
Auto Union Type B Lucca Silver Minichamps 1:43

This model is currently sold out. Enter your email and we'll let you know when it's back in stock.
Specifications
- Brand
- Auto Union
- Manufacturer
- Minichamps
- Scale
- 1:43
- Material
- Diecast
- Model Condition
- Used Model
- SKU
- 5031300413
- Year
- 1937
- Era
- Pre-War
- Body Type
- Special Models
- Vehicle Class
- Hillclimb & Special Events
- Openable Parts
- No
- Packaging Condition
- Traces of Storage
- Model Type
- Race Models
- EAN / GTIN
- —
About the Auto Union Type B Lucca Silver Minichamps 1:43
TL;DR: Minichamps' 1:43 diecast Auto Union Type B in silver reproduces the rear-engined Grand Prix racer that challenged Mercedes throughout the Silver Arrows era of the 1930s. A compact-scale replica of one of pre-war motorsport's most technically daring designs.
Auto Union's decision to place the engine behind the driver was radical for its time, and the Type B carried that layout into a rivalry with Mercedes that defined an entire era of Grand Prix racing.
The Auto Union Type B and the Silver Arrows Rivalry
While Mercedes pursued conventional front-engine layouts in its Grand Prix cars of the 1930s, Auto Union took the opposite approach, placing its supercharged engine behind the cockpit in a configuration decades ahead of where the wider industry would eventually settle. The Type B refined that formula, competing directly against Mercedes across European circuits and hillclimb events in what became known as the Silver Arrows era, named for the bare, unpainted metal bodywork both manufacturers raced. Events across Italy, including hillclimbs like the one referenced in this car's livery, gave Auto Union chances to prove the rear-engined layout against established front-engine rivals on demanding, technical terrain. That rivalry between two German manufacturers, each pursuing a genuinely different engineering philosophy, remains one of the most studied chapters in pre-war motorsport.
A Compact Diecast Rendition of a Technically Radical Racer
At 1:43, this Type B suits the exposed, minimalist bodywork of a pre-war Grand Prix car well, since there is no cabin complexity to compress at a smaller scale, only the long tail and cycle fenders that defined the silhouette. Minichamps applies the same livery precision here that it brings to its modern motorsport range, so the silver finish and period-correct proportions read clearly despite the compact format. The small scale also makes practical sense for a subject this specialized: building a full pre-war Grand Prix or hillclimb lineup would demand real shelf space at 1:18, while 1:43 keeps an entire Silver Arrows era collection within a single cabinet. Paired with a period Mercedes Grand Prix car, this Auto Union completes one of motorsport's most genuinely significant early rivalries.










