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Diecast cars

1973 Toyota Celica Liftback GT2000

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Autoart nails the sexy Japanese ‘Mustang’ look …

I came of driving age in the early 1970s and while I drove a snazzy copper-colored Plymouth Duster, which I thought beautiful, the Japanese makes were just getting their footing in the U.S. market. Most models were boring, but to me, the “hot” car was Toyota’s Celica Liftback GT.

It was a mini Mustang, and I say that with all due respect for both.

But by the mid-1970s Ford’s Mustang had grown bulky and ugly and then came the Mustang II. Ugh!

Yet Toyota had nailed the long-hood, fastback design, was reliable, and fairly affordable. In short, a winner!

Now Autoart turns its considerable modeling talents to a right-hand drive 1973 model of the Celica Liftback 2000GT in 1:18 scale and it’s a beauty.

Believe me, this IS Moss Green, but is so dark it looks black unless in direct sun.

The History

Celica launched as a coupe and notchback version of the Toyota Corina at the 1970 Tokyo Auto Show. Its name was derived from the Latin word coeliac, meaning heavenly or celestial. Perfect!

Sales were good in Japan and by 1973 it had relabeled its hatchback as a Liftback GT that would ultimately be exported to the US for the 1976 model year. Its lines were Mustang-like and indeed the designers were intending Celica for a similar market in Japan, folks wanting a sporty fun coupe, which the fastback look and lightweight execution along with a performance-oriented engine assured.

The rear-drive Celica boasted a 1600cc I4 with twin Mikuni-Solex carbs that delivered about 96 horsepower via a four-speed manual or automatic. But the Liftback GT had 143 horsepower coming from a 2.0-liter I4, and weighed just 2,295 pounds. That 2.0-liter led to the Celica Liftback 2000GT nameplate and was known as the RA25 version within Toyota.

By the time it hit US shores, the GT developed 95 horses from a 2.2-liter I4, but with a top speed of 109 mph. It rode on a 98-inch wheelbase and was just 174 inches long and weighing 2,615 lbs. All Liftbacks here had flat noses vs. a slanting nose on earlier Japanese models and there was no B-pillar. Additionally the rear quarter windows were fixed, so would not roll down. C-pillar louvers and vertical bar taillights were featured, again looking much like a 1968 Mustang.

 The Model

               This 1973 model is as the car appeared in Japan as the RA25 version, but looks much like the US model, aside from being right-hand drive. This sample model is a dark Moss Green, so deep that it looks black in less than bright sunlight.

               Autoart’s detailing is superb with chrome trim around all the windows, those C-pillar louvers, the door handles, an antenna stub, racy mirrors mounted far forward on the front fenders as was common in Japan, and naturally the front and rear bumpers. Even the leading edge of the hood includes a slim delicate chrome trim and there’s more along the rocker panel, just below the GT 2000 racing stripe on each side.

               Celica’s hood opens from the rear and reveals an absolutely stunning engine bay, one of the best I can recall on a 1:18 scale model not costing $300+. This looks like an engine compartment at the dealer’s showroom, clean and tidy with the I4’s header proudly labeled Toyota in silver and a detailed oil filler cap there too. All the wiring and plumbing is in place and there’s a battery, shock tower caps, all fluid bottles including a clear plastic windshield cleaner container on the firewall. Also visible are the radiator, air cleaner, which lays off to the driver’s side by at the car’s nose, plus throttle body hookups, etc. Wow!

               There are black vents (three stacks per side) atop the hood, tasteful but racy, while the black grille appears to be photo-etched with a snazzy GT logo. Headlights are clear, but displaying proper depth for a realistic look, and a front license plate proclaims Celica LB 2000GT, as does one on the tail.

               Celica’s 5 vertical bar taillights are excellent too with the outer bar being amber with the others red. A fine GT 2000 logo sits mid-tail and a silver Liftback label appears just below that sleek slanting rear window. A chrome Toyota badge is on the hatch’s lower right edge and below the chrome bumper is a lone long tailpipe extending from the left side.

               There’s a Celica label and emblem on each rear quarter panel, just beyond the door’s rear edge, and up front on the fenders are amber marker lights.

               Tires are black sidewalls with black Dunlap GP Sport labeling that requires a magnifying glass to read.  Wheels are chrome rimmed with black centers and a red and chrome cap.

               Inside the Celica features black bucket seats and snazzy detailing all around, from the silver inset buttons on the seats to a control lever on the seatback’s side. Door panels are well shaped and accessorized too with chrome window cranks and door trim.

               Celica’s dash is highly detailed with seven round gauges of various sizes, all trimmed in silver and with faces that are nearly readable but would require a magnifier to properly view. A fine looking console includes a clock, rectangular air vents, a black handled shifter, and there’s a parking brake handle between the seats too. Steering wheel is black with a fan-shaped four-spoke center, and Autoart completes the interior’s sporty look with a chrome kick plate on each side of the door frame.

               Flip up that huge hatch and there are hydraulic tube struts to hold it aloft, a couple of belts to hold luggage in place and a flocked cargo floor and rear seatback.

               Autoart delivers as near a perfect model of the Celica GT as one can imagine, and if you loved this Toyota hallmark of a car, or even still prefer the original Mustang, this is a keeper. The two would look great displayed side-by-side!        

Vital Stats: 1973 Toyota Celica 2000 GT (Moss Green)

Maker: Autoart
Scale: 1/18
Stock No.: 78768
MSRP: $200

Link: Autoartmodels.com

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Diecast cars

Toyota Century, 2018 Limo

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AutoArt’s 1:18 beauty is the epitome of Japanese luxury …

To most of us, me included, we think of Toyota car badges like Camry, Corolla and Celica, but Century? Welcome to the luxury limo world, one few of us live in and in the States, the luxo-liner Century is virtually invisible.

But in Japan the car is a symbol of wealth and prestige, what many consider the Rolls-Royce of Japanese cars.

That’s fine, and probably deserved since even Toyota’s Lexus brand garners attention for its near perfect build quality. But with Century it’s not the average Joe or Asahi being chauffeured about. It’s the big money execs and famous folks being driven to their exclusive homes or hotels curtained off in the rear seat.

Despite few of us in the States hearing about it, Century was launched in 1967 as the premier Toyota and happened to coincide with Toyota Industries founder Sakichi Toyoda’s 100 birthday. Get it? Century!

Now AutoArt has gone and created a 2018 Century in 1:18 scale in multiple dignified colors, two offering the limo with curtains hanging in the rear windows. Cool!

