# Surtees TS20 Team Surtees No. 18 Rupert Keegan Spanish GP 1978 Spark Model 1:43

> A resin 1:43 scale model of the final Formula 1 car fielded by Team Surtees, carrying Rupert Keegan's race number 18 from the 4 June 1978 Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama — one of the few collectables tied to this privateer outfit's last season.

The Surtees TS20 occupies a specific and underrepresented corner of late-1970s Formula 1 history. Spark Model brings it into 1:43 in the orange and white livery worn at Jarama, locking in a moment from a team that ceased operations at the end of 1978. For collectors focused on the Ford Cosworth DFV era, this resin model fills a gap that die-cast ranges have consistently overlooked.

## The TS20: Last Chassis from a World Champion's Constructor

The Surtees TS20 was a direct evolution of the TS19 and was prepared by Team Surtees for the 1978 Formula 1 World Championship. Like the majority of privateer entries of the period, it was powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0-litre V8 — the engine that democratised grand prix racing in the late 1960s and remained the backmarker's default choice well into the 1980s. The TS20 ran a limited programme of 1978 Grands Prix before the team closed at the season's end.

## John Surtees, Rupert Keegan and Jarama 1978

Team Surtees was founded by John Surtees, the 1964 Formula 1 World Champion and the only man to hold world titles on both two wheels and four. The team's final season brought British pay driver Rupert Keegan — born 1955, a veteran of Hesketh and other backmarker outfits — to the cockpit. At the 1978 Spanish Grand Prix on 4 June at Circuito del Jarama, Keegan ran number 18 and started from the back of the grid. Mario Andretti's Lotus 78 took the win; Keegan did not finish. It was the kind of hard afternoon that defined Team Surtees' 1978 campaign.

## Spark Model at 1:43: Resin for the Overlooked Grid

Spark Model produces resin 1:43 Formula 1 models specifically targeting historic and rare machinery that die-cast manufacturers bypass. The TS20 No. 18 is a prime example: resin construction allows crisp surface detail on aerodynamic bodywork, and the orange and white livery is rendered accurately across the narrow one-piece body. Resin 1:43 models carry no opening parts — detail is concentrated on external surfaces, bodywork graphics and period-correct livery application.

## In the Display Cabinet: Placing the TS20 in Context

A 1:43 Formula 1 car occupies roughly 10–11 cm of shelf length, making the TS20 a compact but visually distinctive piece — the orange bodywork reads clearly against the darker liveries of 1978 frontrunners. It sits logically alongside a Lotus 78 in Andretti's JPS black and gold, a Ferrari 312T3, or fellow privateer entries from the same season such as the Ensign or Wolf. For anyone building a complete 1978 grid in 1:43, the Surtees TS20 is one of the harder slots to fill — and one of the most historically resonant.

## Details

- **Price:** 87.9 EUR
- **Vendor:** SPARK MODEL
- **Type:** RACING CARS
- **Tags:** 1:43, ai-foto, ai-published, F1, RACING CARS, SPARK MODEL, SURTEES

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 87.90 EUR | In stock |

## Images

- Surtees F1 Ts20 1978 1:43 scale model car by SPARK MODEL — Vroomi
- Surtees F1 Ts20 1978 1:43 scale model car by SPARK MODEL — Vroomi

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> Source: [Vroomi](https://vroomimodels.com/products/surtees-f1-ts20-n-18-spain-gp-1978-rupert-keegan-orange-white)
> Updated: 2026-10-15