[woodcote]

         

Another LMP1 car will be joining the Toyota TS-050 - a few images of the CAD design have been released by SRC over the past few weeks. Although brilliant to see modern Le Mans Prototypes produced as slot cars, this weekend's 24 hours will be the end of the LMP1 era at La Sarthe - the future is full-fat Hypercar and no ex-LMP1 compromises. SRC have chosen the 2017 Porsche 919 Hybrid LDF (low downforce) version that won at Le Mans and also raced to podium finishes at Silverstone and Spa...



The 2017 Le Mans 24 hours is remembered as the race when all the LMP1 cars had big problems - almost handing the win to the LMP2 Jackie Chan Racing Oreca for what would have been a miraculous win. Instead the #2 Porsche - which had recovered from a 65 minute pit stop on the Saturday evening - played the role of party-pooper, leading for only the final 20 laps of the race. It was Porsche's third win in a row with the 919 Hybrid - and the second for Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber. The 2017-spec 919 retained the same chassis as the 2016, but had extensive aerodynamic modifications - especially at the front. How does the CAD modelling by SRC match up?

       

Like the 2018 Toyota, the Porsche 919 isn't the most beautiful of cars. The bulbous headlights and front wheel covers are again a little too pronounced in the SRC model. Neither am I convinced by the rear - too much material - and I'm concerned the cockpit roof is a bit squished. Together, it's uglier that the original in its bare CAD curves...

       

From the front, the SRC 919 has a pleasant face - but it doesn't have the pertness of a late 2010-s LMP car. It's all too wide and the cockpit looks flattened because it's stretched. The width of the 2017 LMP1 car should be 59.375mm - but I imagine it's the full 64mm. It certainly looks 7-8% stretched.

       

This third angle provided by SRC suggests there's too much body to the front of the wheel arch and also too much to the rear.

Of course these are just CAD files - although social media posts infer that moulds will be tooled from these designs quite soon. At the end of the day, it looks like the car will be on a par with the Toyota - a fast, stretched, slot racer, but not a great scale model. Because I am a big fan of SRC's rally and classic F1 cars - superb racing cars and scale models - I am rather underwhelmed by the LMP range. They will be raced against each other (I don't see the Toyota on multi-brand grids), so they could have been fabulous 59.5mm wide replicas of two multiple-Le Mans winning cars and ticked all the usual SRC boxes.

Nonetheless, I look forward to seeing the progress of this project and will add updates to this thread. It's not every day a new, modern Le Mans Prototype is produced as a slot car!

[Savage GT]

I personally like the look of the SRC version. Yes the rear deck is higher than the 1:1, but otherwise they wouldn't fit the motor in AW form under it.
As for the over width, not something you can level at just SRC, and TBH I am happy it is as A: it looks better to me that way, and B: it would have a tough time competing with other make 1:32 LMP's if it was around 4mm narrower than them !

The odd thing (to me) is SRC announcing the Porsche 919 when the #8 Alonso Toyota has still not been released (at least here in the UK) and is now well past its original and revised timeline for release.

[woodcote]

The width thing does bug me - but is a dilemma faced by any manufacturer making a recent LMP1 or 2 car. The rules regarding width (and therefore rear track) changed for the 2014 season. Before 2014, cars could be 2000mm wide (62.5mm in 1:32 scale) - that was reduced by 10cms to 1900mm (59.375mm) and the minimum height increased slightly to give that typical pert modern LMP 'face', which the SRC cars don't have.

   

For the pre-2014 LMP1 and LMP2 cars modelled by Slot.it, NSR, Avant Slot, Ninco, Scalextric, SCX, Sloter etc 62.5mm is perfect scale, 63mm is 0.8% overscale and 64mm is 2.4% out. A post-2014 car at 64mm is 7.8% overscale. It could be why other manufacturers keep with the older LMPs to be competitive on track - Slot.it pride themselves on authentic scale modelling and performance. The only mainstream exception is the Scalextric Ginetta LMP1, which is a fraction over 59mm wide at the back - it's a licensed model, so the dimensions will be accurate to 1:32 scale.

SRC could have changed the paradigm - creating a racing class specifically for post-2014 Le Mans Prototypes on a 59.375mm rear width. That would have led the way for someone (Slot.it?) to bring out an Oreca 07 (aka Alpine/Rebellion/Aurus) and the whole slot LMP world would be a more modern and much better place. I guess I am disappointed with SRC because they've proved with their rally, saloon and F1 cars that they can do sumptuous scale models that are top performers - and they don't simply follow the crowd. It was an opportunity missed.

Incidentally, the new Hypercar/LMDh regualtions specify a 2,000mm width. So we are back to 62.5mm for 1:32 scale versions. I wonder who'll be the first slot car manufacturer to dip their toe in the water? There are certainly some very imaginative designs being unveiled by a wide range of car makers - beautiful cars for an exciting new era.

[woodcote]

Another shot of the 919 appeared on social media this week...

   

So did a number of teasers, suggesting that SRC will be producing the Toyota GR010 Hypercar - and Porsche 963 LMDh car that was unveiled at Goodwood Festival of Speed last Friday...



   

In fact, there was a post and some official replies to Facebook comments that said the future of SRC would be the Hypercars and some rally models - and in another there was no mention of rally cars. That's certainly a big leap for SRC. I wouldn't be surprised if other slot car manufacturers are looking closely at the Hypercar programmes being unveiled at the moment.... Hopefully they won't all plump for the same ones, although if Carrera and/or Scalextric are planning the Toyota or Porsche or Ferrari, I doubt if SRC's announcement would put them off.

[rallyhub]

In fact, there was a post and some official replies to Facebook comments that said the future of SRC would be the Hypercars and some rally models - and in another there was no mention of rally cars.

On the other hand there are a few recent photos (4th of June) on Facebook of several nearly finished and really great looking BMW 2800CS bodies and drawings of the Fitzpatrick/Heyer/Stommelen car, winners of the GP Tourenwagen Nürburgring 1972.


Hub