1:18 CMC Jaguar C-Type Review

Welcome to my review of the 1:18 CMC Jaguar C-Type in British Racing Green! If you don’t fancy reading the whole background of the real car, feel free to click here and skip straight to the model itself.

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The year was 1935 when the Jaguar brand first leapt out of the factory gates. Founded in 1922 as the Swallow Sidecar Company by William Lyons and William Walmsley, both were motorcycle enthusiasts and the company manufactured motorcycle sidecars and automobile bodies. Walmsley was rather happy with the company’s modest success and saw little point in taking risks by expanding the firm. He chose to spend more and more time plus company money on making parts for his model railway instead. Lyons bought him out with a public stock offering and became the sole Managing Director in 1935. The company was then renamed to S.S. Cars Limited.

After Walmsley had left, the first car to bear the Jaguar name was the SS Jaguar 2.5l Saloon released in September 1935.  The 2.5l Saloon was one of the most distinctive and beautiful cars of the pre-war era, with its sleek, low-slung design. It needed a new name to reflect these qualities, one that summed up its feline grace and elegance with such a finely-tuned balance of power and agility. The big cat was chosen, and the SS Jaguar perfectly justified that analogy. A matching open-top two-seater called the SS Jaguar 100 (named 100 to represent the theoretical top speed of 100mph) with a 3.5 litre engine was also available.

On 23rd March 1945, the shareholders took the initiative to rename the company to Jaguar Cars Limited due to the notoriety of the SS of Nazi Germany during the Second World War. William Lyons aptly stated; “Unlike SS the name Jaguar is distinctive and cannot be connected or confused with any similar foreign name“. The British aircraft engine manufacturer, Armstrong Siddeley, allowed Lyons to use the Jaguar name from their aircraft engine range that was in production between 1922 and 1928. Thus the Jaguar marque as we know it today was born.

With the SS100 production ending in 1940, Jaguar needed a replacement sports car in its lineup. Fast forward to October 1948 and the stunning XK120 was born. Designed and developed in just a few short months by Lyons, the XK120 went on to become a true icon. Showcasing a variation of the record-breaking 4 cylinder, 2-litre engine that was taken to Jabbeke in Belgium just a month earlier in the Experimental Jaguar XK100. It was here that Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Thomas “Goldie” Gardner broke the flying mile, kilometre and five kilometre Class E records.

The engine in the XK120 featured new twin overhead camshafts (DOHC), 6 cylinders and a 3.5-litre Hemi-head designed by William Heynes, Walter Hassan and Claude Baily in the dead of night during the war when they would be on fire watch in the factory in case it was bombed. The XK engine went on to power all Jaguars until the introduction of the E-Type Series 3 heralded the arrival of the Jaguar V12 engine in 1971, while the XJ6 continued in production until 1992 with the 4.2-litre version of the XK engine. So in total, you’re looking at an incredible 44 year lifespan for the XK engine!

In 1950, Nick Haines and Peter Clark piloted an XK120 in the Le Mans 24 Hours, proving its worth by finishing twelfth, while Peter Whitehead and John Marshall placed fifteenth. This convinced the company that they had the basis for a true world-beater out on the track, so chief engineer William Heynes set to work to create a competition version – the XK120-C, or C-Type, primarily for the Le Mans race.

Using the XK120’s proven engine, transmission and front suspension, Heynes devised a more rigid, lightweight tubular frame – one of the very first uses of the technique in sports car construction. The XK120’s rear suspension was heavily redesigned with the half-elliptical springs being replaced by a single transversely mounted torsion bar, connected to the live rear axle by trailing arms, while torque reaction members prevented lateral movement. Rack and pinion steering was introduced, another first for Jaguar, in place of the recirculating ball type. The 3.4-litre XK engine received a new cylinder head, high-lift camshafts, racing pistons, and an un-muffled dual exhaust system, raising the motor’s output to 210bhp at 5,800rpm – the XK120 engine offered 180bhp at 5,300rpm. This was fitted with a handsome wind-cheating aluminium body, designed by Malcolm Sayer, the ex-Bristol aerodynamicist. Sayer’s background in motor and aero engineering was of great importance. He understood aerodynamics and their application to other branches of science. One of the first things he did at Jaguar was to install their first ever wind tunnel. Thanks to Sayer’s flair for lightweight design, the C‑Type also weighed around 25% less than the XK upon which it was based. The first cars were ready in the spring of 1951 with the first three cars being hand-built in only six weeks and were the first purpose-built race cars for Jaguar. That purpose was to win Le Mans.

