MCG 1:18 1982 Ferrari 126 C2 diecast model car review

MCG has just announced 1:18 replicas of the Ferrari 126 C2s that were driven by Gilles Villeneuve (MCG18629) and Didier Pironi (MCG18628) during the 1982 Formula One season, each retailing at £72.99. This is without doubt a rather poignant subject, as for both drivers the 126 C2 would prove to be the final race car of their career.

Ferrari didn’t enjoy a successful start to the 1982 campaign, with Pironi and Villeneuve only scoring a point between them during the first three races. Then came the infamous falling-out between the two drivers at the San Marino Grand Prix, Villeneuve furious that Pironi had disobeyed what he understood to be team orders, to ‘steal’ victory from him. The mercurial Canadian vowed never to speak to his team-mate again, but tragically he was to lose his life in qualifying for the very next race, at Zolder.

Pironi would score another victory and a further four podiums across the middle of the most competitive season in Formula One history, before he suffered serious leg injuries in an accident during practice for the German Grand Prix; his racing career was over. Despite missing the last four events, he still ended the year runner-up in the drivers’ points. Didier would lose his life in a powerboat racing accident off the coast of the Isle of Wight in 1986.

Click MCG 1:18 1982 Ferrari 126 C2 to order.