[woodcote]

      

Avant Slot have just announced a new car. Okay, maybe not a totally new car - they have revived the moulds for the Spirit Group A BMW 635CSi and will soon be producing these three liveries...

   
51701: Macau Guia 1984 "Hans Stuck" No.1

   
51702: Rally Ciudad de Telde - Exclusivo Toñi Ponce

   
51703: Macau Guia 1984 "Dieter Quester" No.2

That's all the details at the moment - although we do have the Spirit cars as a reference, including a 2010 review at Home Racing World here: http://www.homeracingworld.com/S26.htm

The body was a very nice mould of one of the dominant Group A saloon cars of the 1980s - capturing the lines and details pretty well. It's certainly a big car - but also extremely sought after... expect to pay around £150 for a Spirit model  in new condition, if you can find one.

       

Underneath, the Spirit chassis was a decent racing set-up with a flat pan chassis, adjustable front axle height and a long-can motor. I suspect Avant Slot will produce their own podded chassis, but at least there will be no modifications necessary to the interior for the standard Avant Slot long-can motor.

There are a huge number of exceedingly nice touring car liveries Avant Slot can choose from - plus the option of road cars too. The two Marlboro-sponsored Schnitzer-run BMWs from the 1984 Macau Guia race are a good start - Stuck and Quester finished third and fourth to the TWR Jaguar XJ-S cars of Walkinshaw and Hans Heyer...



For rally fans, there will be relatively slim pickings - a 6-Series BMW was not an obvious choice for throwing around twisty tarmac, let alone gravel... However, one of the first three cars is a rally 635, seen in action here (second car) at the 2000 Rally Ciudad de Telde in the Canary Islands...



Antonio 'Toñi' Ponce retired the 635CSi in his only competitive appearance with the car. It certainly stood out from the crowd of hot hatchbacks! I suspect the same car was raced by Antonio's older brother José María in the Canary Islands Rally Championship between 1984 and '87, winning three rallies outright. Another 635CSi competed in the same championship during 1984 and '85, driven by Fernando Capdevila. José Juan Torres also drove a 635CSi in the Canaries from 2001 to 2010. Possibly the Ponces' car? Anyway, the rally BMW 635CSi seems almost unique to the Islas Canarias - but these do give Avant Slot options to please their loyal slot rally fans.

I will add more news about the Avant Slot BMW 635CSi  when I hear anything.

[CMOTD]

£150 for a Spirit BMW? I have been using this one in a crash scene on the layout but open to offers if they are really worth that much.

   

[anddelanyno20]

If I sold every slot car I own for what others think there worth I’d be a millionaire Rodney

[Savage GT]

Would be a nice car, but with the AS underpinnings and pricing, not for me.

[woodcote]

Yep, the Avant Slot cars will be pricey - but I reckon the new AS cars will mean the bottom falls out of the over-priced Spirit BMW market. Not sure Roger B will get £150 for a Gitanes 635 at Milton Keynes this Sunday. There's a couple of Jägermeister BMWs (one a 635, the other a 2002tii) on eBay UK at low 99p starting bids at the moment - it'll be interesting to see what happens the final price of the 635 on Friday week.

If Avant Slot could get their hands on more Spirit tooling, that BMW 2002tii would look good in their range, stretching it into the 70s. The Mk1 Golf GTI would be a good fit too. Both sell for silly money on eBay.

[CMOTD]

Well I am surprised, the Jägermeister BMW went for £97.67! LINK
I didn't realise they were particularly sought after. I never thought it was  that great a performer but what do I know? Perhaps I ought to put the wheels back on mine and get it on eBay quick.

[woodcote]

   

The two Marlboro-sponsored 1984 Macau Guia cars are progressing nicely and shouldn't be too far away from a release.

       

I'll see if any images or details about the chassis are available.

[Kevan]

I'll keep an eye out but there's no way I'm spending over 80 quid

[woodcote]

   

The two Macau BMWs are now available in Spain and should be arriving soon in the UK (they shipped yesterday).

Pendles have them both on pre-order for £72.95 each: https://www.pendleslotracing.co.uk/avant...-no-1.html

Jadlams now stock Avant Slot models and have the BMWs priced at £69.95: https://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/avant...-slot-car/