The History

A bit of history beyond Century’s origins in 1967, it was the first rear-drive, front-engine Japanese car with a mass-produced V8 and later a V12.

The stately first generation lasted 30 years until the second gen launched in 1997. That was replaced by the third in 2018 and still carries the styling cues of a Lincoln, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and a touch of Rolls. This third gen is the one AutoArt has so deliciously delivered.

Century started on Toyota’s Crown platform, debuting with an aluminum alloy block 2.6-liter V8 generating just 150 horsepower. Remember this was 1967. By 1973 it had a 3.4-liter V8 and in 1992 that was upgraded to a 4.0-liter model. A 2-foot longer limo version arrived in 1989.

The second gen upgraded to Japan’s first V12 making 276 horsepower for the home market and 295 horses for exported models. Along the way automatic climate controls were first used in Century, then reclining rear seats with a massaging feature and power footrest. All those back seat wonders now are available in the large Lexus LS sedan.

Soft-closing doors is another feature first found in Century. These are offered in a variety of high-end sedans now where the doors electronically pull themselves shut once partially closed by the occupants. In back there also is an 11-inch screen and wood trim everywhere, plus the car comes with a noise cancellation system, double-glazed windows, and four mufflers. It’s quiet inside!

This third gen has all that and a more powerful 5.0-liter V8 with hybrid system to boost gas mileage from what had been 24 to 32 mpg. Power jumps to 425 horses and is put to the pavement via an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission (eCVT) for smoothness and efficiency.

The lacy curtains are embedded in the glass, so will stay pristine over time.

Century now rides on a massive 122-inch wheelbase, is 210 inches long, weighs about 5,200 pounds, rides on a revised air suspension and is bathed in seven layers of paint. To assure luxury build quality Toyota assembles (much by hand) just 50 a month.

Oh, and you’d need about $180,000 to buy one, if they were sold in the US. They are not.

 The Model

What strikes you about this Seika Radiant Silver Metallic model is the chrome, from the finely presented narrow vertical bars in the grille to the trim around windows and front and rear bumpers, including lower cladding along the rocker panels. All align perfectly to carry the chrome theme nose to tail.

Not only great door detail, but a superb dash and console too.

But the interior if fabulous. Open up all four doors and the rock star interior features lacy gray curtains in the rear side windows and back windshield. On the real car these are crocheted lace and they reflect that look here, but are wisely embedded in the clear plastic windows so as not to soil over time or be damaged by handling.

The curtains are partially open so I suppose the celebrity, or his or her handler, will have to shut them for privacy.

Beyond the curtains, the right-hand-drive Century features wood-look trim atop the doors, door armrests, seatbacks and dash. It’s a bit shiny, but still impressive.

Wood trim and realistic console and screen make the rear seat special here!

All the detailing looks realistic in here too from the big rear seat console with glass-like touchscreen and big screen behind and between the front seats, even a couple of air ducts above that screen. The dash is loaded with buttons, knobs, a big info screen, and detailed digital driver’s screen. Even the gearshift knob is sufficiently thick and includes appropriate markings for each gear in the gate. The black steering wheel has a thick three-spoke hub.

Seats are gray and resembled leather, which is optional on the car. Wool seats are standard as they are quieter to sit in, and get out of, than leather, so preferred in Japan. No rude noises allowed!

AutoArt includes shoulder harnesses with photo-etched metal clasps and mold in the appropriate power adjustment buttons on the side of each seat’s lower cushion.

Flip up the hood and like most of today’s cars, the Century’s V8 and hybrid system are covered with a gray/silver plastic shroud with the remainder of the under-hood area covered in black plastic, so no fluid bottles, dipsticks, etc. are visible. Pretty boring, but realistic.

Note, the hood is released via a tiny black lever under the car’s nose, otherwise latches in place.

Naturally the hood, trunk lid and all four doors open, plus those front wheels are steerable, actually turning the steering wheel.

Other exterior features include realistic taillights and jewel-like headlights with each lamp featuring twin rectangular settings with twin bulbs in each lamp. There also are horizontal bar-shaped turn signals embedded in the front bumper.

The gothic C logo is atop the hood, the gold phoenix logo on the grille!
The gothic C with Hybrid label below is centered on the C-pillar.

Atop the hood is a fine gothic style C emblem that represents the Century name while centered in the grille and on the trunk’s face between the taillights is the gold phoenix logo, the traditional Fushichō badge that has its origins in Sinospheric mythology. Hey, that’s what I read. On the real car it takes an artist six weeks to hand engrave these. Wow!

That Century gothic C is also in badges on the C-pillars with the term Hybrid below. I tried magnifying these to see the word. I can tell it’s there, but hard to read. Hope your eyes are better than mine.

The phoenix is on the wheel cover, but tires are unbranded.

Tires are treaded, but not branded and the sharp sunburst style wheel covers are chromed and feature the phoenix logo inside the center ring.

All these features come at a price, but then this is a luxury limo, with an MSRP of $250.

Silver not your thing? The Century also is available in black with curtains, or black or white without. C’mon, you gotta have the curtains.

There’s also a sportier (sort of) GRMN model, the abbreviation standing for Gazoo Racing (Toyota’s long-time team) Meister of Nürburgring, costing $10 less and a black version for the US market, although still right-hand drive, for $230.

The Century’s headlights are beautifully reproduced.

Vital DC Stats: Toyota Century (w/curtains)

Maker: Autoart
Scale: 1/18
Stock No.: 78770
MSRP: $250

Link: Autoartmodels.com

#Toyota

Diecast cars

Lamborghini Diablo SE30

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Autoart’s 1:18 scale Diablo worthy of its special edition status …

Lamborghini may be younger than Ferrari, but its slippery looking cars are equally beautiful, daring, and powerful.

So when Lambo’s 30th anniversary rolled around in 1993 it wasn’t shy about introducing a limited edition Diablo SE30, as in Special Edition 30th Anniversary. Like the regular Diablo (Devil) it was a beast meant for racing and just 150 were to be made.

Lucky for us collectors that Autoart has recently released its 1:18 scale version of the SE30 in a variety of colors. Originally the special Diablos were metallic lavender, a spectacular color, but not for everyone’s taste. The review car is a sizzling metallic blue known as Blu Sirena. (Sounds like a sad tennis player!)

The Diablo looks like a flying blue wedge with a dynamic spoiler on its tail.

The History

All the Diablo SE30s were built in 1994 and early 1995 featuring Lamborghini’s naturally aspirated 5.7-liter V12 that made a whopping (for the era) 525 horsepower and top speed of 207 mph. Reports at the time put its acceleration from 0 to 60 mph at 4 seconds even, impressive but now that’s something even souped up SUVs and pickups can do.

