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Scalextric C4252 Porsche 911 GT3R #9 Pfaff Motorsport - Winner GTD 12 Hours of Sebring 2021. RRP £49.99. Scheduled summer 2022.

Pictures of the new Scalextric Porsche on the Margate test track have recently been posted on social media. The Scalextric team kindly sent us a pre-production sample to have a look at and share pictures and vital statistics with SlotRacer Online readers. This car is pretty much what will arrive with retailer this summer - a final signed sample before it goes into production in Shenzhen.

       

Scalextric have decided to model the 2019 GT3R shape as opposed to the GTE 2019 RSR. Their previous Porsche GT body was the 2013-17 RSR, which did limit the liveries available somewhat. The GT3 shape allows Scalextric choose from a vast number of fabulous cars that race in numerous GT series around the world. Of course from this year, IMSA have ditched LMGT in favour of two GT3 classes, with the World Endurance Championship (and therefore Le Mans) following in 2024. GT3 is the future.

       

This first livery models the Canadian Pfaff Motorsport Porsche that won the GTD class at the 12 Hours of Sebring last year. It's an fabulous livery that really stands out on the IMSA grid. Driven by Porsche factory driver Laurens Vanthoor, Canadian Zacharie Robichon and engineer-turned-racer Lars Kern, the 'Plaid Porsche' won, having qualified last after brake issues. Lars Kern summed up the elation in the team...

It's unbelievable to win the 12 Hours of Sebring. This is one of the biggest sports car races in the world. The team deserves exactly that – they were working so hard last year and we didn't race much. Everybody did a perfect job. We saved the best guy for the end, and Larry (Laurens) finished the job.

Back to the Scalextric model - and there's no doubt this is a beautiful-looking car with very sharp decoration...

       

The differences from the previous Scalextric Porsche GTE are clear and it sits very nicely alongside another recent GT car from the IMSA series...

       

There's no doubt collectors and Porsche fans are going to want this car on their shelves. But what about home and club racers? Here's some vital statistics...

Length: 145mm
Wheelbase: 77.1mm
Guide pivot to rear axle: 90.6mm
Rear track: 62.0mm
Height: 37.7mm
Weight: 80.0g
Body weight: 29.6g including rear valance
Rear wheel diameter: 17.1mm

Plus a look underneath and inside the car...

       

Apart from the neat Porsche logo and the reinforced DPR hatch, it's a pretty standard Scalextric GT layout. Except that the lower portion of the rear is a separate piece. This isn't unheard of on slot cars and does allow much more detail and a more authentic shape than a one-piece mould. However, racers will need to do some work on this to get some decent body float - a little bit of surgery and gluing the separate part to the body should do the job. Slightly more work than normal, but not insurmountable.

The magnet comes out easily and there is plenty of room for ballast. I set up the car non-mag with a pair of urethane tyres, a gram or so of blue tack beside the motor, plus a C8515 digital plug - and gave it a run out before our Worthing Digital evening this week...

       

No timing, but the car was nice and smooth to drive on a big 100-foot Scalextric digital layout. From some quite fast-paced laps, I though the car has everything needed for a good Scalextric GT racer. The front wheels are just touching the track, so the usual work re-profiling the braids, truing wheels, tyres and adding a little weight front and mid-ships would certainly improve things - plus that work on the body layout to get some float. It turned out a few WHO/digital racers have the Pfaff Motorsport Porsche on pre-order, so we'll definitely see at least one on our GT championship grid later this year.

Coming-up... I'll be giving the Plaid Porsche a full timed shakedown on my home track in both non-magnet and standard set-up. Keep an eye out for the report next week!

[Alcopa]

Thanks for the update - as usual. You can also view the car running on Dave Kennedy's Slot Car News YouTube channel --

Already pre-ordered of course but with the new body, could they make the 2019 24 hr SPA Gulf car????   And would they do a white kit by any possible chance...????

Can't wait!!!

