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Pictorial: The Concours of Elegance for Children’s Cars

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The world’s first elite Junior Car Concours event took place last week as part of the world-renowned Concours of Elegance, staged at Hampton Court Palace in London. We expect the remarkable images contained in this article will catalyze a resurgence in the demand for half- and two-thirds scale replicas and serve as the impetus for a Junior class to be added at Concours events around the globe.

A cursory glance around the collector car auctions of the world leaves us in no doubt that there are thousands of eligible scale models out there suitable for Junior concours events, many made as tribute cars by manufacturers. Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Bugatti, Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin have all produced such cars, and the first children’s pedal cars were produced in the 1880s with the advent of Karl Benz’ Motorwagen, but there are also hundreds of one-off creations by master craftsmen who have put in thousands of hours creating a jewel for the apple of their eye.

Every iconic collector car has given rise to a tribute scaled car from a children’s car manufacturer and our research for this article unearthed many of them. They’re contained within the image gallery with captions and links to the source auction. As the image gallery captions illustrate, a replica of an iconic car from automotive history, with thousands of hours invested in its creation, can still be purchased at auction for under $20,000.

That’s Maddie and her Ferrari 250 GTO replica. The car is a copy of the 1962 GTO (chassis #3386) that finished sixth at Le Mans in 1962. That’s a hand-built alloy body over a stainless-steel chassis, powered by a water-cooled electric motor with lithium batteries. The car was built by dad so Maddie could participate in the 2020 Little Big Mans at Le Mans Classic. Sadly, the event was canceled, but Maddie got to participate in the 2020 Junior Concours of Elegance … and there’s always 2021 for the Little Big Mans which is likely to become the principal event on the inevitable Children's Collectible Car event calendar.
That’s Maddie and her Ferrari 250 GTO replica. The car is a copy of the 1962 GTO (chassis #3386) that finished sixth at Le Mans in 1962. That’s a hand-built alloy body over a stainless-steel chassis, powered by a water-cooled electric motor with lithium batteries. The car was built by dad so Maddie could participate in the 2020 Little Big Mans at Le Mans Classic. Sadly, the event was canceled, but Maddie got to participate in the 2020 Junior Concours of Elegance … and there’s always 2021 for the Little Big Mans which is likely to become the principal event on the inevitable Children’s Collectible Car event calendar.

We’re in the process of putting together a listing of the world’s most valuable children’s (also known as junior or scaled) cars and the top 100 doesn’t look all that dissimilar to the top 100 list for genuine cars.

All the same elite auction houses are on the list (RM-Sotheby’s, Bonhams, Gooding & Company, Artcurial, Barrett-Jackson, Mecum, Christie’s et al.), with the major difference being that instead of Ferrari dominating as it does with full-sized cars, Bugatti dominates in children’s cars. Indeed, 12 of the 15 most valuable scale cars ever sold at auction are the Bugatti Baby electric Type 35s produced by the Molsheim factory in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

One of the most famous automotive illustrators in the world during the 1920s was Russian-born, Paris-based Alexis Kow. This photograph and subsequent illustration by Kow shows his wife and daughter with matching Panhard et Lavassor car and Eureka Grand Prix children's car. Kow did a lot of work for Panhard's advertising and poster illustration.
One of the most famous automotive illustrators in the world during the 1920s was Russian-born, Paris-based Alexis Kow. This photograph and subsequent illustration by Kow shows his wife and daughter with matching Panhard et Lavassor car and Eureka Grand Prix children’s car. Kow did a lot of work for Panhard’s advertising and poster illustration.

We’re also in the process of working out what the major models are in this previously invisible marketplace. As can be seen above, there are some children’s cars of remarkable quality that have been created over the last century and a half.

That's the original Bugatti Baby electric car being driven by Roland Bugatti with patriarch Ettore Bugatti and friend watching on - circa 1926.
That’s the original Bugatti Baby electric car being driven by Roland Bugatti with patriarch Ettore Bugatti and friend watching on – circa 1926.

