AutoCult is a little early this month for their new August assortment of releases.  New for August is 1952 Awtowelo Typ 650 Sokol, 1954 Volkswagen Käfer “Follow Me” Berlin-Tempelhof, 1974 Maserati 124 Coupe 2+2 Italdesign and 1965 DAF 40 GT.  All four examples come in at 1:43 scale.  Contact AutoCult or dealer for order availability.

About the Awtowelo Typ 650 Sokol…  “The automotive engineering department of the Russian corporation Awtowelo was responsible for the development of vehicles. In 1949 this development center got the order to develop a racecar. But this was anything but a usual order. This racecar was reserved for Wassilij Stalin, the son of the Russian head of state Josef Stalin. Considering this the project was not only a technical challenge but also a political one. Stalin’s son loved the speed and wanted to compete in the recently formed racing series Formula Two. But he wanted more than just to compete – he wanted to win. To make this possible almost half of the employees were dedicated to the Russian project. Based on the pre-war know-how of the Auto Union two Monopostos were set on its wheels, both driven by a V12 engine with almost 2 litres displacement and an output of 152 hp.

The racecar got the name 650 “Sokol” and was ready for first tests in 1951. In April 1952 Wassilij Stalin transferred the cars by plane to Russia. Almost insurmountable problems with the carburetor settings ruined any chance of a successful racing appearance. Finally, both cars went back to the GDR.

After the death of Soviet leader Stalin on 5 March 1953, his son Wassilij fell out of favour with the new authorities and the project was no longer supported. Both Monopostos remained in the GDR, were used for a film shooting and fell into oblivion shortly afterwards. Via different stations, one of the cars found its way into the German museum, PS Speicher. The chassis of the second car is part of the exhibition of the Saxon industrial museum in Chemnitz.”

Product# 07014 / 12007 / 05028 / 06033