Monday, February 28, 2005
Ferrari 250 LM
   1:18 scale diecast 1964 Ferrari 250LM by Hot Wheels.
posted by
chris
@
5:42 PM
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Lotus Esprit
1:18 scale diecast 1975 Lotus Esprit by Auto Art. I used to walk by a perfect condition silver Esprit every morning and it always put me in a good mood. Being 6' 3" tall and standing next to it on the curb, the lotus is a angular pancake. It looks its age but still looks very quick. Love the ergonomic 70's cockpit. If lotus had left the cover off the engine, they may have beaten Ferrari to the aquarium effect.
posted by
chris
@
3:49 PM
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Ferrari 550
1:18 scale diecast 1996 Ferrari 550 by UT. I hope I'm rich when I reach my mid-life crisis.
posted by
chris
@
10:34 AM
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Dodge Viper
1:18 scale diecast 1992 Dodge Viper RT/10 by Bburago. Another car at FATTS/Summit Point. Although it easily out-performed most of the cars on the track (almost made it look boring), I overhead one person who drove it call it an "unbalanced tub of slop". Ouch. I like the styling of the original for its innovative American muscles, cuts, and bulges, but the new SRT-10, which I sighted the other day in Georgetown, didn't get any more looks than a Corvette.
posted by
chris
@
1:32 PM
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Ferrari Testarossa
1:18 scale diecast 1994 Ferrari F512M Testarossa by Hot Wheels. Not as crisp as the 1991 Testarossa. You can really see the shape and elements of the 512M morph into the 550 Maranello even though the engine goes from back to front.
posted by
chris
@
5:53 PM
Monday, February 21, 2005
Jaguar D-Type
1:18 scale diecast 1956 Jaguar D-type by Auto Art. This car was designed to go fast down the straight. And it does just that at 162 mph. The noise from the oncoming wind must have been deafening.
posted by
chris
@
9:59 AM
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Ferrari F50
1:18 scale diecast 1995 Ferrari F50 by Bburago. Rear suspension bolted directly to a 520 bph 4.7 liter V12 engine bolted directly to a one piece carbon fibre monocoque chassis going from 0 to 60 mpg in 3.8 seconds reaching 202 mph. A true F1 car for the road. I've seen a few video clips and random photos of wrecked F50's. Considering that less than 350 F50's made, the fact that any owner has had an accident seems like really unfavorable odds. Usually, events seem to have occured in a situation that a normal car would not have the same problem. Speed? Or does it only start working at speed? If you drove an F1 race car home from work during rush hour in the rain at dusk, would you be able to avoid an accident?
posted by
chris
@
6:19 PM
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Porsche 365
1:18 scale diecast 1955 Porsche 365A Carrera Speedster by Kyosho. Only 60 bph, but it gets to 60 mph in 15 secs. That must haved seemed awfully fast to the 1953 Ford pickup. Ultra spartan, ultra convertable. It's a VW bug in wolf's clothing. It looks like it could become animated at any time and start talking.
posted by
chris
@
5:05 PM
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Porsche 550
1:18 scale diecast 1954 Porsche 550 A Spyder by Maisto. The speedometer only reads to 80mph, but that would be fast enough to have a blast on an autocross course.
posted by
chris
@
6:31 PM
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Ferrari 355 Spider
1:18 scale diecast 1996 Ferrari 355 Spider by Hot Wheels. This is an unbelievable car. No doubt. But is it just a little "too" sexy? I see 355's up in Montgomery County all the time, most often zipping from North to West through 6 lane intersections. Wham, bam, thank you, ma'am.
posted by
chris
@
4:15 PM
Monday, February 14, 2005
Ferrari 250 GTO
1:18 scale diecast 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO by Hot Wheels. I have another 250 GTO by Bburago. Compared together, the Bburago is a bigger scale (1:18.5?) and, although it is a cleaner model, I don't think that an 1:18 scale model can capture the curves of the real GTO car accurately and therefore, the beauty of the design is somewhat lost. This is really apparent on the back of the car, where the curves are harsh and angular.