Race versions got Lambo’s JOTA engine upgrades but all SE30 models were built as lightweights since it was hoped they would be raced in GT championships around the world. No power seats or air conditioning or radio in these models and the side windows, which were synthetic glass (lighter weight), also weren’t powered. This exotic was all about speed.

Seats were carbon fiber shells and featured a special material that helped hold the driver and passenger in place while the Spartan dash featured white dial faces and below were perforated aluminum pedals.

Outside, the aluminum body had small bits of carbon fiber for side air intakes and a big rear spoiler that curved down toward the body to improve handling while the center portion was adjustable to aid downforce.

Special to the SE30 was a black and gold engine, the headers being gold. Intake manifolds were magnesium and the engine included new cylinder heads, again to cut weight and boost performance.

The Model

               This isn’t Autoart’s first car corral. It continues to deliver pristine and perfectly styled models with fabulous paint jobs. The Diablo continues that cycle of successes.

               Everything opens up here, the frunk, the engine cover, the scissor doors and the roll-away headlights even roll up with a small lever beneath the car’s nose.

The roll-away headlights operate with a lever beneath the nose.

               Those lights look convincing, but for display purposes the Lambo looks much sexier with the lights hidden away. And while it’s cool the frunk lid opens up front there’s not much to see inside, a flocked floor and a couple stickers on the firewall. Still, high marks here for authenticity.

               There are a variety of other lights and amber turn signal lamps up front along with a Lamborghini logo on the nose and a chin spoiler below.

               A single giant black windshield wiper rests at the bottom of the Lambo’s massive sloping windshield and the proper hood air intakes are well shaped with tiny black screens inset while the same can be said for the stylish side scalloped scoops that end before the rear wheels.

               This special edition used a Miura-like louvered engine cover that perfectly blends into the car’s long tail and somewhat reflects the rear spoiler’s shape.

Sharp engine detail with a Lambo logo and gold header covers.

               Flip up the engine cover, which is well supported by two black struts and there’s the big V12 with its gold header covers with Lamborghini embossed atop each. Plus, there’s another Lambo bull logo in gold on the black engine cover, and of course black hoses and a silver radiator with labeling.

               This Lamborghini’s tail is unique too with a split design, the big round taillights on the upper portion along with black screening between them and silver Lambo and 30th Anniversary logos. Then there’s the split and a large rear bumper/body extension with reflectors and backup lights, plus quad aluminum-tipped exhausts. You can almost hear the exhausts rumble!

Wide PZero tires and OZ-Racing wheels add flare.

               Tires are thick and wide aggressively treaded numbers with PZero labeling, but no Pirelli lettering. While the wheels are matte silver five-hole designs with OZ-Racing labels as these were new designs for the special edition. Behind the wheels are giant drilled disc brake rotors too. Oh, and the front wheels are steerable.

               Inside, the two-seat cockpit is black with realistic looking blue four-point belts with photo-etched metal clasps on the bucket seats. Other highlights include the white-faced gauges, a flat-bottom steering wheel and nicely detailed center stack and shifter on the console with a chrome-trimmed shift gate cover. There’s even a red button on that stack which would engage a fire extinguisher in the real car.

Cool blue cloth shoulder harnesses with photo-etch metal clasps add detail.

               One final touch, a 30th Anniversary logo just inside the cockpit’s driver’s side rear window, and of course large side mirrors with real mirrored faces.

               Need more? I don’t think so, unless it was one of the 150 made sitting in your driveway. But instead of spending millions, not to mention insurance payments that even Progressive’s Flo couldn’t touch, this 1:18 beauty can be yours for $250, and in four colors, this sparkling blue, plus black metallic, metallic purple or metallic yellow. Then there are the racier JOTA versions for the same price and in the metallic purple, metallic silver or white pearl.

               There’s not a bad looker in this bull ring, but this blue version or the purple one seem the standouts!

Vital Stats: Lamborghini Diablo SE30

Maker: Autoart
Scale: 1/18
Stock No.: 79156

MSRP: $250

Link: Autoartmodels.com

#Lamborghini

#Autoart

#Diablo

Diecast cars

McLaren 600LT

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Autoart creates a racy 1:18 scale Long Tail version …

McLaren knows a little something about supercars, and what it doesn’t know could be put inside an engineer’s pocket protector.

So when the British firm rejiggered its 570S supercar to create something a little less pricey and yet racetrack worthy it was no surprise the resulting 600LT (Long Tail) looked and drove like Spinal Tap turned up to 11. It’s wild!

Bathe that 600LT in a deep Volcano Red paint job and consider our jaws dropped!

That’s exactly what maestro 1:18 scale car maker Autoart did with the McLaren 600LT in one of its latest releases. Oh, and the trim is a beautiful imitation black carbon fiber. Blimey it’s beautiful!

The History

The track-bound Sports Series 600LT made its debut at England’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2018 and immediately snagged supercar intenders’ attention, both with its sleek lines and its impressive power-to-weight ratio.

While McLaren’s wild child Senna, based on the 720S, touts a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 making 789 horsepower, the 600LT is lighter so rattles off the same 0 to 60 mph run-up of 2.8 seconds. That’s with a smaller 3.8-liter turbo V8 coupled to a 7-speed automatic transmission. Horsepower is nearly 600 here (592 to be exact) and top speed is 204 mph. The 600LT does a quarter mile in just 10.4 seconds.

Heck, Bugattis with those credentials will run you $1 million plus, while the McLaren 600LT seems more entry-level at just $245,000.

In addition to that engine, the two-seater has cut 220 pounds from the girth of its kissin’ cousin, the 720S, while using its lightweight suspension and brake system. And the Long Tail? Well, it is 2 inches longer overall than a McLaren 570S.

The 600LT also features larger carbon fiber air intakes on the sides, a carbon fiber body and like all McLarens, a carbon fiber chassis. Inside is more carbon fiber, mainly the racing seats that customers first saw in the famous P1.

Disc brakes are carbon ceramic for racing and the tires are Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R models, with 19-inchers up front and 20-inchers in back.

Speaking of the rear, just a fixed spoiler here with diffuser below. No giant moveable rear wing that also serves as an air brake as in the Senna model.

In case you want the real deal, but plan to shop around. Consider a Ferrari 488 GTB or Lamborghini Huracan Performante.

