How's this for a fab little race result: driven by Elio Celani, this Giaur 750 (pictured below) finished the 1956 Mille Miglia in 142nd place! That was enough to seal the deal for me. I wanted one! Lots of collectors love to get the car that came 'first' here, 'won' that – and I don't mind doing that either sometimes – but I love the way diecast model car makers occasionally make a model of an interesting, glorious place-getter.
I first spotted this Giaur at my home forum, www.scale143.com where a Swedish collector, Johan, had found one. I almost wanted it straight off because of its era, the fact it was just 750cc, and its looks, but that 142nd placing sealed the deal for me.
![142nd ain't so bad! 142nd ain't so bad!](http://m5.paperblog.com/i/42/424184/142nd-aint-so-bad-L-iDurhN.jpeg)
The model itself is 1:43 scale, made by Metro, and is very
cheap to buy on eBay. I got mine for under 10 Euros.
![142nd ain't so bad! 142nd ain't so bad!](http://m5.paperblog.com/i/42/424184/142nd-aint-so-bad-L-bg_ql_.jpeg)
Not sure how accurate those wheels are, but the rest of the
car looks pretty close to the photos I have seen online.
![142nd ain't so bad! 142nd ain't so bad!](http://m5.paperblog.com/i/42/424184/142nd-aint-so-bad-L-zLuCUq.jpeg)
This photo of one at a modern car show gives you a good idea
of how tiny these Giaurs were.
![142nd ain't so bad! 142nd ain't so bad!](http://m5.paperblog.com/i/42/424184/142nd-aint-so-bad-L-nNYLXI.jpeg)
Knowing how small these cars are makes this other shot
from another Mille Miglia all the more incredible. Imagine
having to race for 1000km cramped together like that!
![142nd ain't so bad! 142nd ain't so bad!](http://m5.paperblog.com/i/42/424184/142nd-aint-so-bad-L-eRQ0hz.jpeg)
Giaur themselves were an interesting company. Here's a
photo of their factory, with several cars in different stages
of manufacture.
http://www.ferrariexperts.com/giaur.htm
Discovering this Giaur is one of the things I really enjoy about collecting little diecast model cars: I love the way this hobby keeps on educating me about motoring history. I'm a history buff anyway, loved studying all kinds of history at both school and uni, and I still read all kinds of history books just for relaxing fun now. However, when I read car history I usually do it online, and it's almost always kicked off by seeing an interesting model car at some collector's forum somewhere, just like I did with this Giaur.