[woodcote]

These three pictures were posted by Alberto Ranz (CEO of Avant Slot) on his own Facebook timeline last night...

   
   
   

On the post, Alberto wrote...

I have the pleasure to share the next project that will see the light. We expect the first injection tests in two weeks and will be producing in September. Due to the current situation we have preferred to pause other projects and that this is the next new plastic model.
The Subarus, service vans and other projects will not be affected and are still underway.

The 3D CAD renderings certainly got me thinking of Tom Selleck in Magnum PI, but the photograph is of a Group B 308 GTB that was rallied in Italy from 1984. The Group 4 and Group B GTBs only differed very slightly on the outside, so that allows Avant Slot a choice of many different liveries, including road cars too.

   

The 308 GTB / GTS is one of my favourite Ferraris - in part because of my impressionable age back in the late 70s and early 80s. It was the Ferrari of my youth. The beautiful body was designed by Pininfarina's Leonardo Fioravanti - who was also responsible for the Dino and 365 Daytona and would go on to design the Testarossa and F40. The lightweight 308 - with it's transverse mid-engined V8 - also seemed an ideal platform for 1970s Group 4 rallying.

   

The 308 GTB rally car program began in 1977-8. Parent company Fiat's official rally programme was based around the Lancia Stratos and then the Fiat 131. The task of developing a Group 4 308 GTB  was taken up by the Michelotto workshops in Padua, with funding and encouragement of local driver Nico Grosoli and low-key factory support from Maranello.

Ferrari supplied the bare chassis and V8s to Michelotto, who turned the supercar into a racer. Two visible differences from the road car are the increased ride height and wider rear wheels covered by flared arches. Eleven Group 4-spec rally cars were produced by Michelotto, the 308 making its rally debut in 1978. The car showed its promise on tarmac rallies in Italy and four 308s were built for Charles Pozzzi's French team for 1981 - Jean-Claude Andruet driving the Pioneer-sponsored car to victory at the Targa Florio Rally, the Rally 4 Regioni, 24 hours of Ypres and Tour de France Auto, plus runner-up at the 1982 Tour de Corse...

   

When the FIA introduced Group B regulations in 1982, Michelotto began preparing four new Group B spec 308s - the first for Spanish driver Antonio Zanini. Four Group B cars would be completed, with significant engine upgrades and small changes to the bodywork. The regulations meant the car was 30kg heavier than the Grp 4 versions, but upwards of 400 bhp made up for that somewhat. Zanini won the 1984 Spanish Championship with his 308...

   

One car made its way to the UK...



This is certainly exciting news from Avant Slot. I am still in a state of "wow!". Their 308 GTB is bound to make a competitive track and slot rally car... nice and low and light and wide, plus that very pokey Avant Slot long can motor - just like the real thing. Fingers-crossed they make a better job with the shape of the car than Scalextric did recently - SCX's older version was much more like it. In my opinion, Avant Slot could do with keeping the pop-up headlights down and leave the auxiliary light rig as a optional extra. Both ruin the lines. I can't wait to see the first test moldings and to hear what liveries will be arriving later this year.

[rallyhub]

Fingers-crossed they make a better job with the shape of the car than Scalextric did recently - SCX's older version was much more like it.

Indead; fingers crossed. To me it seems too low or/and too wide.
On closer inspection, the distance between the outer rear lights and the wheel arches is too great and the shape is different.

Hub

[woodcote]

Yes, those lights should be rammed up against the insides of the rear quarter panels...

   

And you can see how the rally version is 100mm wider than the road car (1820mm vs 1720mm) with those flared wheel arches. I looked up the dimensions at rallygroupbshine.org

• Width: 1820mm = 57mm @1:32 scale
  
• Wheelbase: 2340mm = 73mm @1:32 scale
  
• Height: 1120mm = 35mm @1:32 scale
  

I also compared the Group B Opel Manta 400 dimensions to the Avant Slot Manta to get some indication what might get routinely stretched (or squished) on their models...

• Width: 53mm @1:32 scale vs 60mm on AS Manta (+7mm)
  
• Wheelbase: 79mm @1:32 scale vs 80mm on AS Manta (+1mm)
  
• Height: 41mm @1:32 scale vs 38mm on AS Manta (-3mm)
  

And this is what the 13% lateral stretch and 7% 'squish' looks like on the Manta...



vs the real thing...

   

If the width of the 308 GTB was stretched 7mm to 64mm, that would be 12% over scale. But that wide rear track is very attractive for a competition slot car manufacturer. In terms of 'performance' Group 4 and Group B models, the Avant Slot Manta, Scaleauto Pantera and SRC 205 T16 all have a 60mm rear track - can't find any data for the new SRC Delta S4... The Scaleauto RS200 comes in at 58mm, their Metro 6R4 56mm. What I can find for the Avant Slot Alpine A310 is a figure of 62mm - hugely over-scale, but looks great to my eyes.

[rallyhub]

That is a lot of research you have done.

I measured a width of 61.3mm for the SRC Delta S4.
Width: 1860mm= 58.1mm @1:32 scale.
That is about 3mm too wide, which is acceptable to me.

The Avant Slot Manta and Alpine A310 are really way too wide.

Rally cars should be driven on a narrow rally track, not on a wide club race track.
On such a rally track, a wider car has a disadvantage, because it is more likely to slide off the narrow road and loses grip.
For example on my Swedish Rally Track wider cars hit the track sides more often than narrower cars, which takes a lot of time.
Moreover, a perfect scaled down rally car that rounds a corner on two wheels is more realistic and a lot of fun.

Hub

[Scuderia_Turini]

The old Scalextric/SCX version of the 308GTB used to dominate slot-rally events and ended up being banned to avoid the events becoming a one-car series. 
This Avant version might be able to challenge the current success of the SRC Porsche 914/6.

Leo

[woodcote]

It's always good to have stiff competition between brands on the track - although I do prefer cars to be beautiful models (and close to scale) as well. With the 308 GTB, Avant Slot should be able to give us the best of both worlds. An extra 3mm width would take it to 60mm - and it would have a lower centre of gravity than its direct competitors.

However, I'm equally excited about the prospects of modern tooling for this lovely car. There's some great archive French TV footage of Andruet and the Pozzi GTBs on YouTube.

From the 1981 Tour de France Auto...




And the 1982 Tour de Corse...

[Nonfractal]

It's always good to have stiff competition between brands on the track - although I do prefer cars to be beautiful models

Totally agree ! 
But what chance for a mixed manufacturer grid when some manufacturers can't even balance the cars in their own range? 

Eg slot.it touring cars dominated by the calibra
NSR GT dominated by the Merc and c7r 
Policar classic f1 dominated by the Lotus. 

Alan

[woodcote]

Red...

   

Yellow...

   

Or both?

These are pictures of the prototypes, but the production models will be with retailers next month.

And there's also a hint (unconfirmed) that this will be the first rally livery on the 308...

   

[Scuderia_Turini]

I wonder if they will cover the SABA livery, as done by Scalextric Spain.  This rare version rapidly became sought after (certainly by me).  

Leo

   

[Kevan]

I'm a big fan of unusual Rally cars and love the 308GTB