The Model

               Us die-cast collectors are lucky to dodge the serious coin the motorized versions demand, yet Autoart’s model is as spectacular as any of the full-size supercars. And this one is as perfect in shape and paint job as any to date.

               This is no sealed body version either, the frunk and doors open and that black carbon fiber-look engine cover in back with its bulging exhaust ports comes off too. Beneath is a nicely detailed turbo V8 with hoses coming off the side and McLaren emblazoned on the engine’s cover, which also appears to be carbon fiber. You can see the chassis support system here too and the exhausts leading up to the top-side ports.

Oh, and the cover’s center portion appears to be a smoked or reinforced glass so you can see a bit of the engine through it, even when the cover is in place.

Like on the original car the carbon fiber rear wing is fixed and below that much of the tail is coated in that same black fiber all the way down to the diffuser and wrapping around the arrow-like rear lights.

Inside the frunk is a red fire extinguisher and the rest of it is lined with a felt-like material to match the original’s soft finish. The chin spoiler resembles carbon fiber, naturally and the front lights are full of what appear to be projector beams, at least five.

There’s a subtle McLaren logo on the frunk’s front edge and of course another chrome one embedded in the tail.

Black air intakes above each front wheel add more detail as do the black carbon fiber rocker panel ground effects skirts, which also tout 600LT labels.    

               Sexy black carbon fiber air vents and scoops run from the front wheel wells to just beyond the scissor doors and the roof also appears to be carbon fiber, and looks great.

               The broad windshield includes two big black wipers and there are giant black carbon fiber racing mirrors on either door’s front edge.

               Flip those scissor doors up and you get a good peak at the black racer’s interior, it’s high-backed, big-bolster racing seats, cloth shoulder belts with photo-etched clasps, a well-shaped dash with all the appropriate bulges and instrument cluster hood, and sharp dash and console instruments and displays. I like the silver-ringed air vents too. Those scissor doors have carbon fiber-look trim and mesh stereo speakers too.

               Down low the Pirelli P Zero tires are so labeled and wrap snuggly around black 10-spoke wheels with a McLaren swish at their center. Giant discs are visible behind the wheels as are red McLaren branded calipers.

Perhaps something here doesn’t meet your stylistic leanings or color palette?

Well, consider that Autoart also makes the 600LT available in Myan Orange, Fistral Blue, Sicilian Yellow, and Onyx Black all at the same $220.

Take your pick! 

Vital Stats: McLaren 600LT

Maker: Autoart
Scale: 1/18
Stock No.: 76035 (Volcano Red)
MSRP: $220

Link: Autoartmodels.com

Diecast cars

Koenigsegg Regera

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Autoart creates a stellar 1:18 scale “practical” supercar …

Hard as it is to imagine, the 1500-horsepower Koenigsegg Regera is not meant for the racetrack.

No, Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg (bless you!) intends the Regera as a grand touring luxury sports car. PR from Christian von Koenigsegg, the car maker’s founder, says Regera is a more practical luxury car than its predecessor the Agera, or the new Jesko.

Somehow its looks and $1.89 milllion price tag do not send a practical message.

Autoart, who created four stellar Agera models, now turns its attention to the Targa-topped Regera, which it offers in three colors, White, Candy Red and Horizon Blue. While not cheap, the $300 price tag seems paltry compared with the nearly $2 mil original.

The History

Regera was introduced in 2016 and is still in production, but only 80 will ever be made, and all were pre-sold, so the Autoart versions are the most easily acquired.

Its name means to reign or rule and surely if you had the real thing it would rule any road it deigned to grace, and not just because of the price of entry, although that is sheik-worthy.

Regera touts a unique direct drive system in place of a tranny and links that with a plug-in hybrid system that combines a twin-turbo 5.0-liter V8 with three electric motors. Total output is 1,500 horsepower and 1,475 pound-feet of torque. The electric motors alone create 697 hp. Koenigsegg claims to have the most power-dense battery pack on the planet with an 800-volt liquid-cooled unit.

Naturally the Regera doesn’t weigh a lot, tipping the scales at just 3,500 lbs. and using 3D printed parts, carbon fiber, and Kevlar to ensure a feathery, but strong structure. Other goodies include active engine mounts, active rear and front wings, running lights known as constellation lights that resemble the night sky, and Regera rides on sticky Michelin Pilot Sport tires, 19-inch up front and 20-inch in back.

How fast is this practical luxury sports car?

Regera is the fastest car in the world from 0 to 249 mph, clipping it off in 31.49 seconds, which takes 1.8 seconds off its sister car, the Agera’s, previous record. Top speed is said to be limited to 251 mph.  Right, any faster would be silly, right?

The Model

               There is nothing silly about Autoart’s model , a gem from stem to stern with opening doors, hood and rear hatch, plus steerable wheels and a rear spoiler that can be deployed.

               The white model features a black center stripe of imitation carbon fiber that is trimmed in red. Its nose features a carbon fiber-look chin spoiler and the targa top is easily removed to expose the cockpit. That top has a clear panel inset to the black carbon fiber area too.

               Regera’s doors are fascinating, sliding outward first, then flipping up like scissor doors. Very clever and bravo to Autoart for mastering the mechanics. Side windows are fixed in the doors.

Doors pop out!
Doors rotate up!

               The Regera’s black interior features black bucket seats with cloth shoulder harnesses that stay behind the seats, but you can see a photo-etched clasp near the seat’s base. The center console is nicely detailed as is the center stack with buttons clearly visible and the silver oval air ducts atop the stack and off to the sides of the dash. All are hooded as is the main instrument panel in front of the driver’s racy flat-bottom steering wheel.

               A giant single-armed wiper extends to cover the widespread wraparound windshield.

               Under the rear hatch is that big twin-turbo V8 with carbon fiber cover and battery packs and motors at the tail. With the hatch up you see sharp detailing of the rear suspension system too, with spring-over coils with copper canisters.

Flip up the rear hatch …
…. oodles of detain here!

               Impressive too is the subtle Koenigsegg nameplate on the hatch’s rear lip.

               The thick treaded tires include the proper Michelin branding and sizing info (matte black on black) and there are huge drilled disc brakes behind the sporty black wheels. Red Koenigsegg-branded calipers complete the racy look, or should I say Practical?

Nice wheel, tire, and brake detail.

               What is practical are the two big black mirrors that are packed separately for the buyer to slip into holes drilled atop the doors. That was easy, and you’re given two extra in case you break or lose one.

               One other note, in case you think that front trunk (frunk) is useless, well the targa top will slide in there upside down for later use. Clever, both in real life and in this hyper-realistic model.

