CMC Porsche 904 Carrera GTS 500 KM SPA 1964, Leon Dernier, #43 M-233 - 1/18

Description

CMC Porsche 904 Carrera GTS 500 KM SPA 1964, Leon Dernier, #43. M-233

High-quality collector's model in 1:18 scale.

904-040 was delivered new to Léon Dernier, a well-known Belgian racing driver, in February 1964. As „Dernier“ means „last“, which of course cannot please a racing driver, he began his racing career in the early 1950s under the pseudonym „Eldé“ and immediately finished 5th overall in the 1955 24 Hours of Paris in
Until the 1960s, it focussed on sports car racing and competed in national and international championships for the Belgian racing teams Equipe Nationale Belge and Ecurie Francorchamps. After the 904-040 was delivered at the beginning of 1964, the car was occasionally used in competitions such as the Coupe de Belgique race, which Dernier won on 30 March, or the Laroche - Samre hill climb, which he also finished in first place. At the 500 km of Spa on 17 May, he finished 21st overall and 8th in his class. On 31 May, he and André Pilette retired from the 1,000 km of the Nürburgring, but he finished the Ste. Cécil-Herbeumont hill climb in second place again. On 19 July, he finished sixth at the GP in Zolder and the Rhineland-Palatinate GP on 1 August at the Nürburgring.

Léon Dernier also competed as a private driver, and the Porsche 904-040 was his favourite sports car. According to historical records, he raced eight times in chassis 904-040 and fourteen times in Ferrari 250 GTs during his entire racing career. But be careful:

Léon Eldé (Dernier) drove several different Ferrari 250 GTs, including chassis numbers 509, 763, 1321 and 2053. According to archive data, none of these 250 GTs were used more than
driven five times by Dernier. This made 904-040 the chassis that Dernier used most often, especially as a privateer. Léon Dernier, who competed as a private driver with 904-040 and starting number 40, finished 10th overall and 2nd in his class at the 500 km Spa on 16 May 1965, this time as a driver for Equipe Nationale Belge.
Eldé was killed in an accident at Spa-Francorchamps on 26 July 1969. According to the book Porsche 904 by Jürgen Barth, the second owner of 904-040 was Jean Bocquait, who drove the car around 1971 in and around Brussels. The car then went to a Mr Verdoedt, who in turn sold it to Mr Peter Hofmann in Germany in 2001.
This was followed by a highly complex and perfect restoration. One particular piece of damage had to be repaired: The front left corner of the original GRP shell had been damaged in an accident.
from 1964 and then poorly repaired. Layers of paint and residue were removed and sanded down to the fibreglass structure. The cracked surface of the bodywork was painstakingly perfected and painted in metallic silver, true to the original colour. Today, this Porsche 904-040 is one of the most authentic vehicles ever.
Item number: M-233