Cheetah!

Here’s a model I’ve only seen made twice before; once in 1:43 scale as an excellent, high end limited edition hand built (and kit) by Marsh Models - and once by Mini Exotics as a 1:24th kit which was somewhat less than good.

Spark’s been busy, as usual. This model replicates the beloved racecar as driven by Ralph Salyer at Road America in 1964; somewhere between 11 and 16 Cheetah’s in total were built, and only one was a roadster - though it didn’t start life that way. The Cro-Sal Special was a conversion from a coupe, done by Gene Crowe and Ralph Salyer, the car’s mechanic and owner; hence the Cro-Sal name. This was also the most successful of all Cheetahs, and it won many races.

The model is, in a word, brilliant. Perfect? No. But damned close, with a beautiful shape and perfectly applied paint and decals. Maybe the air cleaners on the carburetors should sit just a little higher, and, though I love those Torque Thrust mag wheels and great looking Goodyear tires, I do miss the blue streaks that are absent from the sidewalls.

There are not too many parts on this model, but what should be here appears to be very well done. The chrome roll bar and angled brace look very convincing, even if not quite as detailed as I’d like. The Spartan interior looks good, with one of the best scaled gearshifts I’ve seen in ages, a delicate three-spoke wheel, dash gauges, and pedals way down in front. Nice, separately affixed competition belts on the driver seat finish it all off.

You can’t go wrong - this is a fine combination of great subject matter, and a great model.

Spark Cheetah “Cro-Sal Special”, item SPA-43 1453, $54.00. Distributed by Minichamps, NA / www.minichampsna.com.

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