The C-Type debuted at the 24 Heures du Mans at 4pm on the 23rd June 1951. This year marked the arrival of Jaguar on the scene, as well as a first showing for Porsche and Lancia. They were certainly the most modern looking of the 1951 entrants but were not regarded as a threat. Aston Martin had entered five cars and there were six 4.5-litre Talbots and Ferraris also on the grid. Briggs Cunningham had brought two of his big 5.4-litre Cunninghams to Le Mans so what could the untried 3.4-litre XK- powered C-Type accomplish? The cars were entered as XK 120C models as private entries in the names of Stirling Moss, Peter Walker and Leslie Johnson – this being so that if they were a failure it would not reflect too badly on Jaguar! The drivers were not paid anything but were promised any prize or bonus money they won.

Moss, Walker and Clemente Biondetti sprinted to their cars and were away. By the end of the second lap Moss was second to one of the big Talbots driven by José Froilán González from Argentina. After three more laps Moss was in first place with Biondetti moving into third position. After five more hours Moss was still leading with the Walker/Whitehead and Biondetti/Johnson C-Types in second and third places. Moss also shattered the lap record at 105.2mph taking 4mins 46.8secs. All looked good for the Jaguar team and then Biondetti noticed a drop in oil pressure. He stopped at the pits and oil was found in the sump but none was being circulated to the engine. Nothing could be done, as the rules at the time only allowed the use of tools and parts carried in the car. So the C-Type had to be retired. Moss/Fairman and Walker/Whitehead were still in first and second places.

The cars appeared to be going well, but then on the 94th lap Moss suffered the same fate as Biondetti and ground to a halt with a broken con-rod after Arnage corner. It appeared that a weld on the main oil feed pipe had broken due to engine vibration. Only one C-Type was still in the race and took the lead but it could still go the way of any of the other cars. Whitehead and Walker were instructed to keep engine revs down and drive as smoothly as possible. They stuck to this plan and the Jaguar performed faultlessly during the following laps. Peter Whitehead drove the final phase and took car #20 (chassis XKC003), to victory. The car was 45 minutes and 77 miles ahead of the Talbot Lago T26 GS that came in second. The C-Type had covered 2,243.886 miles at an average speed of 93.495mph. Their success at the 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans gave Jaguar tremendous publicity and put the brand on the map worldwide – in fact, the C-Type was put into limited series production, with 50 cars built by early 1953.

Moss won the Daily Express Production Sports Car Race at Silverstone in 1952 and won again in the privately owned Wisdom and Cannell car at the Reims Grand Prix. Young Scottish driver Ian Stewart won the Jersey Road Race in July for the newly formed Ecurie Ecosse team and then won another two races at Charterhall in Scotland. Jaguar was on a roll. Yet, whilst Moss was racing a C-Type in the 1952 Mille Miglia, he was passed by a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR. He then sent a telegram to Jaguar saying, “must have more speed at Le Mans”. With just a matter of weeks between the Mille Miglia and Le Mans, Jaguar set to work with a team which was led by Malcolm Sayer. They developed a streamlined “low-drag” version of the C-Type, which had a “long tail”, lower front end, revised cooling system, and 20% less drag than a standard car. Jaguar made just three examples of the C-Type Aerodynamic, and they took them to Le Mans, but the result was not a success.

It is ironic that the plumbing of the cars was entrusted to a man named Roy Kettle, and because the cars overheated and blew head gaskets, the low-drag C-Types were named after him ever since. Ultimately, the reason behind the failures was simply a lack of testing. It just happened that Norman Dewis (chief test driver and development engineer for Jaguar from 1952 to 1985) was on the Mille Miglia and had no time to properly check the cars prior to Le Mans. With too small a pulley, the water pump cavitated, and the result was a failure of all three cars. In post-race testing, after two simple modifications, Dewis drove six hours at the MIRA proving ground with no further overheating issues.

