75 years of Ferrari in Formula 1: from Silverstone 1951 to your display cabinet
Some anniversaries matter only to historians. This one matters to anyone who has ever stopped in front of a red Ferrari model car in a display cabinet: on 14 July 1951, José Froilán González won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone — the first Formula 1 victory for Scuderia Ferrari. This month it is exactly 75 years ago.
Silverstone 1951: the day the myth began
Until that day, the post-war Grand Prix scene had belonged to Alfa Romeo and its supercharged Alfetta. Enzo Ferrari — who had run Alfa's racing department before the war — sent his 4.5-litre naturally aspirated Ferrari 375 against his former employer. González, the burly Argentine nicknamed «the Pampas Bull», beat Juan Manuel Fangio's Alfa fair and square. Enzo Ferrari is said to have remarked that he felt as if he had «killed his own mother». Sentiment aside, the balance of power in Grand Prix racing had shifted for good. The big naturally aspirated engine also burned far less fuel than Alfa's highly strung supercharged unit — fewer pit stops, a strategic edge that made the difference at Silverstone.
The D50: a world title with a borrowed masterpiece
Five years later Ferrari won its trump card in an unexpected way: when Lancia withdrew from racing in 1955, its brilliant but temperamental D50 was handed over to Maranello. Ferrari developed the car further, and in 1956 Fangio took the world championship in it — while the young Englishman Peter Collins won the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring and famously handed his car to Fangio at Monza in a gesture of sportsmanship that still moves fans today. CMC has reconstructed this very car in its long-nose 1956 configuration: the Ferrari D50, Peter Collins, German GP winner — with the side pontoon tanks that made the D50 unmistakable.
75 years, countless icons
No other team has been on the Formula 1 grid without interruption since 1950 — and no other marque has produced so many cars worth collecting. The screaming flat-12 of Niki Lauda's 312T era, immortalised by Exoto in museum-grade 1:18. The V10 years of Michael Schumacher. Each era has its own silhouette, its own sound — and its own place on a collector's shelf. And because Ferrari unites victory and drama like no other team, each of these models tells a story that guests understand the moment they stop in front of the cabinet.
What makes a Ferrari collectible in 1:18
Not every red model is an investment. With Ferrari model cars, three things matter most. First, the provenance of the original: cars with a documented winning or driver history — a Nürburgring victor, a championship car — are more sought after than anonymous variants. Second, the quality of execution: hand-assembled small series by CMC or Exoto play in a different league from mass production, which shows in long-term prices. Third, condition: with retired models, the combination of model and box condition decides the value — which is why we grade both separately at AMS. Keep these three criteria in view and you will build a collection that still stands in twenty years.
An anniversary made for collectors
Fittingly, CMC's 2026 catalogue — published for the brand's own 30th anniversary — announces a Ferrari 375, the very car of the 1951 Silverstone triumph. For collectors of Ferrari model cars this is a rare alignment: the historical moment, the anniversary and the model all coming together. Our advice: models tied to landmark victories tend to be the ones collectors regret not buying. A graded, documented example from a curated collection is the safest way in.
You will find our current Ferrari pieces — from the D50 to the 250 Testa Rossa — in the CMC collection, each personally inspected and graded. Forza.