Matchbox Ferrari Berlinetta and Iso Grifo

Matchbox has been around for quite a while now, even longer than Hot Wheels, yet the brand was not originally owned by Mattel (that started in 1996) but instead it was a toy manufacturer that started out in England under the Lesney brand.  Being fast was not a consideration as the vehicles had some crude rolling wheel disc, yet the charm was in the details of the vehicles themselves.  Some did not have an interior, opening parts, and a few didn't have wheels at all!  Still, the Lesney brand found ways to add some sportiness to the Matchbox line and here are two examples of some fine sports cars of the 1960's.

Ferrari Berlinetta

Probably one of the first Matchbox Ferrari road cars the Berlinetta was a sleek car that has many uses during the 1960's, including different wheels and colors.  This car was based on the familiar line of Ferrari 250 models as the SWB Berlinetta coupe.  Unlike latter 250 models this one has an upright front grille, classy front fender curves, and a sloping rear roofline that ends in a rear spoiler and decklid similar to the 250 GTO.  The interior is similar to other 250 models with bucket seats, rising transmission hump with four-speed shifter, and 3-spoke steering wheel in front of the speedometer and tachometer with other gauges lining the center of the dashboard.  The engine is a 3.0L SOHC V-12 that produces 237 horsepower and to the rear wheels by a live axle rear suspension.

My Matchbox version comes in a gorgerous green color and was fairly mint with the exception of some white specs on the roof and hood signaling a white stripe was there.  To recreate the stripe I added a neat trick: using a white-out instant-dry roller I recreated the stripe perfectly from the hood to the rear spoiler.  It works!  The front has round headlights with foglights mounted just below and inside, small front bumpers, and a large silver grille with the prancing pony.  The hood has a hood scoop, while the sides are nice and clean with the wire wheels giving the Berlinetta a nice touch over the standard black disc wheels.  These wheels were also used on the Grand Prix castings as well.  The rear has round taillights inside a round rear decklid, those large and beautiful quad exhaust pipes, and even a trailer hitch for towing (sure, there's nothing wrong with using a Ferrari for towing).  The metal base is flat and lacks details, just like the Iso Griffo and other Matchbox cars at the time, white the cream interior has no opening doors nor a dashboard but it does have the right-hand drive steering wheels and seating for four.

Iso Grifo

As with the Berlinetta the Grifo has also had a long run in the 1960's with different variations of colors and wheel designs.  The Grifo was designed by Iso, and Italian manufacturer that wanted to compete with Ferrari and Maserati at the time.  They used a body designed by Bertone and powertrains from Ford and Chevrolet to power the vehicle.  The body has a classy look to it that fits in with other Italian grand touring cars of the time: very sleek, stylish, and even aggressive-looking.  The interior has seating for four with the typical Italian sports car layout of gauges, switches, 3-spoke steering wheel, seating for four with two rather small rear seats, and a shifter for the 4-speed manual.  The engine started out with a Chevy 327 CID V8 that produces 355 horsepower or a Ford 351 CID V8 that makes 351 horsepower.  For the series 2 released in 1970 the front-end has concealed headlights and the engines are now larger: either the Chevy 454 CID V8 making 435 hp. or the Ford 351 CID V8 that makes 351 horsepower. 

My Matchbox example has a nice metallic blue color that was mint with the exception of a large paint chip on the roof.  I used a blue sharpie to cover it up: it's not perfect, but it'll do.  The front has an aggressive split grille look with quad headlights inside and both grilles are part of the metal base.  A Euro license plate is seen just below the front bumper.  The hood has that center spear bulge similar to the C2 Corvette, while the front windshield wraps around and the rear window even dips down to the sides.  This rear window design adds character to the already impressive side that also has front fender vents, opening doors, rising fenders lines over the wheels, and disc wheels that look good here even though the Superfast wheels that appeared later on looked a bit better.  As the rear fenders past the rear fender vents they glide down lower than the trunklid to the rear valence panel with rectangular taillights, Euro square license plate, and a trailer hitch.  Unlike the Ferrari the Grifo does not have any exposed exhaust pipes.  The doors open up to an interior that is in light blue, has seating for two, and has a detailed dashboard with 3-spoke steering wheel in right-hand drive fashion.

These are two beautiful sports cars from the Matchbox Lesney era of the 1960's and even today they still look impressive.  The good news that so many were made they are easy to come by and not expensive to own.