With no further delay here they are...
Now a few details before resuming the photos...don't worry I won't be long winded, the photos really sell these cars all on their own.
A few different threads have been done on these cars since their first sighting by alert members of Slot Car Illustrated. The cars are in scale, maybe about 2 scale-inches too wide. But personally I find that so minor as to be bearly worth metioning.
The slot cars weigh 98 grams and have around 313 grams of downforce as measured with a Magnet Marshal during recent tests.
With stock tires the Martini car did a lap of around 6.49 seconds around the East New York Raceway wood track (61 foot lap length). And after a change to Ortmann tires was made times dropped to a respectable 5.67. I must admit to having not yet been able to test these on my Carrera track...busy holiday season!
Much of the car hangs over the back wheels, this weight bias makes the car feel a bit tail heavy. Wait, did I just say a bit tail heavy? THESE CARS ALL ALMOST ALL TAIL and that's what makes them unique. But it doesn't take away from the driveability. I don't think they need anything added to weight them down, but then at 98 grams I'm not sure more weight is what these cars need.
The Kreepy Krauly/Momo livery:
From many photos I've seen of the Momo and Fitzpatrick cars, both the cars have wheels that are a slightly different design from the way Carrera's designers have decided to go.
And yes, inside that huge tail, painted flat black, is the rear end of the car. Working lights are there, but difficult to see unless you're pretty low when the car is driving away from you. The front lights are the typical bright Carrera lights that really are very nice and not too bright to be overpowering. Kudos to Carrera for making some rear end details that would have been easy to avoid making but do add quite a bit to the overall look of the car. And as you keep looking around on the car you'll find more details to catch your eye. For quite some time other company's have been known for making this level of detail, now Carrera (at a much more affordable price BTW) have taken their detail to the "Fly $60.00 level" without raising prices along with the details. Excellent IMHO.
The Martini Racing livery
The Fitzpatrick #79 Porsche
A word about the doors on this model. If you look closely you see that the doors are different from the other 2 models. This change really adds a lot to this model and I give Carrera credit for making something that really many company's might have avoided making this minor adjustment in design.
Overall these are some really great looking Porsche's. The only real "word on the street" is that the wheels on the Fitzpatrick and Momo cars are incorrect. Well that may be but if that's the only thing wrong, I'll take it. I'm glad Carrera have chose to make these Iconic cars and they've really gotten so much right with them that the wheels being off is a trade I'll take in exchange for getting the contours of the body so right.
Also I know it's sort of cliche to talk about how nice the printing is on slot cars, but these really stand out. The stripes on the Martini car are perfect. They're long delicate lines that accentuate the body lines. They're opaque and unwavering down the length of the body. The red used on the Momo car really is deep and quite a pleasing shade of red. It's not an orangey red or a brick red, it's a deep rich red that needs to be seen to properly be enjoyed.
Thanks to Carrera USA for getting these cars to me Thursday afternoon. I'm impressed they made it through the crush of Christmas mailing after arriving this week here in the US via airfreight.
DaveK
Publisher, Slot Car News