Bugatti Media

Ettore Bugatti wasn’t the first to manufacture children’s cars, but it was his decision to build an electrically-powered half-scale car as a 4th birthday present for son Roland that unwittingly began a global children’s car craze for the uber-rich.

Ettore Bugatti and King Leopold of Belgium trying out the Auto Red Bug Roadster.
You can’t say that Ettore Bugatti didn’t do his homework. This picture of the automotive genius and King Leopold of Belgium is frequently captioned with information about the vehicle being the prototype of the Bugatti baby. It may well have been a prototype of sorts, but it is an American-manufactured children’s car first built in 1916 and known as the “Auto Red Bug Roadster.” These miniature EVs currently change hands for a lot less than the Bugatti Babys, but we suspect they will eventually rival the “short chassis” Bugatti in price on the auction block as the collectible children’s car market matures. Indulging in this marketplace for children now is essentially investing in their future, because the most collectible
children’s cars will appreciate in value just in time to pay for their education.

Hemmings.com

You can’t say that Ettore Bugatti didn’t do his homework. The above picture of the automotive genius and King Leopold of Belgium is frequently captioned with information about the vehicle being the prototype of the Bugatti Baby. It may well have been a prototype of sorts, but it is an American-manufactured children’s car first built in 1916 and known as the Auto Red Bug Roadster. These miniature EVs currently change hands for a lot less than the Bugatti Babys, but we suspect they will eventually rival the “short chassis” Bugatti in price on the auction block as the collectible children’s car market matures. Indulging in this marketplace for children now is essentially investing in their future, because the most collectible children’s cars should significantly appreciate in value just in time to pay for their tertiary education.

Ettore Bugatti pictured at the Grand Prix of Lyon on August 2, 1924. This was the first time the world had ever seen the Bugatti Type 35. Over the next six years, Type 35s won more than 2000 races, and gained the title of "the world's most successful racing car" – a title that is still indisputable to this day. The most obvious departure from traditional race car engineering was the use of cast aluminum wheels – just a decade earlier many Grand Prix cars still used wooden wheels. The Type 35 might as well have been from a different planet.
Ettore Bugatti pictured at the Grand Prix of Lyon on August 2, 1924. This was the first time the world had ever seen the Bugatti Type 35. Over the next six years, Type 35s won more than 2000 races, and gained the title of “the world’s most successful racing car” – a title that is still indisputable to this day. The most obvious departure from traditional race car engineering was the use of cast aluminum wheels – just a decade earlier many Grand Prix cars still used wooden wheels. The Type 35 might as well have been from a different planet.

Gooding & Co

Roland turned four on 23 August 1926, and was presented with a half-scale Bugatti Type 35 electric racing car by his father, who was already the foremost automotive design genius of the 20th Century.

The legendary Bugatti Type 35

It is important to understand the context of the Bugatti Type 35 racing car to fully grasp the unique situation that played out. The Type-35 debuted just two years earlier and had begun the most comprehensive dominance of motor racing that the world has ever seen.

As Bugatti's dominance grew, it became the stuff of comic books and "Boy's Own" type annuals, the only media targetted at adolescent males of the day. Bugatti's bright blue "French livery set it apart from the cars of other nationalities (cars prior to WW2 tended to run in national colours), and the distinctive Bugatti horseshoe radiator and aluminum wheels made the Bugatti Type 35 a symbol of automotive excellence.
As Bugatti’s dominance grew, it became the stuff of comic books and “Boy’s Own” type annuals, the only media targetted at adolescent males of the day. Bugatti’s bright blue “French livery set it apart from the cars of other nationalities (cars prior to WW2 tended to run in national colours), and the distinctive Bugatti horseshoe radiator and aluminum wheels made the Bugatti Type 35 a symbol of automotive excellence.

