Thursday July 24, 2003
In the
final race of the 2000 racing season in Adelaide, Australia Audi entered one of
their dominant R8 racecars in a very unique paint scheme. The car had a local
theme and had crocodile graphics adoring its body. This car went on to win the
race.
SCX produces 1/32 scale Audi R8 slot cars of the LeMans winning Joest team and in the light blue & orange Gulf colors. Recently they have released the “Crocodile” version and it is very impressive. This car is identical to the other earlier releases but has an unbelievable finish. The level of detail on the finish is just stunning. SCX has some great graphics on their cars, notable their World Rally cars, but this one is just fantastic!
The story of this car is the graphics. They are superb! The car is painted as a croc in the water. The center-section of the body the body of the croc with its eyes on the centerline of the front axle. Other parts are blue for water with tropical plants and animals is painted in the background. My favorite part is the fish jumping out of the water as if to catch a morsel of food its mouth open wide is the prominent air intakes just in front of the rear wheel arches.
The rest of the car is typical SCX Audi R8. The body modeling and molding is very nicely done. A full cockpit with driver is included. The body is held on with five screws revealing the chassis has a full pan which extends in front of the body. This is a great design detail as the chassis pan takes the energy of a front impact and not the body.
The front guide is self-centering and spring loaded. There are no wires for the motor, the electrical current is carried by metal strips integrated into the chassis. SCX cars use a very strong magnet held that is adjustable and removable with two tiny Phillips head screws. Brass bearings are used for the rear axle.
The SCX cars seem to need more power than other slot car brands. This will be noticeable when raced against the different slot cars. These cars will seem slow. For those wanting more performance I recommend buying the SCX motor upgrade. But when run against another SCX Audi R8 this car is really fun! That’s why I got this car. Some of my friends had the other SCX Audi R8s and I needed something to race with them. These cars produce lap after lap of very tight racing with the determining factor being the skill and luck of the driver. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
I
did not have the foresight to pre-order one of these beautiful cars. Luckily
one of my friends ordered two from Slot Car World and was willing to part with
one for this review. I highly recommend pre-ordering any slot car that you
just gotta have!
Rich
Join us in the Home Racing World Message Forum and let us hear your thoughts about this model, or just the hobby in general!
