Wednesday April 13, 2005

New Scalextric Sport
Maserati Coupe Cambiocorsa

The very latest from Scalextric is a model based on a series with Maserati as it made its official return to motor racing in 2003, with the launch of the Maserati Trofeo (Italian for ‘Trophy’) championship for identical V8 Coupe Cambiocorsa cars. Although this series isn't that popular here, the name Maserati certainly is and although it took me awhile, I finally decided to pick one up to try out on our track.

As I searched the web and discovered more about this small series, the images of the 1:1 prototype showed me that Scalextric has done an excellent job in re-creating it in our scale. The overall fit and finish of this car is right on par with most other Scalextric releases with excellent Tampo-stamped graphics and near flawless paint-work through-out.

The livery shown here may not appeal to all of you as it certainly is "busy", but it does match the prototype very well. A nearly full interior is well done too with clean dash-board markings and new driver figure. One of the nice features of this model is that it is lighted both front and rear (no brake lights though). Not all racers agree, but I like the lights not only because night racing is a lot of fun for us, but it just adds more scale realism to the model.

Wheels and tires are also nicely done and were also very round and true. The wheels match the prototype closely and have visible brake rotor detail. The tires are of a soft compound and grip the track very well right out of the box. The strong bar magnet certainly helps this of course, but I doubt if I change to silicones anytime soon. If you do want silicones, the Indygrips number you need is #IG 1011.

Ready To Run?

As usual, right out of the box this model was decently smooth and quiet. We made around 50 laps with it and although it is a little too stuck down for my tastes, it more than passes the out of box test. Lap times were very impressive with an average of 3.8 seconds with a best lap of 3.7, and this is just how I expected this model to run. This makes it a close match with the Viper, but the edge still goes to the Maserati in box stock form. The one thing that could be better is if Scalextric ever decided to equip their models with a guide with a decent amount of depth. I mention this because many enthusiasts enjoy running these models non-magnet, and without the added magnetic traction to pin the model to the track, you are going to need some weight up front to help keep the guide in the slot.

Looking Inside

6 screws hold the body to the chassis and are easily removed. Inside we see that this model comes with the motor in the sidewinder configuration equipped with an 11 tooth pinion that turns a 36 tooth spur gear. Our model did have some excess side-to-side free-play in the rear axle, so I shimmed one side to help minimize it. It is not necessary for you to do this, I just felt there was too much for my tastes so out came the shim box to fix it up quickly.

Given that this is the "Sport" version, this model comes equipped with a harder rear axle and metal bushings. So, if you decide to remove this body, go ahead and add a drop of oil on these bushings.

I sanded the tires and added a few drops of oil to the axle bushings and each end of the motor. Lap times fell to an average of 3.6, which is not a lot but just shows how a clean and true tire can make a difference. Now I wanted to see how the car would react by moving the bar magnet to front position as I like my models with a little less drag.

Turning Up The Fun  Factor

Moving this magnet forward is where this car really became a lot of fun for us. It allowed the model to slide easier and helped minimize the magnet break-away effect. It also made the model a very close match for the Viper as we soon found out. It isn't a perfect match, but close enough so that we were pretty much fender to fender for almost 50 laps. Our lap times were around the 4.2 second range, but lap lower times do not always equate to more fun. Challenging yet EVEN racing means more to us than just a low lap time and this is the set-up where we will leave the car.

Although I was skeptical of this model at first, after racing with it for almost a week has shown it accomplishes what it is designed to do: Have Fun. Depending on your taste for models will dictate if you add this to your current collection, but if you do I think you will be happy. Sometimes models like this sneak up on you and are more fun than you expected and such was the case with this one.

-Harry

As always feel free to contact me about this article or just the hobby in general at harry@homeracingworld.com, or better yet drop into our Message Forum and share your thoughts with other enthusiasts!

Thanks Go To SLOTCARPLACE For Providing Us With This Model!