All three cars retired early due to these cooling issues, with the Mercedes Benz 300SL taking first and second positions in the race. Coventry’s engineers realized that the C-Type required a few upgrades to remain competitive for 1953, and a final run of three cars began development. After the 1952 Le Mans race, chassis XKC002 (#19) and XKC003 (the 1951 Le Mans winning car) were destroyed by Jaguar. XKC001 (#23 that didn’t finish in 1951) was also destroyed after being used as a development mule for the 1953 cars, including disc brake work – Jaguar paperwork dated 31st August 1953 states, “dismantled and parts passed to Service Department”.

Following the disgraceful early exit at Le Mans in 1952, Jaguar left nothing off the table in order to salvage their reputation in 1953. Three brand new ‘Lightweight’ cars were built – their chassis numbers were XKC051, XKC052 and XKC053. In addition to being some 60kg lighter, the 1953-specification C-Type also featured a revised head with triple Weber carburettors raising the power to 220bhp and disc brakes developed together with Dunlop on all four corners. These not only helped to stop the car earlier but were also more resistant to fading and were the first ever Le Mans cars to compete equipped with disc brakes.

Frank “Lofty” England was the manager of the Jaguar Cars sports car racing team in the 1950s and later succeeded Sir William Lyons as Jaguar Cars Chairman and Chief Executive in 1970, before retiring in 1974. Despite their poor performance last year, he decided to retain the same driver pairings as 1952, with Peter Walker and Stirling Moss (car #17), Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton (car #18), and Peter Whitehead and Ian Stewart (car #19).

In practice the Thursday before the race a rather interesting story happened, the outcome of which would have changed the entire history of the 1953 Le Mans! Rolt and Hamilton’s #19 was disqualified because it had been on track at the same time as the car of test driver Norman Dewis, which was necessary to qualify him as a reserve. This car was wearing the same #19 stickers and Ferrari kicked up a fuss by raising an official protest. Lyons agreed to pay the fine imposed by the Automobile Club de L’Ouest (ACO – the largest automotive group in France), but “Lofty” England successfully pleaded Jaguar’s case to the officials that they meant no harm and it was all an honest mistake. Fortunately for them, they were reinstated.

At 4pm on Saturday 13th June 1953, the flag fell and the whole field set off in a free-for-all race for the next 24 hours. Moss and Reg Parnell (Aston Martin) both made very good starts from positions way down the line, obviously out to set the pace for their respective teams, as was Villoresi (Ferrari). At the end of the first lap there was a very strong impression that everyone was soft-pedalling and trying not to go too fast and Allard led the field, which was closely bunched among the faster cars.

An hour later and the order had settled down, although the average speed was enormous with over 175km being covered in the first hour by the leader, which was still Moss – followed by Villoresi, Rolt, Cole (Luigi Chinetti), Kling, Fangio, Sanesi (all three Alfa Romeo) and Fitch (Briggs Cunningham). It was now clear that the Jaguars were really a force to be reckoned with, as were Ferraris, while the Alfa Romeos looked as though they were taking the role that Mercedes played last year. The Talbots and Lancias were quite outclassed, as were the Aston Martins. The lap record continued to fall, going first to Sanesi and then to Villoresi, while the Ferrari pit forgot the regulations and topped up Hawthorn’s brake system with fluid before the specified 28 laps had been covered, thereby being disqualified. The Poore/Thompson Aston Martin was in trouble with its valve gear and then Moss dropped the lead to Villoresi and came into his pit for a spark plug change. Hamilton took over from Rolt and lapped steadily in 4mins 35secs, which was five seconds faster than last year’s record at a speed of 109.75mph, while Moss stopped again for plugs and then discovered the repeat issue was being caused by a dirty fuel filter. This was removed and the car then ran properly again, with he and Walker setting about getting back among the leaders of the pack.

Through the early hours of the night the Jaguar pace continued with little slackening of speed, lapping at 4mins 46secs in the darkness, and still the Ferrari of Ascari/Villoresi hounded away at their heels, occasionally taking the lead during pitstops, while the two Alfa Romeos were comfortably in third and fourth places, apparently content to sit and wait. The Moss/Walker Jaguar was pulling up and by midnight had got back into ninth place and one hour later was seventh. The speed and endurance of the Jaguars was nothing short of remarkable and the consistency with which Rolt/Hamilton circulated, with laps as quick as 4mins 37secs, was unbelievable. The small hours of the morning saw them still in the lead on distance and on handicap and with no sign of tiring, while the leading Ferrari was now losing ground, handicapped by having no clutch. By 3am another Alfa Romeo was out when the Sanesi/Carini car has its rear suspension collapse. Still the Jaguars went on, with the Whitehead/Stewart car now in fifth place behind the Fitch/Walters Cunningham. By now the field was reduced to 32 runners and if the pace did not slacken it looked as though many more would fall out, for it did not seem possible that the Jaguars could continue at this immense pace. Continue they did, however, and cars fell by the wayside at frequent intervals, but not the darlings of Coventry – they just went on and on, never missing a beat, while even the standard C-Type of the Belgians was running like clockwork.

