Authored
by Nicholas
| Manufacturer | Minichamps
|
Scale
| 1:18
|
Category
| High-End
|
This review is exceptionally
longer than the others.
The
Porsche Carrera GT was originally conceived at the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Carrera GT is
a natural evolution based on more than 23,000 race victories. With total
commitment to racing performance, there was only ever one layout option: an
open-top two-seater with two-piece detachable hardtop. The Carrera GT isn't a
911 despite its namesake. In fact, itis a mid-engined two-seater supercar,
designed and built to compete with the planet's finest, such as the Ferrari
Enzo, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, Pagani Zonda and Lamborghini Murcielago.
Unlike its closest rival, the SLR McLaren, the Carrera GT is as raw as you can
get. It's focused, poised, and as precise as a surgeon's knife. It's
free-revving 5.7-litre V10 produces an astounding 605 bhp @ 8000 rpm. With that
many horses and its lightweight carbon-fibre body which is just 1380 kg, the
Carrera GT leaps to 100 km/h in just 3.6 seconds. Flat out, it'll be doing 330
km/h. The Carrera GT features Porsche's Ceramic Composite Brakes, or simply
PCCB, which is made of Silicon-Carbide, known for its extreme heat retardation,
while lasting a life-time. It also features the PCCC, or Porsche Ceramic
Composite Clutch, again made of the same material as the brakes. It measures
just 169 mm in diameter, which provides the car with an extremely low centre of
gravity. The undercarriage on this car, which is made of carbon-fibre,
obviously is flat, with diffusers, as aerodynamics are a crucial factor for
reaching these speeds. This is the review of the Porsche Carrera GT in 1:18
scale, made by Minichamps, finished in Guards Red.
The Model
The
Minichamps Porsche Carrera GT has a slot of it's own in Minichamps' High-End
offerings. With the silver-coloured Dealer Edition being an exception, it's
only available in red as of now (January 2007), but yellow is set to be
released very soon. MSRP is in the range of $100, but fair deals are already
around. This model is VERY heavy, in fact the heaviest in my personal
collection, being even heavier than the AutoArt
BMW M3 CSL. Bumpers, side skirts, cowlings, rear wing and even wing
mirrors are made of die-cast metal, which is what makes this model heavy. It's
weight contributes to it's overall feel, which I have to say is solid and very
well-made.
What's In The Box
The
Minichamps Porsche Carrera GT comes in a neat Minichamps cardboard box, which
is smaller than AutoArt's Millennium boxes, but is better packed. The box
contains various photos of the model and the real car. The back of the box has
pictures of the real car, a description of the picture, specifications of the
car and a short but very informative text about the car in both English and
German. The model comes placed in a Styrofoam clamshell, and doesn't move about
in the box, despite the clamshell's lack of screws or "shelves". Model comes
wrapped in thin paper, which seems to have been coated with a waxy-like
substance, to keep the model's paint at its best. The two pieces of roof comes
wrapped in the similar type of paper and is fitted snuggly into the car's boot.
Exterior
The
exterior of my example comes in Guards Red, which is the only colour available
as of now. The paint is very smooth, with a high lustre. The paintjob also has
a very waxy, out-of-the-showroom touch to it. However, be warned that the paint
is very easily chipped, as noted by a tiny little chip on my example. Also, the
paint is non-metallic, which is accurate. There are no orange peels from the
paint and the thickness feels good, but the best thing about the paint is there
is no colour mismatching at all, particularly because of the whole body
construction being made of die-cast metal.
The sleek
svelte body of the Carrera GT has been made into 1:18 form almost perfectly.
The Porsche logo seems to be a separate piece. Minichamps has also replicated
the stance of the Carrera GT into this model almost perfectly. All vents are perforated
and faced with metal mesh. Headlights have fine detail and there seems to be no
attachment stubs on them. Chromed headlight washers are also present. The clear
headlight lenses are well made. However, the shape of the headlights on the
Minichamps Carrera GT is broader than those of the 1:1's. The front air dams
can be seen, with both side ones having radiators and the one in the center is
pretty empty.
Moving to
the side, the side indicator is very good, there are no attachment stubs on
them as well, which was something I didn't expect as they are tiny pieces. The
air scoop just after the side indicators can be seen right through, to the front
wheels, which I believe is true to the 1:1. The doors are well made, with an
accurate shape and have a huge sandwich, which shapes the Carrera GT's
shoulders. Minichamps forgot to paint the door handles black though. The side
skirt is made of metal, and the end of it is painted black, which I think could
be the mudflaps, but I'm not sure. They are accurate though. The wing mirrors
on the doors are made of metal, with crisp detail and they are sturdy.
