Minichamps is a ie-cast car producer founded as Paul's Model Art GmbH in 1990 in Germany. The company officially changed its name to Minichamps GmbH in 1996. It produces die-cast models of the following categories: Formula 1, Racing cars, Street Cars, Motorcycles, Trucks & Buses, Military vehicles. The excellent quality of Minichamps' die-cast models has been appreciated not only by car manufacturers, many of whom, like Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Porsche and BMW, have entrusted Minichamps with the production of official car replicas, but also by model car collectors. In fact some of their 1/43 scale models are amongst the most sought after and most expensive die-cast cars. Maybe the best example is the McLaren F1 GTR West Promotion model made by Minichamps as a promo for the West cigarette company and which trades for well over $1000 on ebay. Another rare item produced by Minichamps was the Michael Schumacher Benetton B195 #17 which was recalled after an error was found: it can fetch over £1000.