The night had been very clear and fine, but as dawn approached a certain amount of damp mist hung about, making conditions very tiring for the drivers. Hamilton handed over to Rolt and remarked that he had just had the worst three hours of driving of his life. Their windscreen had been smashed early in the race and both were suffering from wind buffeting, but kept up the pace, nevertheless, with an average speed of well over 105mph. In the early hours all the Jaguars came in for routine pitstops; for fuel, oil and tyres and there was a moment of anxiety when the #20 Belgian car, driven by Laurent, stopped to investigate a loose plug lead just as the pits were preparing to receive Walker who was making up time fast and due to hand over to teammate Moss. The yellow car was put right and quickly shooed off, to the surprise of the driver who was unaware of the fast approaching works car.

By the time the early morning mists had cleared and the Jaguar pit was full of frying eggs and bacon, Rolt and Hamilton were still a lap ahead of the lame Ferrari which was nevertheless still going hard. Three laps behind came the Fitch/Walters Cunningham, a lap ahead of the Jaguars of Moss/Walker and Whitehead/Stewart. Two more Ferraris followed, the coupé of the Marzotto brothers, the open Cole/Chinetti model, the 2.5 Gordini, Cunningham and Spear in last year’s open car, Levegh/Pozzi with the only remaining Talbot, González and Biondetti with the first of the Lancias and the Belgian Jaguar. While everyone not driving was contemplating breakfast, a regrettable disaster happened at White House when Cole crashed in his Ferrari and was killed instantly.

As the leaders started the last hour, both Jaguars and Cunningham began to have their bonnets split, due to fastening catches breaking and Moss stopped to tear a piece of his away, as did the leading Cunningham, while Stewart looked to be in danger of losing the whole of the side of his bonnet. All the cars were still sounding very healthy and were lapping at over 100mph, and when 4pm arrived the whole Jaguar camp relaxed, sure in the knowledge that they had cracked up the whole of the Continental opposition with a two year old car and had more than made up for their disappointing showing of last year and their Mille Miglia retirements. Duncan Hamilton had driven across the finish line in his and Rolt’s #18 car after completing 304 laps of the course. Second place was awarded to the #17 C-Type driven by Moss and Walker, while the final car of the trio, #19, driven by Whitehead and Stewart came in fourth place. As a true testament to the reliability of the C-Type, the privately entered production C-Type driven by Roger Laurent and Charles de Tornaco for Ecurie Francorchamps and wearing #20, finished in a highly respectable ninth place.

The 1953 Le Mans race was also the first time in it’s 21 year history that speeds averaging over 100mph were recorded for the entire 24 hours! This momentous achievement was recorded by Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton driving their works C-Type and they averaged 105.85mph, thereby winning the special award for the first car to achieve more than 100mph for the 24 hours. So fast was the pace set by the leaders that the first seven finishers all averaged over the 100mph mark!

If you fancy watching a full-colour film of the 1953 race from Jaguar’s perspective, you will absolutely love the video below. Le Mans 1953: Impressions of a Great Race is a promotional film produced by Jaguar Cars Ltd, no doubt to capitalise on their win and push sales of their regular cars forward.

