Flying bricks: Tarmac Works Volvo 242 Custom and 240 Turbo (Kamachi Racing, Macau Guia 1986)

These are two models that I’ve been really keen to get on Lamley, and I’ve engaged geek mode and worked rather hard with this article, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Say hello or a Swedish “Hallå” to a brilliant pair of Tarmac Works Volvos.

And while they appear to share the same tooling for the body, the rest is very different. And firstly I’m going to look at the Volvo 242 in the “Custom” road car guise.

The Volvo 242 was the original designation of the 2 door sedan body-style of the Volvo 200 series range. The 200 series was produced between 1974 and 1993 with nearly 3 million being built. At this point I’d normally delve a little deeper into the car’s history but I’ll level with you, the nomenclature of the 200 series leaves my head spinning and thus I’m rather lost when it comes to assigning certain specs to a specific model year. To complicate matters more there was also at least 9 different petrol and diesel engines available through the range excluding legendary Turbo models. But I’ll still provide you with some super cool retro advertisements.

Back to the 1/64 version and man I’m blown away, this thing is superb. Immediately the colour stands out and it’s a great choice. I’m a stickler for finding details and I believe this is (or close to) a Volvo colour called “Berkshire Green/Ljusgrön 118” or at least that’s as near as I can find. Regardless, it’s a beautiful shade and works well with the big, boxy lines.

The custom touches are great and I love the rear window louvers, the spoiler and the raked ride height. The BBS wheels are shared with the Kamachi car but here they’re finished in bright silver and contrast wonderfully with the green paint.

The details are superb with clear plastic and very realistic head and tail lights. There’s also tiny details like windscreen wipers and a pleasantly detailed exhaust back box. And it will roll…. just. But I’d class it as a non-roller and just keep it in the perspex to gaze at.

Next up is the 242’s successor the 240 in Turbo Group A form. And this one I can tell you a little more about.

Despite appearing to have the aerodynamics of a collapsed tower block and as much sporting image as a pair of tweed slippers, the 200 series birthed a fantastic Group A touring car in the shape of the 240 Turbo.

The 240 Turbo utilised the solid 2.1 litre B21ET engine and in September 1980 became Volvo’s first turbocharged petrol engined model. Producing 155bhp and with a top speed in excess of 120mph, the 240 Turbo was (at the time) a total rocket ship. Indeed when the engine was added to the estate model it became the World’s fastest estate car.

The Group A rule set that arrived in 1982 suited the 240 Turbo down to a tee. After producing a run of 500 Turbo Evolution road car models in order to meet regulations, the 240 began competing in full Group A guise in 1984. The B21ET engine was strengthened with forged internals and a bigger Garrett turbo boosted to 1.5 bar. The result was 300bhp and a top speed in excess of 160mph which meant that on fast circuits the 240 could easily hold its own. In the hands of Gianfranco Brancatelli and Thomas Lindström a 240 won the 1985 European Touring Car Championship, and Robbie Francevic won the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship at the wheel of a Volvo Dealer Team car.

The Tarmac car is a replica of the 1986 Macau Guia winning Kamachi Racing car driven by touring car maestro Johnny Ceccoto.

It’s a superb subject to replicate in miniature and Tarmac have nailed it. Even before you’ve got down to the model itself the shipping container box in full Kamachi livery is just awesome and refreshingly innovative.

With any race livery you need good decals, especially on one as cool as this. Tarmac have done a decent job; the decals are well placed with no alignment issues and they’re sharp and easily legible. There’s also a wonderfully detailed race spec interior with full roll cage, race seat and fire extinguisher. My only criticism is the slightly raised decals on the roof of my car, but maybe I’m being a bit over scrupulous here.

Again I’d not class this as a roller but you really should know by now I’m not fussed by this, and nor should you be. And I’m hard pushed to pick a favourite between the two. So I’m not going to. Maybe you guys and girls can add your thoughts at the end of the year because there’s definitely room in my Lamley top 10 for both. Let’s see what else ends up on the list…

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(Find the Tarmac Volvo 242 Custom on Ebay here, and the 240 Turbo Kamachi Racing car here)