               Practical or racy Regera is one gorgeous car and Autoart creates one gorgeous model.

Vital Stats: Koenigsegg Regera

Maker: Autoart
Scale: 1/18
Stock No.: 79027
MSRP: $300

Link: Autoartmodels.com

Diecast cars, Fun Stuff

Diecast: Autoart Suzuki Jimny

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Jimny (JB64) is a cute, well-detailed Jeep wanna-be …

Suzuki’s Jimny is a fun little runabout, and even cuter as a 1/18 scale diecast model from the hot shot designers at Autoart.

There’s no doubt this Jeep-like two-door sport-utility is useful and nimble. It has sold like Pocky sticks in its home market, Japan and has been a hit for Suzuki all around the world, with the exception of the United States where Suzuki stopped selling vehicles at the end of 2012.

But Suzuki’s low-cost small vehicles could well be considered something akin to the Beetle of Japan, economical and fun. And lest you think Suzuki is a small-time carmaker, well, it’s the fourth best-selling brand in Japan, behind the giants Toyota, Honda and Nissan, not bad company.

The History

Suzuki launched the Jimny in 1970, so it has had a long run and according to Wikipedia, Suzuki had sold 2.85 million of the little gems across 194 countries as of the fall of 2018. There’s an interesting history behind Jimny too.

It started as the HopeStar ON360. Say what?

Yes, it was originally designed by the Hope Motor Co., a small Japanese manufacturer that Suzuki bought in 1968. So, Suzuki re-introduced the vehicle as its LJ10 (Light Jeep) in 1970 with an air-cooled, two-stroke, two-cylinder engine. It had nowhere to go but up.

From there the engine grew and grew, becoming liquid-cooled as the vehicle began gaining popularity and was shipped off to Australia and then was Suzuki’s first vehicle sold in the U.S. market as a Samurai in 1986. Along the way the Jimny name became its moniker in Japan, and Jimny Sierra elsewhere.

Lest you think it incapable off-road, in 2007 a modified version set the high-altitude record for a 4-wheel-drive vehicle on a mountain at the Chile-Argentina border. It climbed to 21,942 feet, beating a Jeep Wrangler’s mark at the time.

This JB64 version is the fourth generation Jimny, launched in 2018 and the model reflects the styling of Japanese-market models, with no added plastic fender flares, whereas in other markets the black flares are much more pronounced. Jimny remains a body-on-frame vehicle, like a Jeep Wrangler and most of today’s trucks.

The engine is a turbo 3-cylinder that makes about 100 horsepower, rides on a short 88.6-inch wheelbase and weighs less than 2,300 pounds. So it may be appropriate to still consider it a Light Jeep, as it was originally.

The Model

               I’ve grown to love many boxy Jeep-like vehicles over the past 50 years of driving and testing new vehicles. So this Jimny strikes me as a fun, cheap Jeep wanna-be. It’ll certainly stand out in your collection and being an Autoart model you can be sure the design and build quality is high.

               Autoart offers several color combos, but the sample was an earthy Chiffon Ivory Metallic (shiny tan) with a black roof. It appears ready to wander off down a dirt road to bang some ditches.

               The doors fit nice and flat to the body, those wheel wells just showing a slight bulge and the front and rear bumpers are a sturdy black. The nose features running lights in the bumper, black mesh grille work there and in the upper grille featuring what looks like a Superman (Suzuki) logo at its center. Headlights, as with Jeeps and now Ford Broncos, are round, these adding an amber turn signal just above the light and toward each side’s fenders.

               Mirrors are black with white turn signal lamps embedded and the windows are all trimmed in gloss black with a couple black wipers extending from the cowling just behind the hood.

               A small black antenna extends from the rear driver’s side (right drive) roof and a big spare tire hangs on the tail, just as with a Jeep. The tailgate opens out like a door and includes a high-mount brake light atop its frame, black hinge covers and the words Suzuki and Jimny in silver low on the gate. The three-lens red and clear taillights sunk into the black rear bumper look sharp too. Below is a Jimny license plate too.

               Tires are all branded Bridgestone in black, so hard to read, but typical of the real vehicle. Wheels are sort of a matte silver/gray with black Suzuki-logoed caps.

               Naturally the hood, doors and hatch open on this Autoart model, with a nicely detailed engine compartment and fine metal hinges to hold that hood up for display. There’s a tiny hood rod there too, but don’t try to use it, it’s just for decoration.

Engine wiring and plumbing look appropriate with a sharp-looking battery including labels on top. There’s also a white washer-fluid reservoir, a steering master cylinder with white fluid container and other appropriate hoses and filters. The hood’s underside detailing is handsomely molded too.

               Not much to see inside the rear tailgate, except seatbacks and headrests, but the front cockpit looks realistically detailed, and with the wide-opening doors this interior is simple to see. Black interior here with bucket seats, a center console-mounted shift lever, 3-spoke steering wheel with Suzuki logo, and nicely detailed gauges across the dash, including a reflective screen in the dash’s center. Air vents are trimmed in silver.

               U.S. collectors have a rare opportunity with the Jimny to add a popular world vehicle to their collections, and it’s so darned cute they may want a couple in varying colors.

               For the record Autoart offers Jimnys in Pure White, Jungle Green, Bluish Black, Brisk Blue, Kinetic Yellow, most, except the white models, with black or body-colored. Also, the world market models, known as Jimny Sierras (JB74), are available in the same colors, but with the bulging black fender flares that give Jimny a slightly more muscular look.

               Either way this is a cute ute.        

Vital Stats: Suzuki Jimny

Maker: Autoart
Scale: 1/18
Stock No.: 78500 (Chiffon Ivory Metallic/Black roof)

MSRP: $190

Link: Autoartmodels.com

Diecast cars, Fun Stuff

Diecast: Bugatti Chiron Sport

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Autoart’s 1:18 hypercar looks crazy fast even at rest …

What happens in the auto world when the term “supercar” isn’t descriptive enough? Naturally we seek a new term, and for now that has become hypercar. But is that enough to describe a car with 1,479 horsepower and a 0 to 60 mph time of 2.4 seconds?

The thesaurus says appropriate synonyms for hyper include aggressive, intense, bold, dynamic, spritely, and frisky. Super synonyms aren’t much better – terrific, great, marvelous, outstanding, topnotch, sensational. All seem too tame to describe Bugatti’s Chiron Sport.

Most adjectives also fall flat in describing Autoart’s latest 1:18 diecast version of the Chiron, a beautiful Bugatti blue with black carbon fiber-look hind end. Incroyable!

