January 16, 2026
#534
Gentle reader,
Way back in 2020, I did a similar article on the loose way Mattel™ diecast car designers of Hot Wheels™ and Matchbox™ as well as other diecast toy car companies, including those who make those very detailed "pull-back" nominally 1/32nd scale model cars one sees on a rack in many stores, at least here in the United States are with sticking to one scale. In the case of Hot Wheels™ and Matchbox™, both owned and made by Mattel™, the cars and trucks and countless "fantasy" model cars and trucks they create are made to one scale: To fit on Hot Wheels™ orange racing track. I will call those cars O.T. from now on. In the case of the larger pull-back cars, they are to be five inches long. Regardless of how big or small they are in reality.
Which is fine, if you choose to collect Hot Wheels™ and Matchbox™ cars either for display or play. My previous article went into great detail on this subject. It can be seen here: The Robb Collections: True Scale Size Verses Track Scale 1:64 Diecast Cars It's quite an extensive article in which I show what size the real cars are compared to O.T. cars and the more expensive and higher detailed true 1/64th scale model cars. 
Why am I writing about this again, after almost six years? Simple: Nancy gave me a little jewel of a car for Christmas, it is a true 1/64th scale model of Porsche's first production mid-engine car their 550 Spyder. To learn more about the real cars, after you are done here, go to: Porsche 550 Spyder Specs, Technical Data, History - Porsche Mania 
Granted, both cars have one piece molded plastic interiors. Gotta cut costs somewhere. Note the separate exhaust pipe centered under the rear, the other tiny Porsche Crest and red taillights.
Now to a car I have actually driven and would love to own now: The awesome Datsun 510! O.T. one on the left, 1/64th scale four-door one on the right. Just look as the details of the smaller one compared to the O.T.!
Back in 1975, we were living in Richmond, VA. Dad got a job as part of the Federal Office on Aging in D.C.. He rented an apartment up there for during the week, but needed a car to drive the 100 miles, south on Friday and north on Sunday.
Above and below are photographs of real Porsche 550 Spyder's with people for scale.
The blue car was produced for Road & Track magazine and as you can see, the stickers and more details are well done and placed correctly.
The O.T. black #2 car is a representative of, but is NOT accurate and not a 1/64th scale model of the car which actually came in first at Le Mans in 1966. See photo below: 
Do you see the snorkel-like ducts above the rear wheels on top of what would be the trunk or boot of an ordinary car? By the way, these are some of the 1/32nd scale "pull-back" cars I mentioned and I have collected. Look at the photo below:
The black O.T. Hot Wheels car was rushed into production to cash in on the interest of Ford vs Ferrari and they used a Mark I Ford GT rather than the Mark II car which has a seven liter (427 cubic inches) big block Ford V8 engine derived from their NASCAR racers. The Mark I (blue one) ran a 4.2 liter (289 cubic inches) small block V8 engine. Also, the Mark II rear end of the car is different. See second photo below.
Now for the car which drove (no pun intended) me to write and illustrate this article. Even though it is so small, they still made clear lenses for the headlights! And, a tiny Porsche Crest and tiny lettering.
The car she gave me is absolutely TINY and comes in a little clear case. Nancy gave me other cars as well for Christmas. Some can be seen here: The Robb Collections: Cadillac Racing A Brief History and Their V-Series.R LMP HYPER Car GTP WEC and IMSA Racing Cars in Miniature 
Both of these were featured in the previous article, albeit photographed in a different location. They are both 1960's Ford GT race cars. You know, the ones featured in the Hollywood film: Ford vs Ferrari. The blue one, is 1/64th scale and very well detailed. It replicates the very first Ford GT to actually win a race. I don't recall where or whom were the drivers.
However, I did find a photograph of the actual Ford GT Mark I race car.
Why is the car not accurate? I'm glad you asked that.
These images are of my 1/18th scale diecast model of the third place 1966 #5 Ford GT Mark II.
What those snorkel scoops do is funnel cool air to the rear brake calipers. In racing, brakes are applied so hard to slow the cars down, that they glow red!
Due to the Mark II and later (1967) Mark VI cars greater: power, weight and speed, they added those scoops.
You can see the corresponding tubes above which mate to the bottom of the engine cover's scoop. They are between to the dark blue coil-over springs and the exhaust header.
Okay, back to the scale model cars. The O.T. Hot Wheels car has painted on headlights. It's hard to see, but the 1/64th scale car has tiny headlights with clear lenses over them.
With this side view, it is obvious just how HUGE the O.T. car is by comparison!
I told him that we had a nice Datsun 510 two-door on the used car lot of the dealership for which I turned wrenches. It was a five-speed manual, which was not a problem with Dad since every driver from his age knew how to drive manual transmission cars.
When he was home for the weekends, I was constantly borrowing that car. It was SO fun! It was the same color as the 1/64th scale four door above. Note the tiny details such as the tufts on the top of the rear seat and the taillights and tiny DATSUN emblem.
The Datsun 510's engine was 2/3rds of the 240Z's six-cylinder 2.4 liter engine. The competition coupe on the right is a later model 280ZX which was raced by none other than Hollywood actor, Paul Newman. 
What you didn't know that he raced cars too? He not only raced them, but WON with them too, including the 24 Hours of Daytona! Steve McQueen, James Garner, Dick Smothers and Patrick Dempsey are other actors who also raced. Even Malcolm in the Middle star, Frankie Muniz currently races cars!
A photo of a car model box, which would fetch big buck$ if it contains the unbuilt model inside.
I've decided to call my little race car driver, the American Stig in miniature. It came with the Datsun 510.
So, there you have it. I have ranted like the old man that I am, once again, on a subject few diecast car collectors would not give a rat's ass for. Where would one GET a rat's ass, anyway?
Both cars are 1/64th scale and highly detailed.
Thank you, once again, for taking the time to read this article and looking at my photos. Feel free to comment below or on Facebook. I write two other blogs Pictures of Nancy. The Love of My Life. and People Say I'm Special. But I Don't Know Why Feel free to take a look at them. As a teaser, Nancy looked like this when we met:
Scott Robb
January 16, 2026
#534
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