COBI Opel Rekord C Schwarze Witwe Set 24597

COBI's Opel Rekord C Schwarze Witwe is a 1:35 model built from 138 blocks under original licence from Opel, 13.2 cm long, with rotating wheels on rubber tires and a plate carrying the vehicle name and the Opel logo. The racing number 201 is printed, and a sheet of door stickers is included.

Built behind the company's back

General Motors did not go racing. From the late 1950s its corporate policy forbade any of its divisions from competing, and Opel in Rüsselsheim was a GM division.

The engineers built a racing car anyway. Working around the ban, they took a Rekord C, fitted a heavily reworked engine producing around 180 hp against the standard car's 75, and finished it in black with yellow trim. Officially it did not exist as a competition project.

It turned up on German circuits at the end of the 1960s and embarrassed cars that cost several times as much. The colour scheme earned it two nicknames that stuck: the Schwarze Witwe — black widow — and the Renntaxi, the racing taxi, because a four-door saloon was not what anybody expected to be overtaken by.

In the COBI range

Part of the 1:35 Youngtimer collection. COBI also makes the standard Rekord C 1900 L (24598) and the 1700 L Cabriolet (24599).

Specifications

Pieces: 138 · Scale: 1:35 · Licensed by Opel · Includes door sticker sheet
Model dimensions: 13.2 × 5.5 × 4 cm (5.2 × 2.2 × 1.6 in)