Bugatti Media

The car was a technological masterpiece: it used a crankshaft supported by two roller bearings and three ball bearings – and this crankshaft is still seen as an inspired feat of engineering to this day. It could run at an unprecedented 6,000 rpm and apart from incredible performance, the engines became renowned for reliability and endurance.

By using two carburetors instead of one, the car’s power increased to around 95 PS, which was transmitted by a wet multi-plate clutch. The drive system in the first versions of the Type 35 was able to achieve speeds of over 190 km/h (118 mph), but as the capacity increased and a compressor added, the Bugatti’s power increased to up to 140 PS and a top speed of 215 km/h (133 mph).

Bugatti relentlessly pursued lightweight construction and he developed those distinctive cast aluminum wheels with eight flat ribbon-style spokes so that he could reduce the unsprung mass and, hence improve the response of the suspension.

When Bugatti began producing Bugatti Legends Editions of its cars just a decade ago, one of the first to be unveiled in 2013 was dedicated to Meo Costantini. Meo Costantini was a trusted friend of Ettore Bugatti, and the longstanding head of the factory racing team. Costantini twice won what was then the most famous and important race in the world, the Targa Florio in Sicily. He is pictured during a break in the proceedings during his first win in 1925 in a Bugatti Type 35. Note that seatbelts, helmets and knowledge of the dangers of tobacco were still half a century away.
When Bugatti began producing Bugatti Legends Editions of its cars just a decade ago, one of the first to be unveiled in 2013 was dedicated to Meo Costantini. Meo Costantini was a trusted friend of Ettore Bugatti, and the longstanding head of the factory racing team. Costantini twice won what was then the most famous and important race in the world, the Targa Florio in Sicily. He is pictured during a break in the proceedings during his first win in 1925 in a Bugatti Type 35. Note that seatbelts, helmets and knowledge of the dangers of tobacco were still half a century away.

Bugatti Media

American racing car designer Harry A. Miller patented the idea of producing aluminum wheels in 1920, but didn’t produce any wheels. Bugatti succeeded shortly afterward in casting aluminum wheels, spokes and brake drums at the company foundry in Molsheim, using molds Ettore had designed himself. Bugatti developed the aluminum wheel further and also registered several new ideas for wheels amongst his more than 500 patents. In May 1924, he registered a patent for “improvements relating to vehicle wheels with cooling discs” and in 1933 the patent for an “elastic wheel with radially and axially sprung rim with respect to the wheel center”.

Bugatti wheels with cast-on generously ribbed brake drum offered additional benefits. The ring mounted on the outside edge of the wheel, initially with 32 then later with 24 bolts, prevented the tyre from jumping off even during fast cornering, enabling drivers to achieve faster cornering speeds. Thanks to central mounting, the wheels could be changed quickly.

These features were paired with low weight and thus lower unsprung mass compared with steel wheels. The lower the unsprung mass, the lower the moment of inertia and the better the handling. Consequently, the Type 35 was easier and more precise to steer, it braked better and the suspension was more comfortable than comparable racing cars of the time. During these early races, which often lasted six hours or more and sometimes even days, drivers were thus able to drive for longer, reach higher speeds and dominate the world’s race tracks between 1925 and 1930.

Just like Apple’s iPod some 80 years later, the Bugatti wheels had a “killer app” aspect that took the ubiquitous and made it visually unique, enabling this apex racetrack predator to look quite unlike any other car in the world.

The first Monaco Grand Prix in 1929 saw Bugatti lock out the front row and qualify 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6th making up more than half the cars in the race and storming the results, finishing 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7th, with only the Mercedes-Benz “works” SSK preventing a clean sweep. Pictured is the winner, British driver William Grover-Williams, one of those British larger-than-life characters who subsequently turned out to be a real-life “James Bond.” It turned out that Grover-Williams secretly worked for British Military Intelligence and during World War II would be captured, identified as the head of a major spy network and executed by the Nazis.
The first Monaco Grand Prix in 1929 saw Bugatti lock out the front row and qualify 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6th making up more than half the cars in the race and storming the results, finishing 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7th, with only the Mercedes-Benz “works” SSK preventing a clean sweep. Pictured is the winner, British driver William Grover-Williams, one of those British larger-than-life characters who subsequently turned out to be a real-life “James Bond.” It turned out that Grover-Williams secretly worked for British Military Intelligence and during World War II would be captured, identified as the head of a major spy network and executed by the Nazis.

