Transporter (1957)

This is the second Fiat Bartoletti on the list, but we won’t apologise for that! These are absolute icons of bygone motorsport paddocks. This Fiat-Bartoletti Tipo 642 RN2 is from a little earlier than the Alan Mann Racing rig mentioned above, dated back to 1957.  

The real thing could carry three Ferrari race cars on the Bartoletti-built open deck body, and so can this model. This superb 1:18 replica has just about everything, with literally hundreds of parts right down to the spare tyre and its clamp, as well as the ramps for whatever models you choose to display on it. And to top things off, inside the transporter is a faithful recreation of the workshop, including the markings on the inside of the door.

Like the real thing, it’s expensive. But if you have the money and want a vintage model from a glorious era in motorsport, this one looks the goods. You can check out some footage of this masterpiece here, and see the real thing at this link.

Manufacturer: CMR

Scale: 1:18

Price: $700.69 USD / $955.08 AUD

Link: Click here

ELF Team Tyrrell P34 race transporter (1977)

Ken Tyrrell’s Formula 1 team had some famous transporters over the years, including a converted bus that had sunk to the bottom of the Thames River in the mid-60s. That one was a popular sight in the early 70s, but this model is from a short-lived but equally famous era a few years later.

Tyrrell tried something different with the P34 six-wheeler, and it showed plenty of promise with a one-two finish in Sweden in 1976. The team was all Ford-powered during this period, with a Ford Cosworth DFV engine powering the P34, and a Ford C-Type transporter for the six-wheel duo.

This model was created by Exoto, and features plenty of detail to recreate the real thing. It’s got a fold down ramp with two lockable positions to load your scale-model P34 race cars. And it’s got all the interior and exterior details to recreate the Tyrrell team rolling down the highway, including the spare tyre underneath! Disclaimer: It’s not cheap

Manufacturer: Exoto

Scale: 1:43

Price: $689.92 USD / $935.42 AUD

Link: Click here

Martini Racing Mercedes-Benz 0317

This is our second ‘Benz, and while it’s not quite as aerodynamic as ‘Blue Wonder’, there’s still a lot to like. The real thing was owned by Porsche, and was built on a Mercedes 0317 bus chassis. According to our research, the paint scheme you see below with the iconic Martini stripe on a white body was in use from the mid-70s.

If the Martini colours aren’t your thing, but the transporter is, Schuco has produced a few other paint schemes to reflect how Porsche’s two transporters from the era looked at various times. Just Google ‘Schuco Mercedes-Benz 0317’ and you should see a few results pop up.

The model is very detailed, featuring a complete interior, an opening tailgate and removable ramps for your vintage Porsche diecast models. Just make sure you’ve got a space of slightly more than 30cm to squeeze this one in.

Manufacturer: Schuco

Scale: 1:43

Price: $136.31 USD / $186.55 AUD

Link: Click here

Mark Larkham Mitre 10 DAF race transporter (1993)

We simply had to share this one. That’s because it’s an ‘impression’ of the transporter that carried the Formula Holden single seater of Australian Supercars Championship icon, Mark Larkham. It was produced by Matchbox back in 1993 to recreate the Mitre-10 DAF race transporter that hauled Larkham’s Reynard chassis around Australia.

It might not have the detail of the other transporters we’ve mentioned in this story, but it does come with a ‘replica’ of Larkham’s Holden V6 weaponry on an F3000 chassis. And the best bit? It’s not going to break the bank to get your hands on this one. And that shelf space we keep on mentioning? This one could probably fit on your bed-side table. Imagine waking up to a Mark Larkham Mitre-10 DAF!

Manufacturer: Matchbox

Scale: NA

Price: $29.12 USD / $39.99 AUD

Link: Click here

That’s it for replica race transporters for now. We’d love to see some transporters from your collection. You can share them on our Facebook page, or flick them through on our Twitter or Instagram accounts. We’ll share a few of them later in the week!