WHAT?!..."With sealed body panels?!"

Every 1:18 "Motorsport" series, having " With Sealed Body Shell " logo on it box, raised a lot of question among the collectors on why AUTOART are making die cast model cars with no engine, no opening of doors and bonnets but still demanding the same selling price.

BMW M3 GTR

This is because, many top racing teams, such as Formula One, WRC and Super GT racing cars, would not allow picture to be taken or conducting any research of the car’s interior by model makers due to the team’s unique design of their suspension setup and engine arrangement which are their closely guarded secret among their competitors.

Aston Martin DBR9 Sebring 2005

Because of this, there are no modern Formula One die cast models that are made with engine, even if they do, it is being made with assumption from limited sourcing of pictures of the press and magazine. The dimension will never be accurate and many small details are also incorrectly replicated.

Cadillac CTS-V SCCA World Challenge 2004

This is the primary reason for the introduction of "Motorsport" series offering modern racing model cars with no engine and opening and emphasizing the exterior features rather than the interior. It is meaningless to replicate an incorrect engine in a model just for the sake that the model should have an engine. For model collectors, the most important thing for a die cast model car is to have the body shape replicated as closely as possible to the real car. Interior, such as engine and boot, is secondary.

CHEVROLET CORVETTE 1978

Brand: AUTOart Millennium

Models: Chevrolet Corvette 1978

Scale: 1/18

Colour: Titanium Silver

Price (Date of purchase): $108 (May 2005)

Extra info: 25th anniversary edition

The Chevrolet Corvette C3 is a sports car patterned after Chevrolet's "Mako Shark II", produced between 1968 and 1982.

It is the third generation of Chevrolet Corvettes built and marketed by Chevrolet.

1975 was the last year for the convertible, and 1978 saw the introduction of a glass bubble rear window to "freshen" the car appearance for it's 25th Anniversary.

Car and Driver magazine found the Corvette to be the fastest accelerating American car for 1976, with a 0-60 time of 7.1 seconds.
Power remained fairly steady for the rest of the C3 generation,
ending in 1982 with the 200 hp (149 kW) L83 engine.

Aston Martin DBR9

Brand: AUTOart Motorsport
Model: Aston Martin DBR9 Sebring 2005 #58
Scale: 1:18
Colour: Green with highlight red flourescent
Pricetag (Date of purchase): $134.90 (April, 2007)
Extra info: With sealed body shell?!

Porsche Carrera GT

Brand: AUTOart Millennium
Model: Porsche Carrera GT
Scale: 1:18
Color: Black
Pricetag (date of purchase): $118.50 (September 2005)
Extra info: Apart from its unique design, I bought this model because of my admiration to the real Porsche car. Previously I owned the Maisto version of this model. Then I bought Autoart version which have more quality and detail on their design for this vehicle. Great work!!!

The Carrera GT is an all weather car which have two removable roof panels that can be stored in the front trunk.This 612 bhp super car has a 5.7 litres V10 engine, with a 6-speed manual gearbox in a production car. The Carrera GT accelerates from 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.9 seconds, reaches 100 mph (160 km/h) in less than seven seconds and can achieve a top speed of 205 mph (330 km/h)

Light and strong forged magnesium wheels, produced by BBS using 8,000-ton forging machine, come in the sizes of 9.5x19 for the front mounted with Michelin tyres of 265-35ZR19 and 12.5 x 20 for the rear with 335-30ZR20 tyres.

The PCCB (Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake) measuring 15 inches (380mm) in diameter for both front and rear brake rotors, gripped by 6-pot monoblock calipers, provides exceptional braking power.

The whole car weights only 1,380 kgs.

The main chassis structure is made from carbon-fibre composites with a honeycomb core. The technologies involved are state-of-the-art in Formula One and offer exceptional flexural and torsion strength.

Model Features:

• Opening doors & Hood & Trunk
• Turnable Wheels
• Detailed engine compartment
• Detailed headlights, signal lights, and brake lights
• Detailed interior & Exterior
• Roof top can be opened
  
• Pop-up rear wings
  
• Porsche Emblem
• Official licensed products

Maserati MC12

Brand: Hotwheels
Model: Maserati MC12
Scale: 1:18
Color: White and blue livery
Pricetag (date of purchase): $70 (May 2006)
Extra info: Hard to find this model anywhere nowadays at our local shops.