Bugatti Media

The visually distinctive open-top sports car is generally regarded as the world’s most successful racing car. It was available to anyone who had the money, and between 1924 and 1930, it won more than 2,000 races, from the insignificant, to the most important. It won the Targa Florio in 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928 and 1929, the (original and the most important) French Grand Prix in 1926, 1928, 1929 and 1930 and it was so freely available that it won major races in every country from Argentina to Australia.

Imagine the sort of dominance that Mercedes-Benz enjoys in Formula One right now, then making Lewis Hamilton’s Silver Arrow available to locals so that it could be driven in every national race of consequence anywhere on the planet. That is exactly what Bugatti did in the late 1920s.

That's the Prince of Morocco who visited the Bugatti factory at Molsheim with his father, the King of Morocco. Both were car enthusiasts as can be seen by the Prince's Eureka Panhard Grand Prix. The Prince was also thrilled to receive what became the most famous of the Bugatti Baby T-35 replicas (lower images) in what became newspaper fodder across the world.
That’s the Prince of Morocco who visited the Bugatti factory at Molsheim with his father, the King of Morocco. Both were car enthusiasts as can be seen by the Prince’s Eureka Panhard Grand Prix. The Prince was also thrilled to receive what became the most famous of the Bugatti Baby T-35 replicas (lower images) in what became newspaper fodder across the world.

Various

The Bugatti Bebe

That Bugatti was nigh on unbeatable was an immense source of French pride, and the thought that a child could have a powered replica of the car that was winning every major race was almost incomprehensible.

TinTin comics were the mass-circulation youth media of the 1920s and 1930s - in many ways the period equivalent of the Simpsons TV shows in that they made reference to significant cultural events. One such event was the Bugatti Baby and the Prince of Morocco. The Bugatti Baby became a focal point of media coverage on many levels.

TinTin comics were the mass-circulation youth media of the 1920s and 1930s – in many ways the period equivalent of the Simpsons TV shows in that they made reference to significant cultural events. One such event was the Bugatti Baby and the Prince of Morocco. The Bugatti Baby became a focal point of media coverage on many levels.

Only the wealthiest of people could afford a Bugatti and they regularly visited Bugatti’s Molsheim headquarters to specify their next vehicle. It quickly became obvious to Ettore that anyone who saw young Roland racing around the grounds of Molsheim in his beloved electric Bugatti, immediately wanted to buy one.

