Few slot cars have been more eagerly anticipated than MRRC's Chaparral 2Fs, and fewer still have generated a greater flap of conjecture, "I know the REAL story" chin music, and outright nonsense on the slot forums. We'll get to the nonsense in a minute. But, first let's look at the subject in question
My experience with MRRC has left me with this impression of their products: modern recreations of vintage slot cars. Not reproductions, but recreations, since the vintage metal chassis have been replaced with plastic, a stiff bar magnet inserted, and modern tampo printing in place of decals. All of this is no different that what anyone else in the industry was doing, it's just that MRRC seemed to come across as this more-so than any other manufacturer.
On the streets, there is nothing that looks tougher than a classic Cobra. Get one in race trim, and the effect is lethal, much like the venom from the car's namesake. The Cobra has been the modeler and slot car enthusiasts favorites since it's inception in the mid '60's. MRRC has been making the Cobra for a few years now, and have recently released a special addition Cobra created for ModelRacingCars.com.
Recently, MRRC have produced their first kit to come complete with the Clubman Special chassis, rather than the more normal plastic underbody that their kits normally have. The car chosen to represent their first kit with the aluminium chassis is the very popular Ferrari 275P.
So, with time on my hands I decided to order one through an on-line retailer.
With nice sticky tires and a healthy size magnet buried inside the chassis, the MRRC Chappy is a blast to drive. On my 45' Scalextric track it runs even with the new Scaley 911GT3's - turning lap times in the mid-5 second range. There are two positions for the magnet. You can move it to the rear for a more stuck-down car, or shift the magnet forward to give the car a more tail-happy feel. I actually found it more enjoyable to leave the magnets in the back.