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The review…

So here we are with yet another CMC model! I’d like to thank them again for sending me this 1:18 Jaguar C-Type to review. Now is as good a time as any to plug my previous CMC reviews of the Talbot Lago, Lancia D50 and Ferrari D50 – so after you’ve read this one, spare a few hours to read those too! As per usual, we’ll go through the different variants of the 1:18 Jaguar C-Type that CMC will be releasing. So here goes……

• M-191 – 1952 Jaguar C-Type production car not officially based on any particular chassis number, but finished in the classic British Racing Green. Unlimited in production numbers and due for release in December 2018. RRP is €497.
• M-192 – 1954 Jaguar C-Type Lightweight in Ecurie Ecosse’s signature Flag Metallic Blue colours and based on chassis XKC052. This is technically the fourth place car from the 1953 Le Mans race that was sold to the Scottish-based scuderia in November 1953, before being repainted Flag Metallic Blue the following month and put into service as Jimmy Stewart’s car to race through May 1954, finishing first three times at Goodwood and once at National Ibsley. In early June, future Le Mans winner Roy Salvadori took over for Stewart, winning two events at Snetterton on 5th June before Stewart returned to finish first at Goodwood two days later. This exact car sold for $13.2 million in 2015 by the auction house, RM Sotheby’s. Limited to 1,500 pieces and due for release in Q1 2019. RRP is €499.
• M-193 – 1952 Jaguar C-Type production car in Carmen Red and based on chassis XKC023 currently owned by Dr. Christian Jenny. This particular chassis has a really interesting backstory and was considered lost for many years. You can read that amazing story here. Limited to 1,500 pieces and due for release in Q1 2019. RRP is €499.
• M-194 – 1952 Jaguar C-Type production car raced in the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans by Roger Laurent and Charles de Tornaco and based on chassis XKC047. This #20 car came ninth and is finished in the yellow paint of that race. Limited to 1,000 pieces and due for release in Q1 2019. RRP is €499.
• M-195 – 1953 Jaguar C-Type Lightweight in British Racing Green and based on chassis XKC051. This is the #18 car driven to victory during the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans by Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt and also achieved the highest average speed of 105.85mph during the race. This is probably the most coveted C-Type and will surely appeal to Le Mans aficionados. Limited to 1,500 pieces and due for release in Q1 2019. RRP is €499.
• M-196 – 1952 Jaguar C-Type production car in white and based on chassis XKC029. This is the #13 car entered into Carrera Panamericana in 1953 and 1954 by Javier Velázquez. It was driven by Francisco Ibarra and Fernando Pinal but ultimately did not finish either race due to mechanical failure. Nevertheless, CMC has decided to develop this for historical reasons and also the interesting colour scheme. Limited to 500 pieces, this variant has already sold out. Pricing and release date currently unknown.

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Now you’ve got the full history of the car locked in your mind and you know all the various versions CMC will be releasing, let us see how their 1:18 scale replica compares to the real car. It should be noted from the outset that CMC used Dr. Christian Jenny’s XKC023 car as the basis for their models – this is the car they scanned for their replica. Therefore that is the car I will be comparing the model to in terms of overall body shape and lines etc. for this review.

As is customary in my reviews, we’ll start by doing an external review and slowly make our way deep into the bowels of what promises to be yet another highly detailed CMC model car! Looking at the model from these angles gives you a real appreciation for the 1950s design. The sensual curves over the front and rear wheels, alongside that deep British Racing Green paintjob is a real visual treat – just look at the way the light moves over the bodywork!

A CMC model wouldn’t be complete without a suitably detailed undercarriage and the Jaguar C-Type certainly doesn’t disappoint. The metal panels, suspension and wheel assemblies in particular are my favourite points. It is from this view you start to see the claimed 1,155 parts that make up this model.

If I had to be picky, I would have liked to see the main exposed section, which I think is the oil sump, completed in a more metallic finish. But the image below gives a closer look at all the wiring and hoses snaking their way throughout the engine bay. This is exactly what you want to see on a CMC model and was deeply missed on their Ferrari D50 – especially when you compare it to the Lancia D50 before that. If you peer through that square porthole at the rear, you’ll get a cheeky view of the propshaft, rear axle and suspension setup.

I suppose one of the good things about spending as long as I do writing these reviews is that it gives me time to see what other, and often more astute people,have to say about a model. They often spot little details that I don’t. One such detail is the way the front end looks. At first I just couldn’t see what these naysayers were referring to, but after closely examining the model against pictures of the real car I definitely see it now. Even though CMC purportedly scanned Dr. Jenny’s car, the area immediately under the headlights is curved incorrectly. So much so, they seem to have created a very small but noticeable pinch point instead of the linear and smooth curve of the real car. I don’t have a direct comparison picture, but if you look at the pictures below of Jenny’s XKC023 chassis you should be able to see what I’m talking about. The headlights and housing are well replicated, but they should probably be seated in the apertures better in order to eliminate the gap you can see on the left hand light. 