The Bugatti Baby became the ultimate status symbol for children. Every parent wants the best for their child, and the world's most influential people are no different. Newspapers across the world ran images of the children of the wealthy with their new Bugatti babys. Top left: John "Jackie" Forrest Greene pictured with his sister and Bugatti Baby “No. 14”. Jackie was the son of Argentina-born Englishman Eric Forrest Greene, who won the 1928 500 Millas Argentinas race in a Bugatti Type 35. Jackie would go on to emulate the deeds of his father in South American racing after WW2. Top Left: Gianni Agnelli and friends with their new Bugatti Babys circa 1929. Agnelli became a noted playboy whose mistresses included Pamela Harriman, Jackie Kennedy and Anita Ekberg, before becoming a Captain of Industry. As the head of automaker FIAT, he once controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP and 3.1% of its workforce. Bottom left: Donald Campbell and his new Bugatti Baby, with loving father Sir Malcolm Campbell. Donald broke eight absolute world speed records on water and on land in the 1950s and 1960s. He remains the only person to set both world land and water speed records in the same year (1964). Bottom right: Prince Baudouin of Belgium with his yellow Bugatti Baby.
The Bugatti Baby became the ultimate status symbol for children. Every parent wants the best for their child, and the world’s most influential people are no different. Newspapers across the world ran images of the children of the wealthy with their new Bugatti babys. Top left: John “Jackie” Forrest Greene pictured with his sister and Bugatti Baby “No. 14”. Jackie was the son of Argentina-born Englishman Eric Forrest Greene, who won the 1928 500 Millas Argentinas race in a Bugatti Type 35. Jackie would go on to emulate the deeds of his father in South American racing after WW2. Top Left: Gianni Agnelli and friends with their new Bugatti Babys circa 1929. Agnelli became a noted playboy whose mistresses included Pamela Harriman, Jackie Kennedy and Anita Ekberg, before becoming a Captain of Industry. As the head of automaker FIAT, he once controlled 4.4% of Italy’s GDP and 3.1% of its workforce. Bottom left: Donald Campbell and his new Bugatti Baby, with loving father Sir Malcolm Campbell. Donald broke eight absolute world speed records on water and on land in the 1950s and 1960s. He remains the only person to set both world land and water speed records in the same year (1964). Bottom right: Prince Baudouin of Belgium with his yellow Bugatti Baby.

A second miniature T35 replica was prepared and exhibited at the 1927 Milan Motor Show, resulting in an avalanche of orders for what became known as the Bugatti Bebe (Baby), and subsequently the Bugatti Type 52, though there is some conjecture amongst purists as to whether Ettore ever recognized the T-52 nomenclature. More than 500 baby EVs were manufactured, and around 100 are still known today.

This Bugatti "Baby" sold in Paris on February 10, 2017 for $99,000
This Bugatti “Baby” sold in Paris on February 10, 2017 for $99,000

Artcurial

Now here’s where the laws of supply and demand come into play, because there are two models of the Bugatti Baby. Roland was just four when Ettore built the car for him which unknowingly became the prototype, and Roland fitted the 1/2 scale car perfectly.

When sales of the Bugatti Baby began though, it quickly became evident that for larger and older children, there wasn’t sufficient legroom. Hence, after 120 Baby Bugattis had been manufactured, the car was lengthened by 10 cm and an unacknowledged Series I and Series II were created. Early cars have a 122 cm wheelbase and a 16 louvre bonnet, while the later cars with the increased legroom have a 132 cm wheelbase and a 21 louvre bonnet.

This relative scarcity of the defacto Series I, combined with the reverence of the Bugatti name in the art marketplace (the Bugatti lineage numbers many sculptors, artists and designers, and Ettore’s brother Rembrandt Bugatti is a well-known sculptor) have made the Series I cars with a serial number between 100 and 220 particularly prized considerably more valuable than those with the longer wheelbase.

Bugatti Babys are by far the most valuable children’s cars, accounting for 12 of the 15 most expensive children’s cars that have been sold at auction. The car pictured is the most expensive Bugatti Baby ever sold. Unlike most Bugatti Babys that are sold at car auctions, the most valuable children’s Bugatti fetched EUR€111,900 (US$124,962) at a Christie’s fashion auction in Paris in 2015. The car is one of four that were originally in the collection of Fritz Schlumpf. Two of those cars are now in the La Cité de l'Automobile (French National Automotive Museum) in the Collection Schlumpf in Mulhouse. The fourth "short chassis" Bugatti Baby from the Schlumpf collection was sold during the Estate sale of Arlette Schlumpf by Gasser Audhuy in 2009 for €65,000 (US$90,929).
Bugatti Babys are by far the most valuable children’s cars, accounting for 12 of the 15 most expensive children’s cars that have been sold at auction. The car pictured is the most expensive Bugatti Baby ever sold. Unlike most Bugatti Babys that are sold at car auctions, the most valuable children’s Bugatti fetched EUR€111,900 (US$124,962) at a Christie’s fashion auction in Paris in 2015. The car is one of four that were originally in the collection of Fritz Schlumpf. Two of those cars are now in the La Cité de l’Automobile (French National Automotive Museum) in the Collection Schlumpf in Mulhouse. The fourth “short chassis” Bugatti Baby from the Schlumpf collection was sold during the Estate sale of Arlette Schlumpf by Gasser Audhuy in 2009 for €65,000 (US$90,929).

