06/13/02
| BMW has a long history of "Art Cars". Beginning in 1975 with Alexander Calder adding his own touches to a BMW 3.0 and continuing to present day, even Andy Warhol had a hand in creating his own Art Car for BMW. Some truly outstanding pieces of artwork have been created using a BMW as a canvas. On this BMW V12 LMR, the 15th ever Art Car, Jenny Holzer seems to have stepped away from traditional mediums to create her |
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artwork with a text editor. Okay, so I'm not an art critic, but to me artwork should require some artistic talent...? I admit that this review should not be about the artwork itself, but about Ninco's ability to reproduce it. Well, from |
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the pictures I've seen, the only criticism I can muster about the paint job on this car is that the lettering on the "Protect Me From What I Want" should be more of a metallic blue, not silver as presented by Ninco. I cannot say for a fact that this car never raced with silver lettering, I just can't find proof of it. The car features other catchy phrases designed to make you think. Phrases like "Lack of charisma can be fatal", "Monomania is a prerequisite of success", "The unattainable is invariably attractive", and "You are so complex you don't respond to danger". All are reproduced with very clean and sharp tampo printing, as are all the markings on this car. The finish is shiny and bright, with no dust of surface blemishes. | |
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The interior features only about 3/4 of a driver, though at first glance it looks to be a full driver. The dash and consoles are nicely done with stickers representing basic dials and gages. The detail isn't overwhelming, but very good none-the-less. The driver's seat belts and gloves are painted in, and the helmet is nicely done, though I could find no pictures of the real car with a helmet of this paint scheme. The chassis is all business, and all Ninco. It features the standard Ninco |
| inline NC-2 motor with brass bushing on the rear axle. Ninco's philosophy seems to be "If it works, don't fix it." The chassis features a midmounted button magnet that is quite powerful. Because of the crown gear and the low, flat rear deck of the LMP style cars, there is a small bulge to accommodate the gear. The bulge is hardly noticeable, much smaller than some other LMP's of recent years. |
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| Before running a touch of oil was applied to the gears and bushings. The tires seemed to need a bit more than average attention when truing. Once true, the car was ready for the track. I found the car to be very quick and displayed a lot of torque and responsive to braking. On my 30 foot Carrera test track the BMW V12 an impressive 3.3 seconds compared to 3.4 for my Scalextric Cadillac LMP. It doesn't feels as smooth or quiet, but it is impressive. Cornering is very stuck down, but not so much that you don't need to drive this car. When pushed to the edge you can actually see the magnet pull the |
| car back in line on the corners. If you go to fast, you'll know it right away. There isn't much middle of the road for this car. Either you're in your groove, or you're not. | |
| I found this car to be a fast and responsive racer. Despite the incorrect color of the main lettering on the car, and the lack of "art" on an "Art Car", this car is one of the better Ninco's I've had the opportunity to test. I'd like to see Ninco's a bit smoother and quieter, but they do have an appeal all their own. You definitely know you're driving |
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a Ninco, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Thank you to Jon at Rad Trax for sending me this great car. I recommend you check out his website for this and other great cars. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to eMail me at ken@slotcarillustrated.com. Ken | |
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