The Jaguar badge above the chromed grille is good. It would be nigh on impossible to replicate the real badge with its metal relief of the Jaguar cat. Don’t you think it looks like someone has stood on the Jaguar’s tale – just look at the Big Cat’s face!! When viewed with the naked eye, CMC’s job is more than adequate.

The shape of the bonnet looks lovely and smooth, with curves in all the right places. The slats are cut all the way through the metal and you get a cool little peek into the engine bay beneath.

The bonnet shell is held down in part by these awesome genuine leather straps – one on each side. They look very similar to the leather three-way strap that keeps the spare wheel in place in the boot of CMC’s Talbot Lago model from late 2017. These straps are intended to provide an additional failsafe should the metal latches pop open in the event of a crash. They look great and are fully functional. You will note one of the bolts isn’t knocked in fully, however. I’ve also seen pictures of real cars that show only three bolts in a triangular pattern attaching each side of the strap to the body, although this might just be one of those situations where there were multiple designs?

Below are the aforementioned metal latches that you twist upwards once you have undone the leather straps. This then allows you to lift the entire front shell up to reveal the engine. A small error to note is the fact that the handles themselves are slightly too short. If you scroll back up to the side on view of the Jenny C-Type, you’ll notice that these handles should be longer and reach over the round metal bolt. A minor fault, but a fault all the same.

The door hinge design seems to be accurate and true to the 1:1 car. There is only one door on the Jaguar C-Type for the driver to get into their seat. You can see some sort of residue where those craftsmen in China have attached them to the door and body. Don’t forget, we are looking at the macro level here and this is much harder to spot with the human eye, but it is important to highlight it all the same.

That singular door is kept shut using a spring-loaded bolt that rubs up against the metal plate screwed into the door jamb. It gives a really satisfying clunk when you shut the door and a nice little click when you pry it back open. An excellent piece of engineering from CMC! They also saw fit to add the rubber strip around the door shutline to prevent water getting in. Although when you touch it, it is hard to the touch so this is probably not real rubber, but looks perfectly realistic nonetheless.

Moving onto more of the exterior features now and we come to the fuel filler cap mounted on the rear section behind the driver’s head. Finished in a lovely polished silver effect, the text and graphics look crisp and clear especially when you realise this cap has a diameter of just 6mm! I have noticed a historical error here – as you can see the chassis is given as XKC004. The first three chassis numbers were assigned to the 1951 Le Mans cars and XKC004 was the first production car built in 1952. The issue CMC have failed to notice is that XKC004 was actually painted in Pastel Green and not the British Racing Green of our 1:18 model up for review here. So this replica is technically historically inaccurate.

As an aside, XKC004 is noted as being the oldest C-Type in the world and was registered on 23rd May 1952. Interestingly, its first owner was Duncan Hamilton who of course was the 1953 Le Mans winner alongside Tony Rolt.

Pulling the little tab will allow you to open the filler cap. If you take a peek inside it looks like you’re looking right into the fuel tank as there appears to be an actual void under there!

There isn’t an awful lot to say about the rear lights, except the red plastic section is a lovely deep and rich shade. It does draw you in somewhat.

Running along the bottom of the rear, there is a removable panel that contains the spare wheel. To remove that panel, simply unscrew the two butterfly looking screws all the way (it takes a fair amount of turns) until the panel simply pops off to reveal the spare wheel inside. One thing to commend CMC for is the fact that they include a piece of foam inside this space to stop the wheel moving about in transit.

As you’d expect from CMC, the spare wheel can be fully removed which would be great for anyone wishing to cook up some sort of diorama scene.

Inside the spare wheel cavity, you can bet CMC wouldn’t skimp on the details. You can see sections of the lightweight tubular frame along with some componentry, possibly related to the rear brakes? Those metal brackets hanging down from the top lip of the aperture are obviously where the butterfly screws go into.

Perusing the flanks of the model now, and we start to look at the wheels and side vents.

The exhausts sit below the passenger side of the car. You’ve got the clamp holding together the twin exhaust pipes feeding into the muffler with the little bolt showing proud, plus the little bracket holding it all to the underside of the model itself. Something so small and simple, yet really serves to add some welcome extra detail to the model.