Christie’s

Pint-sized auto icons

Now it would be easy to think that because the Bugatti Baby created the children’s car collectible marketplace, that it would also be the most valuable.

That isn’t the case now, and it is unlikely to be the case in the long run, because there are other children’s cars with extraordinary workmanship, performance, provenance and scarcity.

Let’s deal with those aspects individually.

The pontoon-fendered 3.0 liter Tipo 128 V12 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa is one of the most distinctive and beautiful sports cars of all-time. It is also one of the most successful, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1958, 1960, and 1961, the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1958, 1959 and 1961, the Targa Florio in 1958, the 1000 Km Buenos Aires in 1958 and 1960 and the World Sports Car Championship constructor's title in 1958, 1960 and 1961. In 2009, a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa became the most expensive car in the world and the first car ever to sell for more than US$10,000,000. In 2011, another Testa Rossa broke the world auction record when it sold for $16.4 million. In 2014, another Testa Rossa is believed to have changed hands privately for GBP£24 million (US$39.5 million).
The pontoon-fendered 3.0 liter Tipo 128 V12 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa is one of the most distinctive and beautiful sports cars of all-time. It is also one of the most successful, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1958, 1960, and 1961, the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1958, 1959 and 1961, the Targa Florio in 1958, the 1000 Km Buenos Aires in 1958 and 1960 and the World Sports Car Championship constructor’s title in 1958, 1960 and 1961. In 2009, a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa became the most expensive car in the world and the first car ever to sell for more than US$10,000,000. In 2011, another Testa Rossa broke the world auction record when it sold for $16.4 million. In 2014, another Testa Rossa is believed to have changed hands privately for GBP£24 million (US$39.5 million).

Darin Schnabel / RM-Sotheby’s

One of the most valuable cars in the world is the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa. In 2009, a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa became the most expensive car in the world and the first car ever to sell for more than US$10,000,000. Another broke the world auction record when it sold for $16.4 million in 2011 and in 2014, a Testa Rossa is believed to have changed hands privately for £24 million (US$39.5 million).

In November 2013, a 1/2 scale Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa replica sold for $126,500 to become the world’s most expensive children’s car – a record it still holds.

In a remarkable coincidence, history repeated itself in November 2013, when RM Auctions (now RM-Sotheby’s) sold the world’s most expensive children’s car at its annual December sale in New York. Produced by Modena Ferrarina Italia, the ½ scale Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa replica sold for $126,500. The electric-powered Testa Rossa replica has a handmade steel bodywork and was distributed in-period by the American Ferrari distributor, Luigi Chinetti Motors. It is believed that twenty-five Testa Rossa replicas were built, with fewer than five remaining worldwide. This car was previously owned by renowned Ferrari collector Kirk F. White, who had it restored to the same standards as his concours-winning full-sized Ferraris. The car still holds the world record price for a children’s car at auction.
In a remarkable coincidence, history repeated itself in November 2013, when RM Auctions (now RM-Sotheby’s) sold the world’s most expensive children’s car at its annual December sale in New York. Produced by Modena Ferrarina Italia, the ½ scale Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa replica sold for $126,500. The electric-powered Testa Rossa replica has a handmade steel bodywork and was distributed in-period by the American Ferrari distributor, Luigi Chinetti Motors. It is believed that twenty-five Testa Rossa replicas were built, with fewer than five remaining worldwide. This car was previously owned by renowned Ferrari collector Kirk F. White, who had it restored to the same standards as his concours-winning full-sized Ferraris. The car still holds the world record price for a children’s car at auction.

