If bad things come in three’s then good things come in four’s. This is the forth DM iteration of the 1969 GTO coupe. But WHAT an iteration! It takes the legendary form of the Royal Bobcat. Some history: Not unlike the Yenko dealership to Chevrolet, Royal Pontiac, in Michigan, was a dealership devoted to Pontiac performance enhancement. They warmed up factory stock iron to some outlandish giddy-up and go standards. Their signature series was simply called the Royal Bobcat.
DM scales the GTO coupe for 1969 to mimic the famous muscle car from that house of go fast. The color is immediately striking; Crystal Turquoise with white accents on hood, body sides and the full trunk. After allowing the body color to flow right up next to the white paint accents, Royal outlined the accent portions with another white border, this time adding a small red pinstripe. It also accentuated the top front fender and on to the upper frontal portion of each door ending with the official “Royal Bobcat” emblem.
Danbury masterfully recreated that paint scheme flawlessly. The red striping is almost imperceptible in its nicely scaled presentation. And all the emblems, “Hurst”, “GTO” and even the hood scripts, “Ram Air IV” are delicately scaled perfectly. The thin red line tires contrast the body paint and DM even fashioned license plate frames, fore and aft, to depict the Royal dealership logo pieces. The model features a readable hood tach, separately formed door and truck lock buttons and an accurately slanted extending antenna.
This model springs from a former tooling so do not expect the newer tech door hinges or scissors sprung hood hinges. But do expect not to miss them all that much. The interior, chassis, trunk detailing and engine bay model craftsmanship are still remarkable in this latest GTO release. When looking at the functioning suspension, check out the header pipes, a Royal add-on. The trunk is sophisticated and shows off the splatter paint floor, jacking instruction sticker, spare and jacking tools and the interior is faultlessly executed. Take note of the folding visors, photo-etched belt buckles, terrific dash, console and beautifully done floor mats. The steering wheel and shifter, with white cue ball shift knob, are a miniature delight.
The engine remains a stronghold of DM design and model manufacture. Proper stickers, battery cabling, wiring, hose and fuel line fabrication are all magnificent. This is a wonderful adaptation of history to an existing tooling and my compliments to DM for rendering it!
-Tony F Perrone