The History

Many are aware that Bugatti, now owned by Volkswagen, has a blended European background. Started by Ettore Bugatti, an Italian-born French designer in 1909, the firm was based in what was then Germany, but is now Alsace, France.

The Bugatti brand was extremely successful racing in the early years, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans and many other high-profile contests. One of its most successful and famous drivers was Louis Chiron, who raced from 1926 all the way to 1958. Bugatti honored him by naming this model after him when it was introduced in 2016.

The Sport is a lightened, faster version of the original Chiron, which followed the Veyron supercar and was first shown at the Geneva International Motor Show in 2018. The Sport is about 35 pounds lighter than that first Chiron, featuring a firmer chassis and suspension. Its wheels are even lighter and the interior packages Alcantara, leather, and carbon fiber for seats and trim, emphasizing luxury along with vein-popping acceleration.

Power? The 8.0-liter V16 quad-turbo engine has a governed (really?) top speed of 261 mph. Car and Driver magazine says the Chiron Sport will race from 0 to 100 mph in 4.4 seconds and to 200 in just 15.7 seconds. Keep both hands on the wheel!

Doors open and the carbon-fiber-look engine cover is easily removed.

The tranny is a 7-speed double-clutch Ricardo model and the carbon fiber body is impregnated with color so as to avoid an entirely black model. Just 250 Chirons had been made as of 2020, but at a cost of $3.3 million each one supposes Bugatti doesn’t need to crank out too many more to assure a profit.

The only question that remains, it seems, is what those 250+ people do for a living! We know they have fun driving their exotic cars.

The Model

               Oh my, this Chiron model is fabulous, starting with the carbon fiber look of all black portions of the body, including mirrors, engine cover, rear wing and front/rear/side ground effects all the way to the trim around the windshield well.

These tiny velises, with Chiron logos, easily fit in the frunk.

               The car’s eggshell-thin hood opens to reveal a couple black valises featuring realistic handles and blue Chiron logos. One imagines crisp monogramed shirts and private label Italian ties gently strapped inside.

               Move to the rear and the black carbon-fiber-look engine cover easily pops off to expose the body-colored blue headers atop the V16 quad-turbo engine. Bugatti blue logos enhance the black engine block’s top while major turbo pipes wrap around the engine. A white liquids container sits above a silver heat shield at the far end of the enclosure.

               Cool though that you can still see the blue headers once the engine cover is in pace, as this is how most of us will pose the Bugatti in its display case.

               A button under the car’s tail easily releases the big carbon fiber rear wing, which can be angled slightly with the light touch of a finger.

The wing can be deployed and check out the quad exhausts and cool lights too!

               I love the front view that shows off the black wire mesh of the Bugatti horseshoe grille with its red, silver and white Bugatti badge and a blue No. 16 imprinted on the grille. That touts the 16-cylinder engine powering all Chirons. There’s black mesh in the air duct slits in the sleek nose too, plus beautifully executed four-element projector beam lights.

               In back is more silvery black mesh below the light bar that extends the car’s width. There’s also a Chiron Sport logo, the EB Bugatti emblem and down low a unique four-pipe exhaust system with deflector. Naturally a multi-element diffuser rides below the tail.

               Behind the special lightweight black wheels are humungous drilled discs and blue Bugatti-labeled calipers. Tires are the low-profile Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s that are standard on the Sport. Labeling here is matte black on the sidewalls, but just showing the Michelin logo. Tires feature an aggressive tread pattern.

               Inside is another fine Autoart interior, all black except the blue accent line down the dash’s center spine and extending the console’s length, plus blue seat belt latch receptacles and belts.

               There are racing style bucket seats, a flat-bottomed race wheel, and a sharply detailed driver’s gauge pod. The Bugatti console includes four protruding buttons and a small gear shift knob while the three foot pedals below are silver-faced to represent a metal finish. Door trim is accurate and finely detailed with carbon-fiber-look door panels.

Love that you can see the blue header covers even with the engine cover in place.

               The sum is visually fantastic, almost as fantastical as the 1:1 car’s performance! The Chiron Sport isn’t a muscle car, it’s a missile.

Vital Stats: Bugatti Chiron Sport

Maker: Autoart
Scale: 1/18
Stock No.: 70997
MSRP: $260

Link: Autoartmodels.com

Diecast cars, Fun Stuff

Diecast: Autoart 1973 Nissan Skyline GT-R

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Skyline 2000 GT-R (KPGC110) a rare, racy hatchback …

Just as the oil crisis was putting the kibosh on performance cars in the U.S. in 1973 it also was squishing a newly revised Nissan offering in Japan.

The cool Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-R, the second generation GT-R, was a performance oriented fastback that for all its styling looked like a surefire winner in both Japan and the U.S. market where it was likely headed. Think sportier Datsun B210 if you must, but it also looked like a kissin’ cousin to the sporty Toyota Celica fastbacks of the time.

The GT-R was code named KPGC110 and just 197 were made as the oil and emission restrictions of the time put a quick end to its production. That makes this GT-R among the rarest Nissans.

Leave it to Autoart to create a stellar 1:18 scale diecast reproduction of the Skyline so you can round out your 1970s performance car collection, or Datsun/Nissan cache. My sample was the snazzy silver version, going for $230, but chock full of amazing details.

The History

Skyline models were originally made by Prince Motor Co. The Japanese firm had made aircraft during World War II but transitioned to cars afterward, even making an electric car originally. Yet its Skyline model, launched in 1957 was a success and by the 1960s was being raced. Nissan bought up Prince in 1966 and the boxy Skyline GT-R model of the day, coded KPGC10 ended up winning 52 races in three years into the early 1970s.

The second generation Skyline 2000 GT-R kept the same engine, but became the first Japanese car with four-wheel disc brakes, aimed at improving its racing ability. The rear-drive car used the S20 engine a 2.0-liter inline 6-cylinder that made about 158 horsepower. A five-speed manual was standard.

GT-R also carried a rear spoiler, black fender cladding, a mesh grille and independent suspension all around. Styling included quad taillights, which remain a GT-R feature still. Ultimately production of the car lasted just four months.

The trunk opens to reveal a full-size spare sunken into the floor.

On the folklore side of things, the short-run Skyline was nicknamed the Kenmeri Skyline, the name taken from a popular TV commercial for it at the time which featured Ken and Mary, an American-looking couple.

One more thing. At auction last year a 1973 Skyline went for $455,000. Impressive!

