Wednesday, November 28, 2007

New Spirit BMW 2002 Pneuhoge

This is the latest in the 1600/2002 series from Spirit and their first roadracing model of the 2002. The previous releases being a 1600 and a 2002 rally car. It uses the same chassis as the previous releases with a Slot it like motor pod held in with 4 screws, and the fully adjustable front axle with set screws above and below. It also has a powerful long can SxXx motor with 9/27 gearing using a brass pinion and alloy hub, set screw type crown. It also has a small bar magnet just ahead of the motor.



Spirit has done a very nice job with this series of cars. According to my calculations, all of the dimensions are nearly perfect 1/32 scale, with the length and wheelbase just slightly under scale. The paint is very smooth and crisp, with nice tampo printing of numbers and decals, but no clear coat. There is a moderate level of detail with both painted and chrome plastic trim in places. The interior is a bit sparse, with visible holes for the rally navigator, but a nicely detailed dash. The wheels appear to be the correct 13” diameter with nice black mesh inserts.




Spirit has made some very competitive LMP cars and with these little BMWs, they have set a new standard for small vintage racing chassis design. I was disappointed that this car had a rear wheel pressed on crooked, which eliminated the possibility for testing. Spirit has had some issues with wheels and axles, but it is a new company and I am sure this was just an anomaly. I really like Spirit’s cars and feel they have some of the most potential for tuning of any cars made right now. Keep an eye out for the Slot Car News team Spirit BMWs in the Canadian Proxy Race (CPR), as both Dave and I have prepared one of these neat little cars for battle!

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