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The
name Porsche is familiar with any race track known to the world. This
particular car was raced in the VLN of 2003 by the Raeder Motorsport Team with
drivers Philip Bennet, Jonathan Price and Frank Stippler.
VLN,
Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal N�rburgring (in plain english, Long
Distance Community Organized Nuerburgring Cup), is the largest
endurance-racing tournament in Germany, with around 150 competitors
per race. The cars participate in around ten classes, though all cars
are on the track at the same time. N�rburgring is the only track where the
races are held. Races differ in time length, 3�-6 hours. There are
ten races per season, between March and October. In VLN, teams with support
from the car manufacturers compete, for example from BMW, Opel and Audi, but
also numerous professional and semi-professional teams, with cars like Porsche
and Dodge Viper. Cars with 700-800bhp. On the other part of the
scale, there are cars like the Mini Cooper with 120 hp.
In most of the races, only two of the drivers drove
the Porsche, in this particular version, the latter two did. During the season,
this car had two different numbers, it started out with #301, later changed to
#75 and for the final part, it was changed back to #301. The car had very mixed
results with a good start and extremely poor finish, it did not participate in
a couple of races aswell.
The model is made by AutoArt as a 1/18. It is made of diecast
and sold as a dealer edition for Recaro. The car was first availible sometime
in 2004. I was lucky to get it sometime early in 2005 before a significant
price rise due to its rarity. It is rumoured that only 2000 pieces were made,
but as it just a rumour, I highly doubt it. Something that really bugs me is
the name, AA describes it as a GT3 R when in fact, it is an RS. It is a problem
that most recent AA Porsche releases had.
Now, let us get to the model. The stance and external features of the 1/1
are very well captured. The paintjob is smooth and the beautiful livery is all
made out of tampos. At the front, it looks like AA did not put up a "Champion"
and "KEIPER" logos. However, these do show up on other parts of the livery.
Regarding the Keiper logo, it has been brought to my attention that other
examples of this model do have this logo, thus its a QC issue on my model. What
a surprise! The two pictures to my right show how it should be and the QC
version (mine) and respectively.
At the back, there is "GT3" on the wing holders, but a sponsor should show
there. However, during the course of the season, there are different sponsor
logos on that area. Maybe a version I have no picture of? Again, not sure. It
is to note thought that cars from this type of tournament usually have their
livery differentiated over the course of the season.
Going into a little more detail, the front hood is held down by two elegant
photoetched clips and are positioned in the correct diagonal way. Some may
argue that the car should have an opening for the fuel cap on the hood, but
that did not feature on the early versions of this car. The front headlights
are very well made, very realistic and no attachment stubs to be seen. The
front hook is also correct. At first I thought that AA made a mistake as
many pictures show that the hook is on the other side, but there are versions
that raced which do have the hook on this side aswell. A mesh protects the
middle section and side section of the front bumper vents. They are perforated.
The back end is also very well made with solid accuracy. However, the rear
lights are absurd! If you look well, you can see large patches of glue
used to put the lights in place. I never heard anyone complaining of this, it
is maybe a quality control problem on my version. I have such luck with QC
issues......
The car has the usual opening features. The doors are supported by rather large
dog leg hinges, the rear engine compartment does stay open by itself but the
front part doesn't. Had to use a toothpick there. It is to note that all
shutline are seriously slime. I had a very tough time while trying to open
them. Be careful.
The
interior is quite well with a good level of details expected in a race
car. The racing seat "Recaro" is very well made though hard
plastic and the racing car harness (seatbelt and buckles) are a separate
piece made from rubber. The dashboard has an acceptable level of
detail and the gauge is readible. The rollcage is well represented and
there is a nice fire extinguisher too. On a downside, the interior has a number
of wires which are represented, but they are moulded and just coloured in
black. Would have been nice if it were a separate piece.
The front compartment is a fairly nicely done area. Sadly, I couldn't find much
pictures of this area but it looks real. Wires are individualised, coloured and
all connected. The fuel cell is also well made.
The
engine is very hard to see, common with these 996 versions. Again, I could find
very few pictures, but it clearly shows that AA did not put a great effort in
here. The realism of the engine is already a bit on the low side, but the
engine is not very accurate neither. Some details are missing. Porsche 996
engines have been a real problem to AA of late.
The
undercarriage isn't the greatest neither. There is some more details regarding
the engine area which are fairly nice. But other than that, it looks like
an old UT model of a 993. The exhaust is very poorly made with a very shallow
tip and very rough texture. You can also notice that the wheels are not
entirely right. The fronts have a problem, but it doesn't show when the car is
displayed.
The
wheel on its own is really nice though. As the real car, they are not branded.
The brake area is particularly nice. The brake disks are different. The front
ones are drilled while the rear ones are cut. The brake disks do really have
texture, that is, they are really drilled and have holes. The disk moves with
the wheel while the caliper, branded Brembo, is static.
On
the whole, the model suffers in some areas and excels in others. However, I
would have expected much more in the engine area. Also, it seems there is a
problem with the livery. I cannot seem to find a race that this car raced in.
There are some omittences there, others in other areas. It would be nice if AA
would give us the exact place this car was... or is it because it is not
entirely correct? I cannot give definite answer sadly. All in all, it is a
cracking looking car which looks good in any Porsche/racing car
collection. It is just that the high price should be rewarded by
more detail, particularly the engine.
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Race
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4
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3
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7
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6
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7
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9
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10
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11
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