Beautiful Beetle

Replicarz 1958 Scarab MKII Riverside Winner—Chuck Daigh

1:18 | $270

In ancient Egyptian lore, the Scarab beetle is a symbol associated with rebirth or regeneration, which is particularly relevant to the beautiful Scarab sports racer that Chuck Daigh drove to victory at the 1958 Riverside Grand Prix, the team’s first. Daigh had been an engineer and driver for Lance Reventlow’s Scarab team since the beginning, and beating the likes of Phil Hill in a factory Ferrari at Riverside was a huge accomplishment for the team; they went on to win the 1958 SCCA National Sports Car Championship. That propelled the Scarab team into Formula 1, so they sold off two of the sports cars— including Daigh’s winner—to help finance the move. This car would end up in the hands of Nickey Chevrolet and get reincarnated with a vibrant purple livery for the 1959 season (a model of which Replicarz also makes and we reviewed in the Spring 2018 issue). Scarabs are beautiful and fast and have a wonderful story behind them—the perfect storm for a collectible. Unlike so many resin models, Replicarz’ Scarab has an opening hood, providing detail on the Hilborn-injected Chevy small block—sweet!—as well as a detailed interior.