The angled twin pipes sticking out the side look good, although I have seen people complain about them for some reason. Perhaps they don’t like the shiny effect and maybe they’re looking for a more worn and used look?

Onto the wheels now and CMC usually knock this aspect of their models right out of the park. It honestly pains me to say this, but with this model I don’t believe it is the case, unfortunately! The wheel design has been a strong point of contention amongst collectors – so much so, that I know of a few who have point blank refused to part with their hard earned cash simply because of these wheels. I’ll now work through why. I won’t really comment on the authenticity of the tyres, because I doubt there’s any truly original ones out there on cars from nearly 70 years ago. I will say that they have excelled on the lettering around the sidewall – it is fully legible when viewed up close. The spokes are the issue. As per the Lancia and Ferrari D50, the craftsmanship is spot on, there can never be any doubt about that – the amount of physical dexterity required to thread those spokes through the rims should not be sniffed at.

If you compare the image above of the model with the image below from XKC007, you’ll notice how the spoke layout is completely different and therefore incorrect. The spokes are arranged in batches of three on the outside of the rim, with the middle spoke of each batch extending to the front section of the hub with a smaller diameter, whereas the two outer spokes of each batch criss-cross each other into the larger section of the central hub sitting further back. Not to mention the hub section itself is also inconsistent in design with the real car, where CMC should have at least made their assembly a more smooth cone shape leading up to the centre lock. As I always say, wheels and tyres are often the main culprits of messing up the overall look of a model. I fear CMC may have fallen foul of this for their 1:18 Jaguar C-Type.

The centre locking wheel nuts appear to be an accurate representation. In their literature, CMC is keen to point out that they have replicated the left and right-handed threads, which is great to see here. You can just about make out the word “UNDO” plus the directional arrow above the Jaguar script, with the “LEFT (NEAR) SIDE” text below it. Sadly, there is another mistake here as well. The centre locks on the right-hand side of the car are identified by their directional arrow pointing to the right, so that you have to twist clockwise to unscrew them. You will notice that the image of CMC’s centre locking nut below has the arrow pointing to the right, yet the text below says “LEFT NEAR SIDE” which is clearly incorrect – it should in fact say “RIGHT OFF SIDE”. Comparing it with the nut from the 1953 XKC051 chassis below will illustrate this key difference. At least they got the mirrored letter A’s in the Jaguar script correctly replicated.

Once you’ve removed the front wheels, this is the glorious sight you’re presented with. A myriad of details starting to jump out at you once you begin removing the layers of the CMC onion (and for some people spending almost €500 really does make them cry!). You see hints of the wishbones and hydraulic shock absorbers, the ducts that direct air into the engine bay and the back of the headlight housing. For me, this is what sets CMC apart from the rest of the pack, that ability to start taking the model apart and go rooting through the guts almost like a real mechanic would on a 1:1 car.

Removing the rear wheels doesn’t reveal too much of what lies beneath, but you can see those hydraulic shocks again.

Time to undress her a little bit more now by undoing the leather straps atop the bonnet, turning the handles ninety degrees upwards and lifting that curvy single-piece bonnet all the way up. What do you think? A stunning view for sure!

The first thing any potential buyer would inspect when checking the provenance of any Jaguar C-Type would be this plaque bolted to the inside wall of the engine bay. This plaque acts as the central “passport”, so to speak, to ensure all aspects of the car are genuine and match up. It details the chassis number, engine number, body number and gearbox number at the top, amongst other useful information below. These match up with the various tags around the car, with one being visible above this plaque on the picture of XKC007 below. It would have been nice had CMC included these tags around the car to add just that little bit more detail. I guess it would have also been nice to have the numbers legible on the plaque as well, but it is so small I can let it pass.

The electrics are to the left and that silver disc with a golden centre is actually the horn.

The underside of the bonnet shell is also well detailed, with the headlight housings and air ducts most notable. The long cable connecting the chassis and bonnet ensures it doesn’t tip all the way forward and hit the floor when opened up.

Just look at that engine bay – isn’t it beautiful?! To my eye it all looks very complete. I think the criticism levelled at the engine detail, or lack thereof, in CMC’s Lancia and Ferrari D50 models can be chucked right out the window on this one. The piping, cabling, metal clamps and especially the exhaust manifolds look great. If you look between the two pipes as they snake to the bottom of the engine bay and out into the muffler, you’ll notice a little gold piece sticking up with a metal ring attached. That is the dipstick for the engine oil and is exactly the kind of small detail CMC is renowned for. Well done guys!

