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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.

Because of detail and realism of the models, Vitesse gained increasing popularity in the late 1980s and 1990s (Richardson 1999, p. 173). Models were often similar in concept to French Solido, though less toy-like and more oriented to collectors. Conceptually, then, Vitesse falls somewhere between Solido and the Italian Brumm in presentation. Though diecast, and realistic, models were rather fragile. Pieces tended to fall off, bodies separated from chassis and paint sometimes peeled - but in good condition they were impressive.

By about 1992, Vitesse had produced about 40 different models, often in top-up or top-down versions like Brumm or Rio Models. Offerings were made 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 the company didn't take itself too seriously. Vitesse referred to its rather fragile offerings as 'toys' in a rather self-deprecating manner. The cover of the 1990 full-color catalog showed a 1957 Buick as a planter, Citroen 2 CVs with live rabbits, a VW bug cabriolet nearly being 'driven' by a golf club, and a 1953 Caddy between two buns - our next meal in miniature (Vitesse 1990).

In 1990, the oldest Vitesse model was a 1934 White truck and the newest was a contemporary Peugeot 205, but most models were from the 1950s. Of course, Portugal had no vehicles of its own to offer to stoke nationalism, so models 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. For example, the Lancia Delta HF Turbo Integrale was offered in at least 19 different racing variations.

The 1982 company beginning 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, shoring up Portugal's less developed economy. Vitesse seems to have been one of these companies that benefited. 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, also possibly as start-up companies with EU influenced funding.


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