These reviews are done on my custom Carrera 1/24 Exclusiv road course layout.  

Test Drive Results - Ten Lap Sprint:

* Data may include some minor wrecks during the course of the trial run...

Test Drive Observations:

I am not really a fan of open wheel racing and don't really follow Formula One too much but I still couldn't refuse the opportunity to review one of SCX's newest Formula One slot cars.  This car looks to match the real car pretty good in the detail department.  SCX went all out on this one and it might be one of their best efforts so far.

The body is highly detailed with nicely done markings, gone are all of the stickers and replaced with a quality finish using tampo-printed markings.  The newly tooled body looks great with special Ackerman steering system up front that works with the guide flag.  This body style might be a 1999 design since this is noted as a 2000 showcar on the box.  It is also an officially Arrows F-1 Team licensed product so it should be done correctly.

After taking a look at the wings and things on the car including the working steering system, you get the feeling that you do not wish to run this car on your 1/32 slot car track.  The Ackerman steering system is pretty good in the way that SCX modeled it for this F-1 car but it looks fragile and I doubt it would withstand many hard crashes or falls.  The system does work flawlessly and will not bind up or blow-apart like the NASCAR Monte Carlo system tends to do.

The performance of this car really surprised me.  I was expecting some kind of ill handling machine from what I saw of the earlier SCX Formula One cars but I got something very different.  I would say one of the best cars so far to come out of SCX.  Why?  Well the traction magnet holds the car down with the motor giving just the right amount of power thus balancing out the car.  You can push it down the straights and power through the turns with a minimum of braking.  The other surprise from SCX is that they have used brass bearings on the rear axle assembly for this car which gives it much smoother running and quiet operation so this is a big improvement over their older F-1 cars.

What could I find wrong with this car?  Well, the fit and finish is very close to FLY's quality but still you know it's from SCX.  It is getting better from SCX and this is one of their better efforts.  They did a great job on this car and I couldn't really find anything to complain about.  The Ackerman steering system is fragile and will probably not take hard crashes but with everyday normal driving / racing the system will stay intact.  

You might not be a diehard fan of Formula One, CART, Indy, or open-wheel racing but if you are looking for a nice car that drives smoothly and is fast take a look at this SCX car.  This is getting the Best Buy Rating (5 out of 5 tires) because it gives awesome performance out of a reasonably priced 1/32 scale slot car.  It will definitely give some stock FLY and Ninco cars a run for their money.

Slot Car Garage Review Rating:  5 out of 5 tires!!!  Another SCG Best Buy :)

Head back to the main reviews section at Slot Car Garage or check below for more reviews...

RadTrax Reviews Archive:

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5. 1/32 Ninco EVITA #50198 Porsche 356-A Coupe

6. 1/32 ProSlot Toyota GT1 Esso Ultron #17

7. 1/32 MRRC Chaparral 2 "White" #MC-9906

8. 1/32 FLY A73 - Porsche 911 GT1 Evo II MOBIL 1 98 Test Car #1

9. 1/32 Scalextric Caterham 7 Coldstream #C2201

Other Reviews Features:

1. Return to Main Reviews Section - Read more of my personal reviews and others of related slot car items including cars, sets, parts, etc. regarding all the scales (1/24, 1/32, HO)

2. More Slot Car Test Drive Results - Current data from testing on my Carrera 1/24 Exclusiv track.  Includes results from 1/24 and 1/32 scale slot cars.

3. Slot Car Test Drive Results - This is a run-down of the various slot cars I tested with their average, best lap times and the total time it took the car to complete the ten lap trial run.  These cars were tested on my Riggen 1/32 layout. 

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