Vitesse Models
Vitesse was started in 1982 as a Portuguese company making diecast cars mostly in 1:43 scale. It was founded in the city of Oporto and is a brand name of Cinerius, Ltd.
The Fit of Vitesse
Models were originally fabricated in Portugal and were of great detail and sophistication. The company gained increasing popularity in the late 1980s and 1990s. Models were often similar in concept to French Solido, though less toy-like and more oriented to collectors. So, conceptually, perhaps Vitesse models fall somewhere between Solido and the Italian Brumm. Though diecast, and quite handsome, models were rather fragile. Pieces tended to fall off, bodies separated from chassis and paint sometimes peeled - but in good condition they were (and are) a wonder to behold.
By about 1992, Vitesse had produced about 40 different models, often in top up or top down versions like Brumm or Rio Models. Models were offered in plenty of liveries. For example, by 1990, the 1947 Chrysler Windsor model (a car also produced by Solido) had been produced in at least eight different versions: a plain sedan, New York City police, San Francisco Fire Brigade, Istanbul Taxi, official French government car, a French voisin 'pompiers', a Hot Springs National Park hotel taxi, and a clever Zippo lighters version with the middle of the car looking like two zippo lighters standing up together (Vitesse 1990).
It seems Vitesse didn't always take itself too seriously. Vitesse referred to its rather fragile offerings self-deprecatingly as 'toys'. The 1990 full-color catalog cover showed a '57 Buick as a planter, 2 CVs with live rabbits, a VW bug cabriolet nearly being 'driven' by a golf club, and a '53 Caddy between two buns - our next meal (Vitesse 1990).
Portuguese Diecast
In 1990, the oldest model made was a 1934 White and the newest was a brand new Peugeot 205, but most models seemed to be from the 1950s. Of course, the Portuguese had no vehicles to offer to stoke nationalism, so cars were fairly evenly selected from Britain, Germany, France, Italy and the United States. Inside the front cover of one catalog, an introduction to Vitesse was given in nine different languages (Vitesse 1990). Like Solido in the 1980s and 1990s, several different American cars were reproduced, but like Brumm, European cars were often made in varying race decorations. An example is the Lancia Delta HF Turbo Integrale which was offered in at least 19 different race versions.
The 1982 inception doesn't appear to be chance. With Portugal joining the European Union in 1984, it seems natural that more diversity of investment would occur and that different niche companies of all types would start appearing there, in order to shore up Portugal's less developed economy. Vitesse seems to have been one of these companies that benefitted. Quartzo was a racing car line owned by Vitesse. Onyx Models and Trofeu were two other independent Portuguese brands started at about the same time, possibly as start-up companies begun with EU influenced funding. Other toy companies such as the Corgi-like Metosul and smaller sized Novacars had come from Portugal earlier, but no company with the collector flair and variety of liveries like Vitesse had previously been headquartered there. For comparison, it is odd that no such company seems to have ever been established in Greece, a country similar in environment, economic status and which had joined the EU even earlier than Portugal. Yet Greece's toy brands (like Polfi Toys) remained just that - more crudely cast and more for children.
Variety and detail
Despite the company's overt sense of humor, its products were ultra detailed and precise in proportion and presentation. Rixon reports on Vitesse's 1960 Aston Martin DB4 commenting on the model's "simulated wooden steering wheel", "banks of dashboard clocks", and "metal mesh radiator" and "astonishing photo etched wire spoke wheels" (2005, p. 62). Other European cars like the 1938 BMW 328 roadster were typical. The 2-tone Austin Healey 3000 was beautiful.
When the Sachsenring "Trabi" (Trabant) became the symbol of the fall of the Berlin Wall for all Germany in 1989, Vitesse quickly jumped at the chance to produce it in miniature. A unique American issue was the 'Carrera Panamericana' version of its 1953 Cadillac Type 62, whose two-tone color treatment included detailed race decals. With Vitesse there was rarely the feeling of 'just another Lamborghini Diablo', though it did offer its own Porsche 911 and Ferrari 308 GTB both of which have been offered by about every other diecast company on the planet (Vitesse 1993).
One rather fragile offering was the 1956 Ford Fairlane police car. The model came with two delicate spotlights, two roof lights (one blue, one red) a very long antenna, and a "speed kills" speedometer sign affixed to the roof. Only 5,000 of these cars were made, so chances of finding one with all lights and parts intact may be a challenge (Rixon 2005, p. 109).
Promotions
Vitesse also was quick to offer models in promotional guises, particularly related to racing sponsors. A specially packaged Coca-Cola Porsche 917, a Martini Lancia, special Peugeot promotional models and others made for Rothmans or Kenwood (Vitesse 1990).
One popular promotional model often seen in the U.S. was the 3.5 inch 1/64 scale UPS truck. Sometimes seen mounted on special bases, the truck is impressively detailed with official UPS brown colors and logo (Rixon 2005, p. 93).
Vitesse today
Eventually Vitesse was purchased by Sun Star Models of Macau, usually a maker of well-detailed 1:18 scale diecasts. Three former Vitesse lines are now supported by Sun Star: Vitesse Models, Vitesse Rallye, and Quartzo which does race car replicas.
References
- Rixon, Peter. 2005. Miller's Collecting Diecast Vehicles. London: Miller's, a Division of Mitchell Beazley.
- Vitesse. 1990. Toys from Portugal. Company customer and promotional catalog. 28 pages.
- Vitesse. 1993. Quarterly leaflet of new offerings. January through March. 4 pages.