Maserati designed and built the car on the chassis of the Enzo Ferrari but the final car is much larger. The MC12 is longer, wider and taller than the Enzo Ferrari, which has faster acceleration and a higher top speed. The top speed of the Maserati MC12 is 330 km/h whereas the top speed of the Enzo Ferrari is 350 km/h.


Although easy and pleasant to drive on the road, the MC12 is also a brilliantly dynamic car, and each of this car cost more than half a million dollar.



It handles very sweetly and fluidly yet the driver can still feel all the power of a genuinely sporty thoroughbred under the surface.



It can exceed 330 km/h at full throttle, sprinting from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds.

Engine:
V 12 Displacement 5.998 liter / 366 cu in

Power:
630 bhp / 470 KW @ 7500 rpm

Torque:
652 Nm / 481 ft lbs @ 5500 rpm

Top Speed:
330 km/h / 205 mph

MODEL DESCRIPTIONS:

Maserati MC12
1:18 Diecast Model
Has steerable wheels.
Rubber tires.
Opening hood, trunk, doors.
Made of diecast with some plastic parts.
Detailed interior, exterior.

BUGATTI EB 16.4 VEYRON

Brand: AUTOart
Model: Bugatti EB 16.4 Veyron Production Car
Scale: 1:18
Color: Black and Red
Pricetag (date of purchase): $125 (April 2005)
Extra info: Rare to find this model nowadays and wanted by most collectors due to its reputation.


The exciting sports car promising enormous power from an all-aluminium 7993 cc W16 engine mounted longitudinally ahead of the rear axle on a separate aluminium subframe and running four turbochargers producing 987 bhp at 6000 rpm. The top speed is estimated to be 406 km/h.





Special run-flat capability Michelin PAX tyres which have 265 for front and 365 for rear, and thats the largest tyre sizes ever fitted to a production car. Wow...!!! Talk about stability.




Testing the fastest car in the world by "Top Gear" driver "James May" - The Bugatti Veyron- it's top speed is 408Km/h .

When getting close to the top speed during the test he said that "the tyres will only last for about fifteen minutes, but it's OK, because the fuel(from FULL) runs out in twelve minutes."

The AUTOart line of diecast models are extremely high quality pieces with exquisite attention to detail produced through cutting-edge technology.

Product Features

• Exquisite Workmanship with Amazing Paint Finish
• Detailed Interior with Carpeted Floor and Trunk
• Rubber Tires
• Doors Open
• Hood Opens
• Trunk Opens
• Wheels Steer
• Pop-up rear wings
• Certificate of Authenticity with diecast model serial number
  

Size does matter...

A scale model is a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object . Well in our case the scale car model is much smaller than the real thing.

1:18 TOYOTA SPRINTER TRUENO GT APEX (AE86)

For me, most of my collection consists of the 1:18 scale model. Scale is an indication of relative sizes. A 1:64 scale diecast car is one 64th the size of the real automobile. In other word, the real automobile is 64 times larger. Likewise, a 1:18 scale diecast car means, the real one is 18 times larger than what you are seeing on your table top right now.

1:18 NISSAN SKYLINE R34 GTR 1999

In general, larger cars will be having more detailed, look more accurate and have more features...and ow...don't forget, more expensive too.

Diecast model cars.

Fully built scale model cars made of die cast metal are very popular among collectors. These models are manufactured in various scales and the most popular types that are avaiable in our country such as the 1:18, 1:24, 1:43 and even 1:64 scale models.

Larger-scale models today are generally made with attention to details which replicate a real model, such as a working steering, doors, trunk, and engine hood that can be open. The larger version models also comes with detailed engine complete with things such as an exhaust system and/or other items that contained in a typical car engine. But then, common sense, the more detail the model is to the real thing, the more pricey it can get.

In smaller scales some of the details are often eliminated. So, e.g. in 1:32, 1:48, 1:43 or 1:64 scale cars, the steering and wheels generally do not work. Likewise, only the front doors and hood might be functional, with non-opening rear doors and trunk. (There are exceptions to this, of course.)