The rear
is very well done, with the distinctive two roll-over hoops replicated with
care. Between them is a third brake light, or should I say fourth. This is done
with a clear piece of plastic in red and even has the badging "Porsche" on it,
very fine. The engine hood is made of metal, and is partially exposed with
mesh, true to the real car. Beside the mesh covers, there are two small air
intakes, which feed air into the engine, which will be discussed later. The
rear spoiler works on the Minichamps, but unlike AutoArt's spoiler raising mechanism, you'll have to pull the spoiler to deploy it. It doesn't go too far but
looks good when deployed. The spoiler is made of metal, giving it an accurate
thin shape. Both black pieces that hold the spoiler up seem to be a tad too
thin, compared to reference pictures of the real car. The third brake light on
the rear spoiler is painted on, which is a real shame as all other lights on
this car are clear plastic pieces. There is a small air intake behind the rear
spoiler, which is covered in fine mesh and painted in red, the model's colour,
which is inaccurate. It is supposed to be in silver but it seems like
Minichamps just sprayed over it.
The rear
lights are very well detailed, with chrome pieces that are dotted to give that
neat LED look. The "Carrera GT" badge is a photo-etched piece. I have not
removed the protective sticker on it as photo-etched badging can just fall off.
The exhaust tips are in black, and have an accurate shape. They are hollow,
which is nice. Beside them are two small lights, which I believe is a back-up
light and also a reverse light. These are made of clear plastic pieces on the
model. There are no registration plates on the Minichamps model, so the rear
does look a little empty. The diffusers and venturis are replicated with
plastic which have a woven pattern to look like carbon-fibre. They are accurate
in shape and size as well.
Wheels, Brakes And Undercarriage
The
wheels on the Minichamps Carrera GT are very well detailed and lovely, above
AutoArt's quality. They have very crisp detail and definition, with the five
spoke wheels replicated almost perfectly. The centre wheel caps are replicated
with care as well, with those on the passenger's side being blue and those on
the driver's side being red, a homage to motor racing. There also are well detailed
Porsche logos on the wheel caps. A bonus from Minichamps are the tiny tire
valves, these look very good and add to the realism of the model. The tires
have a nice rubbery feel, as they are made of synthetic rubber. They have a
shiny, new feel as well. They have an accurate tread pattern, but aren't
branded. The brakes on the Carrera GT are one of the best money can buy,
Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes, or better known as PCCB. They are made of a
special carbon material that's treated under very high temperatures. The result
is a material not only harder than steel, but provides superior heat
retardation. Perfect for high-performance brakes. The brakes on this model
seems to be dimpled which provides the cross-drilled look and is accurate.
However, they are silver in colour, which seems to be inaccurate but, I've seen
pictures of the Carrera GT's brakes in a local magazine which is with
Minichamps. I cannot confirm if this is accurate or not as I have not seen the
real brakes but I do think those on the Minichamps' are inaccurate. The
calipers are painted in yellow, which is a tell tale to its hi-tech PCCB with
the "Porsche" word proudly tampoed on. The undercarriage is completely sealed
and I believe it's accurate. All that can be seen are diffusers, venturis, a
button to open the front boot and the Minichamps logo along with the model of
the ca. The undercarriage is made of plastic with weave patterns to simulate
carbon-fibre, the exotic material used for the body and chassis of the 1:1.
Engine
To open
the engine bonnet, the spoiler will first have to be pulled up until one hears
a click. Then a tool that's thin and strong, preferably made of plastic has to
be used to open it up. Thanks to two fellow collectors who helped me out in
this. Once opened, the detail is very, very good compared to AutoArts. The
engine cowling stays open with the help of two very fine and nice hydraulic
struts. Beside the struts there are two air intakes, which collect air through
a scoop on the cover and feeds the fresh air to the engine. The Porsche badges
on both cylinder banks seem to be photo-etched, and are very nicely
proportioned. The air filters beside both the cylinder banks are decently
detailed, and have an accurate shape. There is carbon-fibre trim, which is to scale
throught the car's engine bay. The engine cradle, which is yellow in colour and
replicates carbon-kevlar fibre, is totally incorrect. I's supposed to be
carbon-fibre, without any sign of kevlar. I don't know why Minichamps made it
look like kevlar. It's slightly too big, too. With that put aside, the coil
suspensions are very nicely done. I have never seen suspensions done so nicely
before. They're red and yellow in colour, with black coils. If you manage to
look under the engine frame with a light, you'll find the 10 cylinders and the
chromed exhaust systems. A gearbox is visible too. All in all, this engine is a
very good effort. It's my first Minichamps, and I really hope it isn't the
last. The detail is so good, the only thing it lacks compared to its 1:1
counterpart is the sweet noise.
