Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage, Pensacola 1960 #25

Gaston 'Gus' Andrey was Swiss-born, and when Maserati delivered this Tipo 61 to him in 1959, chassis 2455 according to CMC, it went out in the colours of his homeland: white and red, with the Swiss cross on its flanks. On 3 April 1960 he took it to the opening round of that year's SCCA season, the Fiesta of Five Flags national at Corry Field, Pensacola, and won, with a young Roger Penske second in a Porsche RSK. It was the Birdcage in its purest form: Giulio Alfieri's frame of some 200 small steel tubes, a 2.9-litre four-cylinder engine of about 250 hp, and bodywork drawn tight around both.

CMC's model is white with a red nose, red lower sides and a red stripe over the tail, the Swiss cross on each flank and 25 on the sides and tail. Red leather seats, a wood-rimmed steering wheel and a black instrument panel fill the cockpit. The front bodywork hinges forward, the doors open and the rear cover comes off to reveal the spare in its leather strap, and the space frame is fully modelled, with the engine, its carburettors and red-sleeved wiring visible between the tubes. The stainless-spoked wire wheels come off and the suspension works. Limited to 1,000 pieces, it is built by CMC at 1:18 from 1,523 parts.