The Model

               I like the bare bones look of performance in this rich silver fastback from the bolted-on style black fender flare cladding to the black open-face steel wheels with four bolts showing and blackwall tires. No fancy chrome hub caps or rally wheels here!

               Atop the front fenders and lining up with the front edge of the wheel wells are large twin black mirrors to help assure a driver gets a wide view of what’s on either side. This has the feel of an early rally car, but with all the features required for street driving.

               Open the large hood and that inline 6-cylinder with Nissan and 2000 atop its block looks massive for such a compact car. All the wiring and plumbing are here along with a master cylinder for those disc brakes, and massive red air cleaner along with battery, hood dampers atop the suspension towers and of course a fan and radiator with cap.

               A fine black mesh acts as the grille with quad headlights framing it and a black Skyline 2000 GT-R license plate below. Front wheels are steerable and the trunk also opens to reveal a full-size spare (remember those?) neatly sunken into the floor and a jack molded alongside.

               Taillights are an authentic clear red with chrome trim on the outer and inner rings, and the Skyline features a GT-R logo on the blacked out tail along with the keyhole and a Skyline logo too. The rear bumper, like the front, is chrome with imbedded turn signal lamps and two thin exhaust tips jut out below the bumper. On the trunk’s lip is a body-colored spoiler.

               Tires are labeled as Bridgestone Radials with sizing number, all in a flat black on the tires, so you’ll need a lighted magnifying glass to properly read those, if you care to.

               Chrome trims all the windows and door releases, which are flat on the doors, and the door trim along the rocker panels also feature a chrome strip.

Inside is a black interior with deeply ribbed bucket seats up front and a bench in back while the dash is silver-faced with accurately detailed gauges. The steering wheel is a black three-spoke sport model with silver spokes. A park brake handle is found on the console just behind the tall shift lever with what looks like a wooden ball shift knob.

The door panels are somewhat shiny black with a textured panel midlevel, plus a chrome trim strip, door release and window crank.

Again, a sumptuously detailed, and rare, model from Autoart.

Vital Stats: Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-R

Bare bones black steel wheels with four lug nuts say this Skyline is serious about racing.

Maker: Autoart
Scale: 1/18
Stock No.: 77471
MSRP: $230

Link: Autoartmodels.com

Diecast cars, Fun Stuff

Diecast: Autoart’s McLaren Senna

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Beautiful Senna model designed for speed, car lust …

If beauty be only skin deep, so be it, especially if that object of visual lust is a mid-engine McLaren Senna, be it a throbbing full-size version or a silent 1:18 diecast scale model snug in a showcase.

Autoart has an encyclopedic knowledge of beauty and sensuous supercar lines and it’s not afraid to use it to create products of automotive amore. Its current 11 on a scale of 10 is the Trophy Mira (orange for us neophytes) McLaren Senna, which is based on the studly McLaren 720S, not a bad place to start.

The History

Formula 1 fanatics are fully aware of both McLaren and Senna, as in Ayrton Senna, the three-time F1 World Driving Champion, who as luck would have it, won all his titles driving for the McLaren F1 team. The Brazilian was often touted as the best F1 driver ever, but certainly of the late 1980s to 1994 when he was killed in the San Marino Grand Prix, driving not a McLaren, but a Williams F1 car.

McLaren holds exclusive rights to the Senna name for automobiles and that moniker is money in the bank for prestige, even 25+ years after Senna’s death.

Of course any McLaren supercar would live up to the Senna reputation for speed, but this model was designed to be extremely light to set faster times than previous models, so racy on its face. It touts a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that makes 789 horsepower while using a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. Weight is a miniscule 3,029 pounds. Thrust? McLaren claims 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds, a 9.9 second quarter mile. You get the picture.

To keep it light there’s a carbon fiber monocoque chassis and to insure it’s stuck to the ground at 211 mph, its top speed, McLaren melds a double-element rear wing to its tail. In addition to downforce it also acts as an air brake (remember that on the 1967 Indy STP Turbine?) The wing is slightly adjustable even on Autoart’s model.

Up on the roof is a prominent air scoop, plus giant side air intakes to keep the engine and brakes cool at race speeds. Then there are the dihedral doors that fold up to allow the driver and a daring passenger to slip inside, and then windows set within the side windows, again for aero purposes. Folks of a certain age will remember similar windows on the racy 1990s Subaru SVX.

And if you have to ask, yes there are Brembo carbon ceramic brakes, and all for just a smidge over $1 million, asking price. Just 500 Sennas were to be made, the first delivered in 2018 and they don’t make them quickly at McLaren’s plant in Woking, Surrey, England.

The Model

               Autoart on the other hand has created five color variations of the Senna — blue, gray, black, white, and this glorious nearly glow-in-the-dark metallic orange. Seeing as how McLaren’s early racers were all a bright papaya orange, this seems the most appropriate color and with its black cockpit area, rear wing, chin spoiler, ground effects trim and rear diffuser, plus gloss black wheels the overall visual can leave one gobsmacked.

               All that black trim, nose to tail, around the inset thin lights, the nose before the cockpit and panels beneath the wing’s struts are mock carbon fiber patterned to resemble the real deal. A small rectangular McLaren nameplate graces the sleek nose and even the side mirror housings resemble carbon fiber.

               Roof and window trim are all gloss piano black with all the proper seams and outlines of the door hinges, those inserted side windows within windows, and the clear panels above each seat. There also are clear inserts in the doors, again trimmed in black gloss. In theory, one could see the driver and passenger’s legs through those panels.

               Inside the massive side air scoops are black mesh screens and then tiny carbon fiber aero devices like Gurney flaps on the inner edges of the rear fenders to direct air up to that monster two-tier rear wing.

               Through the octagonal rear hatch window one can see the top of the twin-turbo V8, just enough to not feel cheated that the rear bonnet doesn’t open. Go all the way to the tail and there’s a six-sided black opening under the wing with what would be a trio of black titanium exhaust pipes. Imagine their rich exhaust tone on that million dollar baby.

               Below that is more black mesh grillework on the tail, a McLaren nameplate and the black multi-finned diffuser. A joint McLaren/Senna plate also labels the rear, where a license might go if you were using your Senna on the street, not just the track.

               Wheels are gloss black with a McLaren swish logo on the hub and enormous drilled disc brakes behind with blue calipers. Tires are thick treaded rubber properly labeled Pirelli P-Zeros, so you know they were designed for maximum adhesion.

               Senna’s interior is easy to view and easy on the eyes as you flip up the dihedral doors. The door frame reinforces the fact the McLaren has a carbon fiber cockpit with another McLaren nameplate and logo on the bottom of the frame. Seats are a soft black plastic to somewhat mimic the Alcantara leather seats of the street machine.

