Model #27134 is the latest Carrera Mustang....built to replicate the very successful real Mustang FR500C 5.0 Liter "Cammer" which on it's maiden run won the opening race of the 2005 Grand-Am Cup season at Daytona International Speedway.
The Mustang is a great companion to run with the recently released C6.R, although the pony is a bit slower than the bowtie in this case. And in real life the Corvette in a GT1 car and this Mustang is a GS car, and both race in different series...but that really doesn't matter much. They look good together so why not race them?
The body of the Mustang is well molded and nicely detailed inside and out. The stripes down the center of the body are crisp and the blue paint used is opaque. On the nose there is a bit of over spray but I don't expect that other examples of this car will have this since Carrera's paint application is usually quite good.
The xeon lights are very bright and if you're looking to do some night racin' these lights will show the way around the track.
The wheels on my test car weren't quite as smooth as I'd like. And after a bit of sanding the car smoothed out a bit, but still there was a bit of wobble on the East New York test wood track. As I suspected on the plastic track the car is very, very fast and smooth. No hint of the wobble that is exaggerated by the run on the wood track. Granted my new Carrera test track, the Fast & Furious set "only" comes with slightly more than 17' of track, but you can tell this car has potential both for plastic track guys and those of us with wood dust still floating in the air from track construction. One thing I did notice is that the guide on the Mustang tends to wobble but the recently released C6.R Corvette guide doesn't have this problem.
So a brief look inside and there's not much surprising in here. One thing that I did adjust was the wires for the lights were pulled tightly against the rear axle, and even with the few laps I'd done before opening the car up there was a bit of wear on the wires insulation. Not much to be sure, but it was there. The car has a half-pan interior, fantastic! Keep 'em coming, I just don't see the need for a full interior that makes company's either move the motor to the front, or worse yet..behind the rear axle!
The driver in the car is nicely done with some excellent detail on the helmet. And you can't tell from this shot but there's a fire extinguisher in there as well.The brakes on the car are great, the motor is more than ample for a short track and is good enough for a track over 50' even. The 100 gram car turned a fastest lap a 5.598 on the wood track with Ortmann tires and laps around 7 seconds with the stock tires. By comparison the Corvette C6.R turned laps around 7 seconds stock and 5.3 seconds with 20x11 Ortmann tires for Slot It wheels on the East New York track.
Overall this car is one that I'd absolutely suggest that people buy. There's a great model to run against it that Carrera already makes, and it's a strong runner that should be able to take the use/abuse of any "minor drivers" in your house. And the Cammer Mustang seems to have excellent potential to be a real racer. There is plenty of room inside the body for mods and in the wheel wells to put some fatter tires without having to do any cutting. The car has excellent detail and is a good car whether you like your slot cars with or without help from magnets.Thanks to Carrera USA for the car.
Dave K
Publisher, Slot Car News