posted by
chris
@
3:27 PM
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Ferrari 360
1:18 scale diecast 1999 Ferrari 360 Modena by Hot Wheels. I think it is awesome that ground effects have taken the place of wings and other aerodynamic aids. The only wings you see now are the zero-effect plastic doo-dads on your neighbors entry level Eclipse - almost as embarrassing as the fake rear panel naca-duct on the mustang.
posted by
chris
@
3:31 PM
Friday, February 11, 2005
BMW V12 LMP
1:18 scale diecast 1999 BMW V12 LMP by Maisto. I attended every day of the DC LeMans. The neighbors couldn't take the noise and American LeMans will never be back, but alas, it rocked. I thought the funniest thing was that the metro cars, which would follow the elevated track over the straightaway and disappear underground between turns 3 & 4, were plastered with surprised passengers sardined up against the windows.
posted by
chris
@
7:06 PM
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Ferrari F40
1:18 scale diecast 1987 Ferrari F40 by Bburago. I got this model way back in 1990. I had never seen 1/18 scale before and I bought it immediately. This particular model has been through the ringer and is still going strong. Little kids have played with it, clients have pulled the doors off it, and all the little plastic hinges are long gone. There's a great story in At the Limit: Twenty-One Classic Cars That Shaped a Century of Motor Sport (Amazon.com), where Nick Mason describes his and David Gilmore's adventure while picking up their F40's at the Ferrari factory and the terror of having to drive them back in the middle of an icy night through the mountains.
posted by
chris
@
2:01 PM
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Pontiac GTO
1:18 scale diecast 1965 Pontiac GTO by Maisto. The car that started the muscle car wars. Everytime I pass this model on my way out for a smoke I get the uncontrollable urge to stomp my right foot on the floor.
posted by
chris
@
6:15 PM
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
McLaren F1
1:18 scale diecast 1993 McLaren F1 by UT Models. 0-60 in 3 seconds. 240mph record top speed. Central driving position, 'ground-plane shear' suspension geometry, intelligent brake cooling, fan-assisted ground-effect aerodynamics. Fan-assisted ground-effects? Geezzzuzzz.
posted by
chris
@
11:25 AM
Monday, February 07, 2005
Jaguar E-Type
1:18 scale diecast 1961 Jaguar E-Type by Auto Art. This is the car for me. Get me an "Andy Capp" hat, some driving gloves and a plaid scarf and I'm off into the moor.
posted by
chris
@
9:24 AM
Friday, February 04, 2005
Jaguar XJ13
1:18 scale diecast 1966 Jaguar XJ13 by Auto Art. An awesome protoype that was technologically obsolete by the time it was completed. I ripped out the padded board that was the excuse for a seat and installed a 5 point harness and racing seat from a long-tailed McLaren F1 that I had destroyed earlier. Now it looks radical and ready to go.
posted by
chris
@
3:30 PM
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Jaguar C-Type
1:18 scale diecast 1951 Jaguar C-Type by Auto Art. This thing weighs 2240 lbs! I wonder if that's what keeps it on the ground at 144 mph.
posted by
chris
@
12:05 PM
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Lamborghini Gallardo
1:18 scale diecast 2003 Lamborghini Gallardo by Bburago. Where's the soul? What happened? I guess Audi wants the Gallardo to be an entry level supercar, which it is. But an entry level Lamborghini? I don't know. It reminds me of those "chubby" cigarettes that Marlboro (or was it Camel) came out with before they got busted for marketing to kids.
posted by
chris
@
2:43 PM
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Porsche Turbo
1:18 scale diecast 1999 Porsche 911 (996) Turbo by Bburago. Client calls around 10:00 am, says he's coming by, meet him out front. I'm thinkin' he's droppin' off a check. He pulls up front in a Porsche 911 (996) cabriolet with the top down and I unwittingly go for a very fast ride on very twisty roads. I was still in my pajamas and it was freezin' ass cold that morning. To be honest, all I remember were the blurring colors through the tears streaming from my eyes straight back to my ears. Turns out he had swapped his Range Rover for the Porsche in a mutual 5 day test drive. He lived.
posted by
chris
@
6:05 PM
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