RM-Sotheby’s

The 1977 Italycar Ferrari 312 Formula One half-scale replica is a perfect example of what happens when a marketplace is not particularly well documented (stay tuned, we’re about to fix that).

Seven half-scale 1976 Ferrari 312 F1 Replicas were built in 1977 using half-scale parts from the original Ferrari suppliers. Prices have ranged from $82,500 to $29,200 in just the last three years.
Seven half-scale 1976 Ferrari 312 F1 Replicas were built in 1977 using half-scale parts from the original Ferrari suppliers. Prices have ranged from $82,500 to $29,200 in just the last three years.

Bonhams

The record price paid for one of the seven of these cars that were built is $82,500 at Gooding & Company’ Official 2017 Pebble Beach auction in August 2017. That’s about what we think it was worth. It is one of a batch of just five 1/2 scale cars that were built in 1977 to commemorate Niki Lauda’s 1976 Ferrari 312T2 Formula 1 Grand Prix car that finished second in the world championship with 76 points to Hunt’s McLaren on 77 points. The 2013 feature movie Rush is based on the 1976 Formula One Grand Prix Season.

The owner of Italy Car of Bologna built the first one for his daughter, finally creating five cars by approaching Ferrari’s main suppliers and having them supply 1/2 scale versions of the items supplied to the Formula 1 team. That’s everything from a half-sized Momo steering wheel to half-sized Goodyear tires. The miniature F1 car was shown at the Bologna Motor Show, and Niki Lauda ordered one for his son. Italy Car subsequently filed for bankruptcy and Pony Car acquired the remaining parts and chassis, finishing another two specimens before the project was shelved because resupply of the components was prohibitively expensive.

The car has a two-stroke engine with starter, a sophisticated electrical system with a rear light as per the original Ferrari 312T2, a two-speed-plus-reverse gearbox, independent suspension all round, hydraulic disc brakes, alloy wheels, slick tires, racing seat belt, and extraordinary attention to detail.

Now here’s the remarkable thing. Several other such cars from the original seven have been to auction in recent times, with the car pictured above failing to sell at Amelia Island in March 2019, another failing to sell in Monaco in May 2018 and yet another selling for $46,000 on Bring-a-trailer in June 2020.

Derek Bell MBE and three of his most precious memories.
Derek Bell MBE and three of his most precious memories.

Main image: Dominik Hildebrandt, Porsche Media

Derek Bell MBE won the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times, the Daytona 24 Hour three times and the World Sportscar Championship twice. He raced F1 for Ferrari, Wheatcroft, McLaren, Surtees and Tecno and yet one of his most cherished memories related to the 936 Junior car created by Porsche to commemorate his 1981 win. Bell was given the car in the early 1980s and it has been stored until his son Sebastian dusted it off and started driving it.

The next year Sebastian received an invitation to drive in the Little Big Mans at the Le Mans Classic. Sebastian won leading Derek to comment: “Such a memory to think that I won at Le Mans in the Jules 936 in 1981 with Jackie Ickx and I finished third with older son Justin in Harrods McLaren in 1995 and there we were watching young Sebastian driving a model of that winning car on the same track, albeit somewhat slower.”

Derek eventually sold his Porsche 936 Replica … and yet it sold for just £17,500 ($27,536) in June, 2015. By any measure, that purchase at that price was a bargain, as it was a replica of the car in which he won Le Mans, along with its wonderful back story. As this marketplace matures, the same key variables in determining auction prices will apply to Junior cars as they do for Senior cars.

