Gitane Team Car, Peugeot 203, Salza c. 1960s/70s, 1/43 Scale

$260.00

This is a great example of a race support vehicle sporting Gitane Team and Tour de France stickers on the back, with the extra cool red bikes on the rack. It would be a fantastic addition to any desktop peloton.

Salza, a French company founded by Victor Salza in 1947, became renowned among cycling fans for producing detailed model race vehicles and cyclists. Victor Salza, born in Italy in 1915, was passionate about accuracy and took meticulous steps to ensure his figurines were as realistic as possible. To achieve this, he would attend races in person to photograph the cyclists and vehicles to replicate them precisely.

Initially, the figurines were metal but later transitioned to plastic. The cyclists were depicted in various dynamic poses, such as raising their arms in victory, carrying flowers after a win, grabbing a musette, or drinking from a water bottle. Salza also created figurines representing other characters involved in cycling races, such as police officers (gendarmes), motorcycles, cameramen, team support crew, and follow cars.

In the early days, Salza’s cyclists were relatively simple, flat silhouettes. However, by the early 1950s, the company introduced more complex 3D figurines. These models initially sported national or regional jerseys, with advertising jerseys not appearing until 1962. The figurines were often sold individually or in sets, sometimes including scenic backgrounds and additional characters to complete the scene. Salza’s attention to detail and realistic depictions have made these collectibles cherished pieces in cycling memorabilia. Sadly, the Salza factory closed for good in 1978, but these charming toys live on.

Maker: Salza
Diecast Metal, 1/43 Scale

Size: 5 1/4 inches (13 cm) long

This is a one-of-a-kind item; please look carefully at the photos to determine the condition.

Only 1 left in stock

SKU: Car-008 Category: Tags: , , ,

Description

Toys with Soul

During my dad’s childhood in the 1960s, toy soldiers, a.k.a little green army men, were go-to toys for young boys in many parts of suburban America. Overseas, however, it was different. Europe had its equivalent of the green army men: the little peloton riders.

The peloton riders, much like the toy soldiers in America, were at their peak of popularity in the 1950s and ‘60s. However, unlike the cheap plastic toy soldiers that were commonplace in the U.S., every cyclist figurine was made of metal and painted by hand, resulting in a beautiful, straightforward toy. Beyond the familiar pose of a rider in the drops, there were follow cars, caravan motos, riders posed as race winners or drinking from a water bottle, soigneurs, fans, and finish-line banners. Like the green army men, the riders helped children play out their dreams, reenact their favorite moments from races, have epic battles on the famous climbs of the Tour, or anything else they could think up.

With time, the hand-painted metal figures gave way to cheaper metal output with decals and, ultimately, plastic riders. Today, the era of these toys has largely passed. With few exceptions, contemporary availability of this genre is limited primarily to reproductions of vintage Tour de France caravan vehicles.

Like many things collectible, people seem to be enamored with repurchasing their childhood. No visit to a collector swap meet in France or Belgium is complete without reviewing a seller’s table searching for metal riders and vintage die-cast caravan vehicles. The reason for wanting these mementos can vary between collectors, and they go beyond simply replacing a memory of a toy from their childhood. It could be the historical significance they carry or perhaps aesthetic and decoration. Whatever the reason, these figurines have cemented themselves in cycling nostalgia, and even if all the paint wears off, that will not change.

 

By Trevor Horton
Peloton Magazine, 2022 Tour de France Issue