7th-Jan-22, 02:02 PM
Although any lists from Fly should normally be taken with a pinch of salt, pictures of some 'works in progress' have appeared over the past few days. The experience of 2021 is that these photographs of a prototype usually translates into a model on sale within a couple of months.
First, there's this Renault 5 Turbo from the 1982 Rallye Côte d'Ivoire (Ref. A2015), driven by Jean Ragnotti and Jean-Marc Andrié...
This was the penultimate round of the 1982 World Rally Championship, where Michèle Mouton lost the title she probably deserved to win. The Renault of Ragnotti and Andrié ran joint second to Mouton and Fabrizia Pons at the end of the first 1,250 km leg. Gearbox problems dropped them to fourth after the next 1,360km - the halfway point of the rally, which had already lost nearly two-thirds of the cars entered. The Renault was added to the list of retirements during the 1,700km third leg - landing heavily in a series of jumps and breaking the front suspension and steering. Ragnotti sprained his wrist in the accident and was treated at a local hospital in Yamoussoukro - which he left with his arm in plaster. Ah... those were the days.
Next is a seventh-placed Monte Carlo twin-pack (Ref. TEAM21)...
This features two Renault 5 Turbos - Ragnotti and Andrié's 1983 car, which finished seventh - plus Dany Snobeck and Jean-Pierre Bechu's white car that came seventh in 1985...
The yellow car carries the same #9 number that was on Ragnotti's Renault 5 when he won the Monte in 1981 - truly the stuff of legend. There's some great footage of the 1981 Renault to enjoy here...
Next is a police car - and it's a Japanese Police Porsche 911 (Ref. A2036)...
There's another Renault 5 Turbo (Ref E2035) that will be an exclusive for Cocheslot in Spain...
The 2021 ForoSlot special edition car (Ref. E2030) is a Porsche 911...
Driven by Gérard Larrousse and Christian Delferier at the 1972 Tour de Corse, the Marlboro-sponsored car retired with gearbox problems.
Last of these previews is the return of the Gulf Porsche 917k in a 'Making of Le Mans' special edition (Ref. E2031)...
Complete with a special box and a Steve McQueen figure giving us all the V sign...
Another sure-fire best-seller, I reckon.
No dates scheduled for release for any of these cars, but expect to see them for pre-order soon. The TEAM21 Renault 5 twin-pack and Porsche Police Car are available for pre-order at Pendles - along with a swathe of cars announced in 2021 that haven't been seen in prototype or production versions. If the last couple of years is anything to go by, these cars will be short production runs and will sell out quickly - allowing Fly to recoup the investment, make a bit of money and pay for their next projects. It's a business model that seems to be keeping their heads above water, which is the main thing.
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