- At the 1958 24 Hours of Le Mans, the no. 22 car was a 1958 Ferrari 250TR piloted by Ed Hugus and Ray “Ernie” Jackson, who finished in seventh place.
- Their car, named Lucybelle II, has been replicated by the craftsmen at the Amalgam Collection with help from Ferrari.
- Only three of models of this race-weathered classic are for sale at a price of $13,970 each.
For anybody seeking the crown jewel in a collection of scale models, here’s a strong contender: this 1:8 scale model of a 1958 Ferrari 250TR. The price—nearly $14,000—is far, far out of the range of many collectors, but here’s what makes it special: It is handcrafted to look exactly like the original 1958 Ferrari 250TR named Lucybelle II that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Yes, this model is considered “race weathered” and looks like it has just competed in the 1:8 scale model edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The original, life-size Lucybelle II 250TR was entered in the legendary French endurance race by privateer Ed Hugus and wore no. 22. Hugus and teammate Ray “Ernie” Jackson drove it to seventh place in front of a crowd of 150,000 spectators, all there to watch Ferraris, Jaguars, Aston Martins, and Porsches battle it out on the Circuit de la Sarthe.
The year 1958 was a great one for the Maranello team, as Ferrari absolutely dominated the World Sports Car Championship, had an astounding 11 privateer and factory entries at Le Mans, and, with its factory 250TR/58 driven by Olivier Gendebien and Phil Hill, ended up winning the race.
The Amalgam Collection is known for making some truly beautiful works of art when it comes to scale models. The Bristol, England, company has been commissioned by the likes of Richard Mille and Ralph Lauren to make scale-model replicas of cars in their own personal collections. This handcrafted 1958 Ferrari 250TR was designed and built with assistance from Ferrari, which allowed the Amalgam Collection to digitally scan every inch of the car in order to re-create even the most minute details.
Ferrari also provided information on original finishes, materials, archive imagery, and drawings from when the car was built and raced. Each car is hand-painted by the master craftspeople at Amalgam to achieve that race-weathered look. The result is a stunning piece of art that looks as if it had actually driven at high speed through the atrocious conditions of the 1958 race.
Amalgam is selling only three of these models, priced at $13,970. The price is warranted when you consider details such as the Testa Rossa engine, the headlights that have little pieces of tape holding the covers on, and the exhaust soot that covers the quad tailpipes. If you aren’t a fan of the race-weathered look, there is also a Lucybelle II model that is clean, without a speck of dirt on its white bodywork. That one, however, isn’t limited to only three models and has a lower price of $11,995.