The Art of Collecting Diecast Cars

Mr. Adil Jal Darukhanawala is not someone who has been spoken about for the first time. A pioneer of automotive reporting and journalism for almost four decades, Adil has been the editor of India’s most prolific automotive magazines such as, Bike India (of Bike UK), Car India (of Car UK) and Overdrive before initiating the boom of automotive websites in the country. Over the years that he has persistently documented his experiences in motoring (which are so vast we can’t even begin covering them all here), Adil has been a devoted collector of diecast cars. His collection today stands at and incredible 10,000 diecast cars that continues to grow, while including some rarest collectors model cars such; like an extremely rare Formula Nippon car that was driven by Michael Schumacher briefly during the early 1990s. Another jewel in Adil’s collection is a rare diecast model of a 1948 Ferrari 125 F1, the Italian’s first Formula One car. Only 50 scale models of the car were hand built specifically to be sold at the 1990 Monte Carlo Grand Prix.

With more than 4-decades of collecting model cars, Adil is one of the biggest collectors not just in the country but also around the world. Talking to him about his diecast model car collection, for me, went beyond the world of miniature car models. It was a deep dive into motoring culture, the heroes and their incredible feats that brought us the modern machines we revel today. One thing was clear though … to truly understand the art of collecting diecast cars, we have to start from the very beginning.

How to Collect Diecast Cars!

In many ways, diecast car models are equivalent to fine mechanical timepieces. Just like how the value and rarity of a mechanical watch increases with the number of complications it has, a diecast car’s value and rarity increases with the number of moving parts it has. Some of the more expensive diecast model cars feature functioning parts such as a moving set of suspensions, steering, doors, mirrors and openable bonnet and boot. The size of the scale model also plays an important role in determining the value of the diecast car model. Generally, the larger the size of the model car, the more its value. For example, 1:18 diecast cars would be more valuable than 1:43 scale cars. While most common manufacturers give out licences to manufacture diecast car models to several vendors, some companies like Bugatti and Ferrari keep their licensing more exclusive, making their diecast vehicles valued higher than others.

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