I believe that the small rectangular metal piece attached to the bulkhead is actually a light that shines down onto the engine bay, presumably so it can be worked on in low light conditions. Pretty clever!

Here we get a better look at the triangular front axle with wishbones, hydraulic shock absorbers and longitudinal torsion bar suspension, which are all made of metal. It should be noted that the front wheels do steer just a little bit and are connected to the steering wheel in the cabin.

The fan that sits behind that iconic front grille looks good and you can also see the detailed rear view of the wheel assembly with the brake lines feeding in.

The cap for the radiator coolant reservoir is also present with some legible text on it, reminding you to “turn tight”.

The view through that perfectly curved windshield shows the steering wheel, rear view mirror and real leather seats. As mentioned earlier, it would have been nice to see CMC include the matching body tag on the wall behind the seats.

After the incorrect wheels, the second most complained about issue with CMC’s scale replica of the Jaguar C-Type is the tonneau cover over the passenger seat. Quite frankly CMC did a shocking job on this part and it is easy to see why. Firstly, the stitching is way too oversized and completely off scale. Secondly, there should actually be a zip running across the width of the cover that attaches it to the dashboard of the car, as shown on the real car below.

CMC’s solution to the missing zip is the use of two magnets that attract to the two little forks sticking out of the dashboard. Peeling it back gives us a better look inside the cabin of the Jaguar C-Type. From this bird’s eye view things look promising. Let’s swoop down for a closer view.

The dashboard is a real peach. The dials are fully legible and the steering wheel with Jaguar badge nicely replicated. You’ll also notice the Haldex Halda Tripmaster to the left of the dashboard. This served to accurately measure distance during a race – think of it as an odometer purely for each race.

Looking down at the central tunnel and we can see the four speed gearlever with handbrake to the left, all wrapped in silver coloured leather.  Great details. The soft carpet and piping around it are noteworthy too.

Finally, we come to the spare set of six spark plugs located in some holders in the driver’s side door sill. At the macro level these appear to be painted somewhat sloppily, especially as the tips should be fully silver. However, when you view them from a normal distance they look perfectly fine.

So that is the CMC 1:18 Jaguar C-Type in British Racing Green. What are my overall thoughts in summary? Are CMC back on the up and up after what some collectors considered disappointing models with the Lancia and Ferrari D50s?

More often than not, CMC has no direct rival for their models – in the sense that there is no other manufacturer who has produced the same model as them. This is partially true with their 1:18 Jaguar C-Type, because AUTOart did produce a 1:18 diecast version of the 1951 car and the #18 winner from the 1953 Le Mans race some years back. These seem to be currently selling for around the €110 to €160 mark on eBay. So is this CMC version really worth three to four times the cost of the AUTOart versions? That’s an easy YES from me! Unless you’re talking about AUTOart’s Pagani Zonda R or Huayra levels of quality and detail, the two brands don’t really belong in the same sentence. Let’s be brutally honest here, people. The real question potential buyers should be asking themselves is; “should I bother buying this model at all?” I believe this question is most pertinent with this particular model, more so than any other CMC model I’ve reviewed thus far. I think we can all agree that the engine and interior are great, no doubt about it. The wheel design and tonneau cover are the standout disappointments for me, because they are just so off the mark in what they could – and indeed should – be. Then you’ve got a few minor details like the directional text on the central locking wheel nuts, plus the historical inaccuracy of them identifying it as chassis XKC004 when we now know that chassis is painted in Pastel Green in real life.

As always, I could never tell you to definitely go and buy this model or indeed avoid it at all costs, as each and every collector has their own theme and must have criteria when they choose to buy a new model. I’ll let your wallets do the talking, but I’m curious to know if any of the highlighted issues during this review are enough to make you put your credit card away again. Thanks for reading!

Here is a little Easter Egg for you – images from the production line of this model. The sheer amount of tiny parts makes my eyes hurt!! Click here to see the images.

Thanks for reading this detailed review of the 1:18 CMC Jaguar C-Type in British Racing Green.

Other reviews by CMC:

• 1:18 CMC Ferrari D50 Review
• 1:18 CMC Lancia D50 Review
• 1:18 CMC Talbot Lago Coupe T150 C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Review