Racer cars are known for their really astonishing look and fine detail... but they're also known for their high price! No wonder we don't see them racing around too often! Well, sometimes you see great deals on Racer cars on the web, and that was the case when I found the Ferrari 312P bodywork and chassis for a more affordable 40 € sum - still a bit high, but nothing like those 150 € plus they cost!
The bodywork comes with less detail than the complete car, looks like a pre-finishing form. The parts for front and rear lights were missing, as for the exhaust pipes. I emailed Racer to know whether it was possible to buy those parts from them, and it was! A great costumer service from Racer.
So, it's time I show you my best looking classic slot so far:
Notice that the Slot.It motor pod and motor were not present when I bought it, this was after transformation for racing.
The details in black were added by me (cockpit windows rubber, front air inlets, engine cover and rear lights). The interior was left unpainted since time was short to prepare this car for racing - and even so, I wouldn't have painted it for racing if I had the time, but replacing it instead for a lighter interior. This one weights a ton, it seems!
From this picture, we can see the headlights, which were bought separately from Racer. Much better looking than the ugly black covers that came with the car.
As I told before, this car was born to race. While most Racer cars may find their places at the shelves of many slot enthusiasts, this one does not seem at ease there... So, the advent of a 4 Hours Endurance for Classic 60-70's cars seemed too great a chance to miss it! That race took place back in July the 4th.
I contacted a couple of Ferrari fans and one heeded my call, so together we formed the very appropriate "Scuderia Ferrari, SpA." Initially, we had some doubts about the added weight from the Racer car, so we were also preparing a Scalextric Ferrari 330 P4 and a Fly Ferrari 512 S Codalunga (one of my favorites). Rules for this race made cars with motor placed at level with the bottom side of the chassis forbidden, but an exception was made for Racer cars to help them be competitive despite the weight handicap - provided that no "offset" configuration of Slot.It motor pod was employed. Our fastest car was clearly the P4, but the 312 P was a tenth of a second shy on the lighter P4 - but way more stable and easy to drive! Our (tiffosi) hearts fell on the Racer, and so we went racing.
I contacted a couple of Ferrari fans and one heeded my call, so together we formed the very appropriate "Scuderia Ferrari, SpA." Initially, we had some doubts about the added weight from the Racer car, so we were also preparing a Scalextric Ferrari 330 P4 and a Fly Ferrari 512 S Codalunga (one of my favorites). Rules for this race made cars with motor placed at level with the bottom side of the chassis forbidden, but an exception was made for Racer cars to help them be competitive despite the weight handicap - provided that no "offset" configuration of Slot.It motor pod was employed. Our fastest car was clearly the P4, but the 312 P was a tenth of a second shy on the lighter P4 - but way more stable and easy to drive! Our (tiffosi) hearts fell on the Racer, and so we went racing.
The outcome was rather disapointing for the Scuderia, 4th place from 6 teams, but we held the 3rd spot just minutes until the end. The podium was taken by the three Fly Porsche 917 Spyders enroled... still dominant in slot cars too, it seems. Our car had an evident lack of straight line speed and that caused some dificulties in holding off the opposition... a later measure of engine rpm saw that our motor - supplied randomly by the organisation - rated some poor 19.000 rpm when nominal figures should be 21.500 ! No wonder we couldn't perform better... but there was another team with an unlucky motor - they even had to replace since their's completely shut up!
Anyway, a great Saturday afternoon, like all our Endurances end up... this Racer still has something to show to the rest of the guys, at some later opportunity - looks like we'll have a series with these cars in September, but I'll have to conduct further tests to the P4 and this one.
I'll leave you with some photos of the race, even from the "Ferrari Memorial" we held at the track - we're hardcore "tiffosi", or not?
The starting lineup, with our 312 P qualifying in 4th place.
A great looking "mean machine" standing on the track.
Final cerimonies - 4th place seemed insuficient after cruising all race in 3rd place...
The Ferrari Memorial, with many classics parked in the grass of the last corner of the track. One of the P4 was actually the other option for the race (the one standing on clear plastic). The 312 P on the plastic base is NOT the one we raced...
Anyway, a great Saturday afternoon, like all our Endurances end up... this Racer still has something to show to the rest of the guys, at some later opportunity - looks like we'll have a series with these cars in September, but I'll have to conduct further tests to the P4 and this one.
I'll leave you with some photos of the race, even from the "Ferrari Memorial" we held at the track - we're hardcore "tiffosi", or not?
The starting lineup, with our 312 P qualifying in 4th place.
A great looking "mean machine" standing on the track.
Final cerimonies - 4th place seemed insuficient after cruising all race in 3rd place... 
The Ferrari Memorial, with many classics parked in the grass of the last corner of the track. One of the P4 was actually the other option for the race (the one standing on clear plastic). The 312 P on the plastic base is NOT the one we raced...
A thru "Tifosi"...
ReplyDeleteVery Well Hugo