[1][2] The company was founded as "Martoys" by the Besana brothers, Ugo, Martino, and Mario, who sold their first well-known brand Mebetoys to Mattel.

In 1976, after only two years, the Besana brothers renamed the brand "Bburago", with two 'B's at the beginning of the name signifying the surname of the founders as well as the city of Burago di Molgora where the company was based.

[6] These models were: Renault Alpine (and Alpine rally), Porsche 911 (S, Carrera RS, and "Polizei"), Fiat 127 (plain, "vigili urbani", and rally), Lancia Stratos (Marlboro or Alitalia), Range Rover (plain and airport fire), Renault 5, BMW 3.0 CS, Lancia Beta, and Audi 80GT.

In that catalog, the Audi, BMW, Lancia Beta, Renault 5 and Range Rover were portrayed with photographs of real vehicles, not the models, so there is some doubt about whether all of the proposed line was produced under the Martoys brand, or if some were as yet under development - to be later introduced after the name change to Bburago.

Models were attractive and well-done but this was when larger scales were just becoming (along with Polistil) popular as toys for easier rendering of details - yet before collector and consumer demand for near-perfect rendition occurred through the 1990s.

The BMW 3.0 CS simply could not capture the delicate fender curves of the real car and grille proportions were squarish.

As with Polistil's S-series, the box designs did not have the transparent plastic window to see the real model inside that became the standard for all larger-scale toys later on.

Bburago's trek, even under an onslaught of larger-scale toys and collectibles has lasted since its inception, though it was finally acquired by the May Cheong Group in 2006 after facing bankruptcy, a fate similar to competitor Polistil.

[10] Continuing the Martoys lineup, however, most models were produced initially in 1/24 scale and mostly represented contemporary European sports and saloon cars.

Bburago was also a contemporary of the mail order offerings of the Franklin Mint Precision Models which were pricier, but sometimes of spotty quality.

[11] Differences in the ranges are hard to discern, but the Super line was more aligned with classic cars, while the Gold series had more deluxe packaging.

The Super series included many normal coupes, sedans, and micro cars in rally and police liveries, with 45 different models.

These parts sometimes hindered fit and finish, and, after extended play, would stretch or bend, causing hoods and doors to not close properly.

Some of these competitors were Exoto, Maisto, Yatming, Ertl, Mira, Revell, Jouef, Chrono, Anson and also Mattel (under their Hot Wheels brand), to name a few.

Fortunately, the venerable brand name of Bburago was not left to die as it was finally purchased by May Cheong (Maisto) from the bankruptcy court in 2006.

Although, Bburago would go on to produce Ferrari scale models once again, but this time it would be under its new owners after the contract was granted to parent company May Cheong Group.

In order for both lines to be successful, it was decided by the new owners to make Bburago's offerings of scale models oriented to European vehicles.