Sunday, November 6, 2016

#740 SCALEXTRIC – MERCEDES WANKEL C-111 (Ref. 4044) (1970)


The Mercedes Wankel was one of those legendary concept cars of the 70s, from which only a few units were made. Most accurately, there were 4 versions, that were made between 1969 and 1979.



It included revolutionary advances in their motors, like the Wankel and diesel motors as well as motors with turbocompressors, and avant-garde features like gullwing doors, air conditioning and carbon fiber body.


The car was fast like hell, it broke several speed records thanks to its powerful motors, and of course, it was a car that appeared on the press and TV, gaining a certain popularity those days. That made many toy manufacturers to put their attention in this model to reproduce it on different scales.


Scalextric did a wonderful job turning this model into a 1:32 slot car. It was released in 1970 (it corresponds to the first C-111 version from 1969). The car was available in green, orange, white and yellow, although there is a rare “red-ish” version. This rarity could be explained in which the orange plastic mixed a little bit with red plastic from other models, or maybe there was a mistake and somebody feed the injection machine with the wrong colour.during the production. The fact is that several units came with a colour which looks more like red, and they are scarce. If the guys at Exin noticed that, maybe many red models were destroyed or recycled into new models.


So far about the car model. Notice I also have the original box (with yellow dot) in very good shape and the instruction sheet. This is the one I show in my blog, because I never worried about not having them, and I do not dare buying them online because thez have been reproduced and you never know if the one you’re buying is original or not, until you have it on your hands and analyse it through a powerful magnifying glass.



The complete document comprises 4 pages with an approximate A5 size (each page).


I love this piece of paper. Note that the illustrations are made specifically for the Mercedes, every reference had its specific drawings. Most sheets found today are bent in the middle and the paper has yellowed a little bit, but this is not a problem for me. The fake instructions are also artificially yellowed and bent, making them almost indistinguishable from the original ones.

 
FACTS AND FIGURES
  • Name: MERCEDES WANKEL C-111 (Ref. 4044)
  • Scale: 1:32
  • Year: 1970
  • Company: Scalextric Exin (Spain)
  • Size: approx. 12 cm

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