Mario Allegretti began work in the early 1950s as an employee Carrozzeria Fantuzzi where he made bodies and the tubular frames for the Maserati 250F and A6GS. In 1958 he founded Carrozzeria Allegretti & Gentilini where he dressed the Maserati Tipo 60, 61, 63, 64 and the 151 Le Mans. He then joined Drogo Carrozzeria Sports Cars and subsequently began a business restoring, rebuilding and occasionally creating bodies for various Ferrari 250 chassis’ for the next three decades. In his spare time, he created some of the most beautiful scale cars the world has ever seen. Girardo & Co recently sold one of his masterpieces pictured above. The car has aluminium body panels, tubular spaceframe and a mid-mounted, four-cylinder, 10,500 rpm Benelli engine. The Ferrari 250 S replica sold new in the 1980s for 30 million Italian Lire (approx. US$16,500). Check out the high resolution images at Girardo & Co and you’ll understand why this car represents the pinnacle of Children's cars.
Mario Allegretti began work in the early 1950s as an employee Carrozzeria Fantuzzi where he made bodies and the tubular frames for the Maserati 250F and A6GS. In 1958 he founded Carrozzeria Allegretti & Gentilini where he dressed the Maserati Tipo 60, 61, 63, 64 and the 151 Le Mans. He then joined Drogo Carrozzeria Sports Cars and subsequently began a business restoring, rebuilding and occasionally creating bodies for various Ferrari 250 chassis’ for the next three decades. In his spare time, he created some of the most beautiful scale cars the world has ever seen. Girardo & Co recently sold one of his masterpieces pictured above. The car has aluminium body panels, tubular spaceframe and a mid-mounted, four-cylinder, 10,500 rpm Benelli engine. The Ferrari 250 S replica sold new in the 1980s for 30 million Italian Lire (approx. US$16,500). Check out the high resolution images at Girardo & Co and you’ll understand why this car represents the pinnacle of Children’s cars.

Performance and workmanship are not solely the domain of people such as Mario Allegretti, who built exquisite cars in the 1930s. The prices of children’s cars are still an order of magnitude, perhaps two orders of magnitude less than the full-scale cars they emulate.

As we have performed our research on this marketplace, the name of Dean McLaren of McLaren Classic Restorations cropped up again and again. Dean builds mainly full-scale cars, but in general, he crafts beautiful things. A Shelby Refrigerator that makes a V8 sound when you open the doors sold for $22,400 in Las Vegas in 2013, and whenever his children’s cars go to auction, they fetch remarkable figures, such as the 3/4-scale Shelby Cobra above which sold for $57,500.

This 1/2 scale Ford GT 40 Go-Kart was built to order by McLaren Classic Restorations, with both remote and key starting, two-speed gearbox with reverse, rack and pinion steering, disk brakes, front and rear suspension, remote control locks for hood and trunk, wheels and spinners fabricated to replicate the originals, eight working lights, including light-up guages, an authentically custom-built mid-engine which is visible through rear window, and fully functional tuned exhaust pipes that sound realistic. At a "no reserve" auction in 2011, this car sold for $53,760.
This 1/2 scale Ford GT 40 Go-Kart was built to order by McLaren Classic Restorations, with both remote and key starting, two-speed gearbox with reverse, rack and pinion steering, disk brakes, front and rear suspension, remote control locks for hood and trunk, wheels and spinners fabricated to replicate the originals, eight working lights, including light-up guages, an authentically custom-built mid-engine which is visible through rear window, and fully functional tuned exhaust pipes that sound realistic. At a “no reserve” auction in 2011, this car sold for $53,760.

McLaren Classic Restorations

Two other children’s cars built by Dean that necessitate mention include the 1/2 scale Ford GT40 Go-Kart above that sold for $53,760 at a Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction in 2011, and a 1/2 scale Ford GT40 Le Mans-winning replica that fetched $40,000. There’s only one reason those contemporary items sold for that much money – insane quality of workmanship! The additional advantage of having Dean based in California is that specific children’s cars can be commissioned to order.

There are dozens more images from the Junior Concours of Elegance in the image library for this article. Simply click on any image and scroll right.

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