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:

Carrera is releasing some nice cars for 2000.  I hope they release the 1960s 1/32 scale Mustang and Corvette soon but here we focus on this special 1/24 scale car.  The special chrome limited edition is being only produced in 1500 pieces but you can still buy this one and there is always the regular one if you really want the car.  First off, you feel the need to put on some white gloves before taking the car out of the package.  It looks like something out of an award show.  They also took the time to put some clear plastic sheets on each end of the case to protect the body so the chrome doesn't get damaged in shipment.

They have done an excellent job on the body.  The body is well made and the chrome well is done well.  They have done it in a way that the car is not just chrome plated but they added the normal details as well.  The car features removable "fender skirts" or wheel covers that slide off but I would advise on removing the chassis first before trying to remove them because of the chrome finish to avoid damaging it.  I have tested it with the covers on and don't think they affect performance.

The chassis is the updated 1/24 Exclusiv (yes, Exclusiv not Exclusive) sidewinder type with a removable traction magnet.  They also include a nice little switch on the bottom in the event you need to reverse the polarity so you can run it on standard 1/24 track or the other way Carrera Exclusiv system is wired.  The switch is a big help in that you don't need to rewire the system yourself.

Putting it on the track (need those white gloves again, LOL) revealed some things to me.  The car handles close to the way the 1/24 BMW V12 LMR handled except that it felt like it had a bit more power and speed.  According to the test drive results you can see that the numbers almost match so they are on par with each other performance and handling wise.  This is great because you will have two equal cars you can race together on your 1/24 scale layout.

The motor itself is not all that powerful at the top end but it does have good torque to take the car around the curves.  When I reached the long straight and punched it, there is not enough power on hand to have the motor wind out.  Think of it like a restrictor plate or governor on the motor.  There is info on a special "black' high-performance motor upgrade for these cars so I hope to get my hands on one of them to see how good they work and if they would improve the car.

Taking a look at the tires and wheels, they did a nice job on the wire chrome wheels and the tires are the standard rubber type.  They are a bit narrower than the wider ones on the BMW V12 but the magnet helps in the traction department.  You could probably get some more help with the addition on silicone tires.  The car seldom understeers (jumps out of the slot) and there is very little if any oversteer.  I did notice some fishtailing of the car when pushing it to it's limits but I had very little trouble taking it full throttle around some of the curves.

Overall, I really like this car and I give it 4 out of 5 tires.  This is great for anyone looking to collect or add more Carrera 1/24 Exclusiv cars to their line-up.  The car is probably a bit too wide for 1/32 scale racing but if you have a 1/24 scale plastic track, it works great on it.  The only faults I can find with it is in the motor department again.  They really need to rethink this but hopefully with a new distributor in the US, Carrera will gain a foothold and offer more items for us enthusiasts.  

P.S.  Jon at RadTrax wants so badly to put this car on a trophy stand :)

Slot Car Garage Review Rating:  4 out of 5 tires!!!

Back to the main reviews section for a complete listing or take a look at some listed below.

Partial Reviews Archive:

1. Carrera Evolution 1/32 Audi R8R and BMW V12 Le Mans '99 slot cars including 1/24 BMW V12.

2. 1/32 FLY Panoz LMP-1 Roadster
3. 1/32 Ninco Go-Kart

4. 1/32 Pro-Track Spider Chassis with 1978 Firebird Trans Am model kit body

5. 1/32 FLY Porsche 917K Martini #22

6. 1/32 MRRC Shelby Cobra 427 "Blue"

7. 1/32 Scalextric New VW Beetle PIRELLI #3

8. 1/32 Ninco EVITA #50198 Porsche 356-A Coupe

9. 1/32 ProSlot Toyota GT1 Esso Ultron #17

10. 1/32 MRRC Chaparral 2 "White" #MC-9906

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. 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.  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 run.

3. Old Slot Car Test Drive Results - This is an archive 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 run listed from when I had my Riggen 1/32 layout.

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