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Scalextric Audi Sport Quattro S1

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wixwacing
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Scalextric Audi Sport Quattro S1

Post by wixwacing »

Scalextric Audi Sport
Quattro S1



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by Phil Wicks
The Audi Sport Quattro S1 was introduced at the end of 1984 as an update to the Audi Sport Quattro. The car featured a 2,110 cc inline 5-cylinder engine that produced a quoted figure of 350 kW (470 bhp). However, the turbocharger used a recirculating air blow off system which allows the turbo to keep spinning at high speed on overrun, and the actual output figure was in excess of 373 kW at 8000 rpm. In addition to the improved power output, an aggressive aerodynamic kit that featured very distinctive wings and spoilers to the front and rear of the car was added to increase downforce. The vehicle weight was lightened to just 1,090 kg, giving an acceleration time of 0-100 km/h in just 3.1 seconds!


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This model is a reproduction of the S1 which proved to be an immediate success on the rally circuit, helping Walter Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer win the 1985 San Remo Rally. A modified version of the S1 was also driven by Michèle Mouton. The S1 evolution would become the final Group B car produced by Audi with the works team withdrawing from the championship following the horrific accident in the Portugal rally in 1986.


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[pre]Michèle Mouton
Hannu Mikkola Stig Blomqvist[/pre][/size][/b]


Audi Quattro footage


Twenty years after the cancellation of Group B, the Sport Quattro S1 was still widely regarded as the most powerful rally car ever fielded in international competition, with the final factory machines of 1986 rated at an incredible 441 kW (591 bhp).


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In addition to Group B competition, the S1 won the 1985 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with Michèle Mouton in the driving seat, setting a world record time in the process. This victory was repeated in 1987, this time at the hands of Walter Röhrl, and again in 1988 (Michèle Mouton) and 1989 (Bobby Unser), completing the hat-trick.


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Big shoes to fill indeed and not to be undertaken lightly. Revell tried it with the early S1 and although detail and finish were good, the final product fell far short of the image with the model very unstable on most surfaces. I suspect Revell wanted to reproduce the tail-out stance the S1 could achieve quite freely in any corner, only Revell’s model doesn’t give the impression it spits fire and brimstone on most surfaces! The traction magnet is vestigial to say the least and the model readily topples over in all but the most sweeping of bends......gladly, Mr Scaley has done better than this .....but first things first!


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The first requirement of a good slotcar is to look good, and Mr Scaley has captured this well. Paintwork is mostly good but on my model there are some very average tampo overlaps around the guards (wings/fenders) Colour is good and Scaley have captured most of the feel of the sponsorship except, probably due to tobacco advertising laws, Scaley have decided to leave the German American HB International cigarette company advertising off the model, with the exception of the HB on the screen sun visor. This is a point to Revell as they have included this in full. Looking round the model Scalextric have managed to accommodate everything else.


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As with the real thing the model’s striking feature is the large air dam on the front of the model and the ‘sponsons’ on the sides covering the huge increase in track. the rear wing looks like it is here to stay so I defy anyone to loose it under normal racing conditions. The overall impression is of a utilitarian body as apposed to modern rally cars with their gratuitous body styling. Inside the cabin is a nice interior with a full crew and accessories, and a set of plain wheels and useable soft tyres complete its outward appearance.


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Looking underneath, the axles are fairly snug in their bushes with endfloat a minimum, and the wheels are pleasantly concentric but the tyre tread areas are considerably convex; this is due to the differences in the large and small steps of the plastic rim. On the rear the tyres are undermoulded and this causes the large step to push the centre of the tyre tread out into a hump; so there is a bit of sanding to be done here.


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The odd thing is that the front wheels are smaller than the rears by about a half mil?? MMmmmmmm? but they still suffer the same fault, but as fronts this is not so important. As well as some realistic tyre tread patterns it would also have been nice to see some tampo’d tyre names on the sidewalls, but Scaley have opted to ignore these features.


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Also underneath it is interesting to note the axle-position magnet slot behind the motor has been used for the traction magnet? I first came across this with the XB Falcon when there was an uproar about the effects of the offset magnet (which I believe were much overstated). I have since discovered that the rear position is for the thinner standard magnet. If you try and fit this in the forward magnet position it is loose and needs to be glued in, but the thicker replacement magnets currently available clip very nicely into this forward position. All else is Scaley fare and the model is also DPR.


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Once again inside the model everything is very neat and tidy and there are no nasty shocks. The rear light board is tight in its mounts but there is an issue at the front; the ferrite choke on the lead wires gets stuck under the front light board and holds it out of its slots; in turn this interferes with the guide movement and also prevents the body fitting snugly on the chassis and tightening down could see something break. Some careful manipulating of this device will see it tuck down the side of the guide and finally clear the light board. The two single strand wires which go onto the guide are actually the legs of the capacitor, and I have had these break on well used models. If you are going to give this or any of the Scaley models with this system a lot of work, I advise you to desolder everything, discard the capacitor and the choke, and resecure the lead wires directly to the two ‘shoes’ which slot in the guide assembly.


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There are a couple of other things to watch for before putting in some track time. When replacing the body on the chassis there is a tendency on this model for the red wire to get trapped under the body mounts, so just make sure it is to one side out of the way. Scaley have also departed from tradition in that they have glued the drivers tray in instead of relying solely on clips. Any attempt to remove it by unclipping it could see the clips break.


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Before taking it off to the track I will spend a few minutes ‘blueprinting’ it to ensure it will be hot to trot straight from the box. My only concern is that the body alone weighs in at a huge 42 grams. this is heaps for such a small model? Looking closer underneath it appears that the body is composite, in as much as that it is made up from several large pieces which have been bonded together (doors, bonnet and roof, guards). Not sure why this is so but a couple of theories are that possibly it was an easier way of casting the unusual shape, or secondly that Scaley have plans for the core mould in some later incarnation or model? Either way, it still weighs 42 grams, which is going to make it a bit top heavy!


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At the track and as expected, the model is inclined to roll over deslot when powering out of corners, not an ideal situation but one that can be addressed at length, but the model has all the other attributes of a good Scalextric model. Good acceleration and straightline speed and useful braking characteristics. On Magnabraid you can still get the back out in the corners without it toppling but it is close, and under the pressures of a race situation that extra tenth performance won’t be available.


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Its shortness works well and the model tends to be fairly controllable in non magnet situations and for those who want that extra tenth, perhaps some new tyres and judicious trimming of the body posts might work. The real car doesn’t sit low on the road so dropping its standing height might just make it look a little odd? Finally, and more importantly, I believe it should have been four wheel drive!


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Although a very nice model I get the feeling Scaley were on a cost cutting exercise with this model. Outside of the tampo it is short of that little bit of extra detail we were getting used to with Scalextric! But it’s still a nice model and mine is for the track anyway, and perhaps all the fine detail may well have ended up as a statistic in a plastic bag! If you love the group B era, then this is a must!
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When I'm not racing slotcars,
I'm out in the back yard, burning food!!

When I win, it's because of my talent, not my car or my controller!
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