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After some satisfying laps at WHO/digital last week, it was time to give the Porsche a spin on a typical home track - which will be the normal terrain for most of the production models sold... at least of those that get taken out of their boxes.

   

As the Porsche came back from the club in a non-mag set-up, I started with it that way. I removed the digital chip and changed the tyres to some NSR Supergrips, as that's what I've used when I've tested preview samples before. Simply removing the magnet and using the Scalextric tyres (designed for magnet racing) is a waste of time - the Supergrips and about 1.5g of weight in front of the motor gives a better car and a meaningful comparison to other preview models.

   

My test track is a typical 4x8 rug racing layout - essentially the Jadlam SL6 set, built with Scalextric Sport track and an ARC Air powerbase. It's very technical and gives a good indication of how a car will handle on a home track, plus there's a quick squirt of full throttle on the four-and-a-half foot straight.

   

The Porsche was very predictable on the track - no surprises, no weird understeer and just a gradual slide of the rear end, which was perfectly controllable. I could throw it into corners and get some big slides, but it was easier to drive it neat and fast. A first 2 minute run got me acquainted and then I set 22 laps and a best time of 5:15 seconds - a very decent non-mag time for a Scalextric car...

   

When compared with other Scalextric preview samples with the same tweaks (Supergrips, 1.5g of weight and screws loosened), the Porsche was slightly quicker than the Pagani Huayra Roadster BC (22 laps & 5:20 seconds) - a car I liked very much. It was a little off the Corvette C8R (23 laps & 4:96 seconds), but not by much... and the C8R was very impressive. Another recent Scalextric GT3 car - the new Vantage - managed 22 laps and a 5:32 second best lap. I suspect with some work on the body float, the Porsche will be up there with the 'Vette. How that translates to a club track is another thing, but non-mag speed and predictability on a twisty home track is a promising start.

Of course, most Scalextric cars will be run on Sport track and fitted with magnets, so let's now have a look at the Porsche's performance back in its original configuration. I have plenty of data to compare, but wanted a straight head-to-head with the previous Scalextric Porsche...

   

That Porsche 911 GTE is pretty much stock, the original tyres have been scuffed up and the braids re-profiled SCX-style. I delivered 27 laps and a best of 4:21, which is a good two-minute run for that car. I do like the 'old' Porsche - it's very predictable and can be pushed hard. The new 'Plaid' Porsche wasn't quite so easy to drive. Nor was it as predictable  with magnets as it was without. There was good grip from the tyres and the magnet, although the rear stepped out a little too quickly for my liking, especially as the tyres got dirty. Scuffing up the tyres would certainly have helped. And then there was an occasional understeer moment, which is always frustrating. The best I could get was  25 laps and 4:46 seconds - and that was after three or four runs.

Without being able to tweak much on the car (it had to go back to Margate in its original state), I loosened the body screws as much as I could... Back on the track, the understeer was gone and the car was easier to drive. On my first timed run after the tweak, I set a new best of 26 laps and 4:23 seconds - getting much closer to the 'old' Porsche...

   

Compared with the other Scalextric preview cars I've looked at over the past couple of years, the Porsche sits right in the middle - interestingly on an identical lap score and best time as the Corvette C8R with magnets fitted and the new Vantage is just ahead of them...

   

Whether deliberate or not (and I suspect it is), the Scalextric team are producing cars in their different themed ranges that can compete with each other on track. The GT cars seem to be a little less stuck down than some of the other cars - partly because they are easier to drive with a wider track and are less tippy (the Mustang being an exception). The Porsche 911 GT3R certainly fits in very nicely to the range with its sharp looks and excellent track performance, with and without the magnet.

There are - of course - loads of fabulous potential liveries for this GT3R body shape. I'm sure we all have our favourites and I would like the KCMG car to go with my GTE model. White kit? I don't see it happening. I'm not sure if that's Scalextric or Porsche (or a bit of both), but having a proper licensed product does complicate many things!

Big thanks again to the Scalextric team for sending me another preview car to play with and write up here at SlotRacer Online.