Interior
The doors
on this model open with ease, as windows aren't present. The door entry sill
has the badge "Carrera GT" proudly emblazoned on it. The sill is placed on a
carbon-fibre door sandwich, which is accurate in thickness. Here's something
that AutoArt's Porsche Carrera GT doesn't have: A little wire which is
connected to the door and goes into the sandwich once the doors are closed.
Neat! It's a little detail that means a lot if you're a serious collector like
me. The interior of this model is in black, as the exterior is in Guards Red,
thus producing contrast. The interior is very well made, with everything you
might expect from a high-end model. Well detailed center console and gauges put
the interior of this model together. I can practically read the numerics off
the gauges. The steering wheel is accurate in size, as well as shape. Even the
floor of this car is simply stupendous. With metallic footrests for driver as
well as passenger. The paddles are decently detailed in silver. The floor of
this model replicates the carbon-fibre floor of the 1:1. It has very nice look
to it. Coupled with the carbon-fibre, there are small carpets on both sides of
the interior which is richly flocked. Here comes the best part of the interior.
The seats. As I've been mentioning in four out of five previous reviews of mine
about AutoArt's hard plastic seats (with the other one being an exception, as
it has some alcantra-like feel to the seats). The Minichamps Porsche Carrera
GT’s seats are leather! That's right, leather. And we're not talking about PVC
or rubber. It's genuine leather. I guess I'm pretty lucky as the leather on my
example is finely grained and not like elephant hide, as on some examples. The
leather is black in colour, soft, satin and has a very natural feel to it. You
can actually smell the leather the first time the box is opened. Running your
fingers down the undercarriage, you'll find a button at the front of the model.
Push it. The front boot is now ready to be opened. Opening it reveals the two
pieces of roof. These are decently detailed, with a plastic moulding appearance
to the interior-opposed side, while the outer side is of course painted in
Guards Red. There are once again signs of carbon-fibre, even on the roof. Great
job. The roof can be put on or removed on the car with four pins, unlike
magnets, which are used on the AutoArt. The boot is lined with the similar
soft-plastic molding as on the roof. It's accurate. However, Minichamps did
miss out on something very important, the leather straps used to secure the
roofs in place. These are found on the AutoArt variant. Nevertheless, the
interior is one stunning job from Minichamps. This could have helped them win
the award for this car.
Conclusion
The
Minichamps/Paul's Model Art Porsche Carrera GT is a very good model and is a
must in any Porsche/supercar collection. It features details that only high-end
models can offer such as hydraulic struts, leather, carbon-fibre trim as well
as very good and accurate detail. If you want a 1:18 Porsche Carrera GT and
think that small details don't justify the $20 MSRP of this model compared to
the AutoArt, it really does. This model has won an award, which even the BBR
Ferrari Enzo doesn't have. The colour is also another issue. Minichamps
produces this car only in Guards Red as a regular release. There is, though,
good news for Speed Yellow or more commonly known as Custard Yellow lovers,
Minichamps is set to release the Carrera GT in that colour very soon. For silver
fans, Minichamps also produced it in silver, which is strictly a Dealer
Edition. The Minichamps version is the best 1:18 Carrera GT money can buy, and
that's enough for me. If you need the best Carrera GT, buy the Tamiya 1:12,
which is available in silver or yellow for a mind-blowing $599. If you need
even more than the 1:12 Tamiya, get the 1:1 Porsche Carrera GT, if you can even
find one pre-owned, as it's all 1270 cars are sold. The conclusion is, if
you're a Porsche of supercar or 1:18 model collector or even owner, get it. It
really is worth $100.
Scoresheet
| Exterior | Great stance, great paint, missing paint for door handle
| 8.0
|
| Wheels, Brakes and Undercarriage | Very nicely done wheels, brakes seem toyish. Tires are good though
| 7.5
|
| Engine | Very detailed engine for a modern street car. Great work
| 8.5
|
| Interior | Use of leather and a high attention to detail
| 9.0
|
| Score | [Emphasis
of score placed on interior and exterior] | 8.5
|