787B
Story
The Mazda 787B is the #55 car that won the 1991 Le Mans 24 Hours. It is historic on two counts: the first Japanese car to win Le Mans, and to this day the only rotary (Wankel) engined car to win the race.
The car's iconic orange-and-green colors belong to its sponsor, Renown (a Japanese clothing brand). At its heart is a four-rotor, naturally aspirated R26B rotary engine: around 700 horsepower, a light body (~830 kg), and famous for the shrill, screaming exhaust note it made at high revs. On top of that, 1991 was the last year rotary engines were permitted under the rules; from 1992 the switch was to 3.5-liter naturally aspirated engines. So this was a "now or never" moment for the rotary, and it won.
The car was driven by Volker Weidler, Johnny Herbert and Bertrand Gachot. The favorites were the Sauber-Mercedes and the Jaguars. But while the faster rivals ran into trouble, the 787B ran flawlessly and finished ahead of the Jaguars. Herbert drove the final stint, refused the planned driver change and brought the car all the way to the flag; he was so dehydrated that he had to be helped out of the car and could not make it onto the podium.
The model I have has an opening front and rear hood and a detailed engine.