Scalextric has continued its time machine visit to the cars of yesteryear with their beautiful rendition of the beloved 300 SLR. Mercedes has had a long history in automobile racing and this car’s history goes back before I was even born. I hope I’m not making some of you glance over your shoulder looking for the faceless, black hooded robe wearing figure holding his gleaming scythe. However, I have been taking a liking to the “vintage” cars in the past year and I knew that this was one I would be adding to the stable on looks alone. I knew if it drove half as good as it looked, it would be a winner. Grab the leather gloves and goggles, step on the gas, and get a face full of dust and bugs on our way to the checkered flag with this new Mercedes.

Appearance:

 

What were you expecting, a color other than silver? Silver is the color for old Mercs and that’s all you need to know. The finish of the 300 was good overall, but it did have some blemishes around the hood. Actually, in one spot it appears that someone did a little touch up with a brush. The red and black outlined 658 is a great contrast to the silver base color. The body lines are long, sleek and curvilicous. Yes, I just made up a word that Spell Check doesn’t recognize. The deep vents and flare over the front fender are great details that catch your eye. The other side is even better!

 

Check out the exhaust and vents on this side of the 300! Sadly, pictures on retailer sites didn’t show this side since it faced the back of the display case. However, it makes for a nice surprise for those expecting both sides being similar in appearance. The only thing I would have liked to see different is the exhaust painted a darker color for contrast.

 

Look at the mouth on this thing! The air vent up front has a black photo-etched mesh grill behind it which is connected to the chassis, not the body. There’s a simple Mercedes logo painted above this opening flanked by the large trademark head lights trimmed in black. There’s also a faux air intake grill on the hood.

 

The tail end sports a raised Mercedes logo and large 658. There are little gaps in the car’s numbers between the red and black as you can see above. The tail lights are the highlight of the backside. They reside in pods molded outward from the body, while the lenses themselves are divided into three curved sections. They look great all lit up.

 

The SLR is a thin car and is only around 2 inches at the body’s widest point. I told you it was a sleek ride.

 

This driver has character! Look at that aerodynamic snoz. He’s wearing a blue outfit, sporting racing goggles, and his dome is topped in a period styled helmet. The windshield is a nice piece of work too. However, if this Benz ends up on its top I feel sorry for the driver, since his head is acting as the roll bar.

 

Above you see two additional vents or intakes and the fragile rear view mirror. The mirror is nicely done, but is going to be missing on a lot of these 300’s after some serious racing.

 

This close up of the exhaust area shows how deep they go into the chassis of the SLR. There’s also a nice chrome trim piece that runs down each side of the car. The only bad thing about creating this type of depth in a body is that you see the screw post.

NOTE: When removing the body from the chassis you must gently pry the body away from the chassis to get the body section that runs between the exhaust pipes to clear them.

 

The wheels are probably the most striking part of the Benz. The wire wheel treatment was executed to perfection and each is topped of with a Mercedes emblem knockoff. These knockoffs could be another item to get knocked off while racing.

 

The head lights are the now standard Xenon bulbs. They are beyond bright at full power. So bright in fact, that you can see the glow on the track below the car. Below the tail lights show up nicely too under full power. Let’s all give Shawn a round of applause for his best impression of a car jack. He’s multi-talented!

 

Performance:

 

There are 6 screws to remove the body from the chassis. They are the shortest screw I’ve seen yet on a Scalextric and probably very easy to lose if you were to drop one of them. They are pointed out by the yellow arrows above. The red arrow points out an unusual flaw in the paint. This is where the display case screw spacers meet the chassis. No paint here. Odd isn’t it? You also get a peek at a big surprise with the 300’s motor placement.

 

Surprise!!! The motor is mounted in the front and offset in the chassis. I wasn’t expecting this when I took it out of the display case. Check out how the interior fits over the end bell of the motor to help stabilize and keep it in place. I don’t know how the whole digital chip works, but I’m guessing this one might be a challenge or just flat out impossible to pull off.

 

The interior is detailed with an instrument cluster and hard to see gear shifter. You see that the co-driver’s seat is there for use in the #722 version available in the 300 SLR Deluxe Car Set. The yellow arrows point out the 2 screws that keep the interior in place. That’s a total of 8 screws to get this baby apart.

 

Here’s a shot of the interior. They molded a nice little pocket for the motor.

 

Above is the SLR’s power plant free of its interior covering. The motor is tight in its pod and actually angled down towards the back of the chassis. The bushing for the motor shaft might be an area for some glue. However, I don’t see it popping out like Fly’s are known to do under power. The interior helps it stay in place too.

 

We now turn our attention to the front axle for something different from Scalextric. On the left you see the axle as it appears when you remove the body. The right shows that the front axle is held in place by a brace that is held tightly in place with the front body screws. Below is the axle brace when it’s removed from the chassis.

 

Track Time:

I put the 300 SLR through its paces on the Garage’s home track. It’s around 50 feet of paint Carrera track. I first ran the Merc straight from the box and turned a quick lap time of 5.940. This car has great pickup speed and exceptional braking. Down the long front stretch of the test track it had more horses than I could unleash before hitting the first turn. I can’t wait to run it down the local shops 30+ straight section. I don’t think I’ve begun to see the 300’s top end yet.

The magnet upon first inspection looked larger than normal too me. It turned out to be an optical illusion looking at the magnet pod on the bottom of the chassis. However, even with the bar magnet the SLR isn’t a magnet rocket. Due to the small contact patch of the thin tires the rear end still slides out in the turns. So, there’s hope for you non-mag runners out there to get it under control.

The tires did require a little sanding to get rid of the raised ridges on the inside and outside of the contact patch. These tires are made of a pretty soft rubber and where very easy to sand down. I didn’t take them down to a slick by sanding away the tread pattern. I just sanded them down until the ridges were gone on both the front and rear tires. After this little adjustment I was able to turn a more improved fast lap of 5.586.

Judgment Day:

 

The Scalextric Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR is a beautifully crafted car. Its looks will attract most and that it performs as good as it looks should attract the rest of the lookie-loos. It has more than enough speed and torque, as well as, impressive handling without being a magnet beast that Scaley is known for with most of their cars. It will give you a run for you money and it’s worth the money spent to add it to your collection.

Thanks to www.cincyslots.com for the 300 SLR for review and make sure to stop by the site to sink your teeth into the new releases from Scalextric and many other brands. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments at the email address below. Here’s wishing you health, happiness, and the pursuit of every slot car on the market in 2008. If only our wallets were that big. Happy New Year!!!

Eric Cropper
AKA legionofone
ecropper@hotmail.com

 

Thanks Go To CINCYSLOTS For Sponsoring This Review!

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