               Autoart nails the dash detail too with carbon fiber touches, chrome air vents, a flat-bottom three-spoke race steering wheel and a big vertical screen aimed at the driver for ease of use. The model features black cloth seatbelts with metal clasps to further aid realism and yes, there’s a Senna logo on the passenger-side dash.

               Short of working lights and engine this is as close to a perfect recreation of one of the most beautiful cars in the world. Yet even at $260 it’s much more affordable for your collection than plunking down for a 1:1 scale, even if it were slightly used and needed new tires. You know it would.  

Vital Stats: McLaren Senna (Trophy Mira/Orange)

The wing flattened out.

Maker: Autoart
Scale: 1/18
Stock No.: 76078
MSRP: $260

The wing slightly angled.

Link: Autoartmodels.com

Diecast cars

DIe-Cast: 1987 Audi Sport quattro S1 Rally Racer

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Autoart’s Pikes Peak racer a mountaintop experience …

Imagine, if you can, driving up a winding 12.42-mile long mountain road, mostly gravel and dirt with no guardrails and sheer drops sometimes thousands of feet straight down to certain death, should you slip over the edge.

Then imagine doing it for time and with a 600 horsepower rally car capable of more than 120 mph in a burst.

That’s what German rally ace Walter Röhrl faced in his one and only attempt at racing in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in 1987 aboard an Audi Sport quattro S1. He won, and set a new record.

Now Autoart brings us a stunning 1:18 scale replica of that iconic Audi.

The History

Audi won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb three straight years, 1985 to 1987, with three different drivers, Michele Mouton (first woman winner), Bobby Unser (all-time champ) and Walter Röhrl (2-time world rally champ). By 1986 Audi had won several world rally championships with its all-wheel-drive quattro (always lowercase) models so pulled out of the competition for Group B racers.

So the hill climb was Audi’s last hurrah with the Audi Sport Quattro S1 rocketing up Pikes Peak in Colorado, climbing 4,720 feet through those 156 corners with its 2.1-liter five-cylinder engine pounding out about 600 horses. Of course power drops at elevation, so the Audi “only” had 450 horses available as it neared the top on July 11, 1987. However, a special circulating air system helped boost the Audi’s air pressure for its giant turbocharger to improve its response in the thin mountain air.

Röhrl had been the world rally champ in 1980 and 1982 and he used all his skills to break Bobby Unser’s year-old record by 22 seconds, with a run of 10 minutes 47.85 seconds. The record now is 7:57 minutes, set in a VW ID R by Romain Dumas in 2018.

Röhrl’s comments well after the event? “All I can say is that it was great to take part. It was crazy, but often it is in fact the crazy things which are the best in life. It was the very pinnacle of what can be done with a rally car.”

The Model

This beautiful white wing-laden rally car model by Autoart is a near pinnacle exercise in fine detail, much as was the original. There’s a giant two-tier wing on the tail and another mounted on the massive chin spoiler at its nose.

Beyond the wings is the silky paint job with traditional Audi rust red, brown and black trim down the sides and up to the rear wing’s tip, plus same color racing stripes from hood to tail only broken by the insertion of a giant black No. 1.

There are eight fine white mesh screens in the hood, which features a brown and white Audi logo at its center and two molded-in hood pins at the front corners. The clear headlights feature Bosch logos spread across their faces and that chin spoiler has massive Michelin logos on either side of the racing stripes. The grille is flat black plastic with the four white Audi rings at its center.

Plenty of hood screens, side downforce tunnels and spoilers, plus the chin spoiler.

Under the hood is a well-detailed engine with a monster air intake tube leading to the turbo on the 5-cylinder power plant that lays sideways in the engine bay. There’s wiring and plumbing plus faux sheet metal plating to cover and protect the left side of the compartment. A thick white support bar extends from shock tower to shock tower. The hood is easy to raise and pose open as its white hinges are well-made to reflect the originals.

Sharp under hood detail here on the Audi turbo.

Down the car’s sides are flared fenders with aero tunnels atop the front wheel wells and skirting that includes air deflectors in front of those wheels. A flat rocker panel rests below both opening doors with “quattro” printed in black. The driver’s door includes a vented streamlined mirror and there’s a notch in each door that makes them easy to open for display.

The rear side window is trimmed in black and the flared fenders in back include black plastic screening that would allow air into the wheel wells for brake cooling as the Audi charged up Pikes Peak.

Big decals on each door include a red/white/blue and black Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb logo, the No. 1, an Audi logo and Röhrl’s name, which also is painted in script above the door with a small German flag representing his homeland.

The roof is sculpted with a giant air tunnel leading to the rear hatch, which includes hinges on top attaching to the blackened rear window, just in front of that oversized two-tier spoiler.

Here’s the winged tail without the trunk cover. Twin fans and fuel filler are inside.

A rear-end cover is removable to show the gas filler and twin fans for additional cooling. Tiny rear lights have black mesh screens over them and the Audi includes white mesh screening under the trunk opening, and a white metal protective shield below that.

Here the trunk cover is in place under the twin wings.

One disappointment, albeit minor, is the treaded tires are not branded Michelin, as were on the original racer. These are generic with white racing wheels that look a bit too much like plastic, although they do include five silver wheel nuts at their core. Plus there are giant disc brakes behind all four wheels.

Inside the car is Spartan, but racy. There’s a black racing seat with Recaro proudly displayed in white on the headrest, and highly detailed red cloth seat harnesses. Of course the Audi is full of white cabin supports to protect the driver should this rally racer roll onto its roof.

Sharp Recaro seat and red cloth seatbelts inside.

A black bare-bones dash, basically a panel for readouts, backs up the four-spoke steering wheel and the panel extends down to the transmission hump in the center and includes a few buttons and switches. There’s a white fire extinguisher on the floor just to the right of a serious looking black-knobbed gear shift lever, plus a couple of silver pipes with periodic black wrapping extend from under the dash along the passenger’s side compartment out the back to the trunk area where those fans are located. Outside the passenger’s door and below the flat rocker panel are three exhaust openings too.

  • The seat, pedals and dash are visible.
  • Spartan dash and shifter

Overall another stellar effort from Autoart as it continues to crank out historically meaningful racers along with its long list of exotics of every ilk and color.  

Vital Stats: Audi Sport Quattro S1 (Pikes Peak, 1987)

Maker: Autoart
Scale: 1/18
Stock No.: 88700

MSRP: $265

Link: Autoartmodels.com