Carrera DIGITAL 132 BMW 320 Turbo flat construction

Carrera Digital 132 BMW 320 Turbo Flat Car "Team Schnitzer"

Item No. 30973


Technical data:
Weight (complete vehicle with magnets): 115 grams
Weight (body): 45 grams
Length including spoiler: 158 mm
Wheelbase: 80 mm
Track width (front axle): 57 mm
Track width (rear axle): 61 mm

The model:
The Group 5 era in the German racing championship was a wild time. Although they were referred to as "production cars," the regulations allowed for a great deal of freedom. However, these were initially used only hesitantly. The first BMW 320 Group 5 was—despite its lavish flares and spoilers—a relatively conservative design. At the time, BMW even offered a conversion kit with which a standard E21 BMW 3 Series could be modified accordingly, at least on the body side. It's unimaginable today, but anyone with enough money back then could saw and weld their own Group 5 racer at home.
When Zakspeed introduced the famous and legendary Turbo Capri in the 1978 season, everything changed. The regulations were pushed to the limit; the car was based on a tubular space frame chassis that only housed the original passenger cell and was covered with parts of the original body. BMW felt under pressure and copied the concept, resulting in the BMW 320 Turbo Flachbau. To improve aerodynamics, they even installed a double rear window, giving the car a fastback silhouette.

The model:
In and around the 1980/81 Carrera catalog, the BMW 320 Turbo Flachbau (low-profile) is depicted as an original vehicle several times in large format in various racing scenes. In fact, the flat-profile version had never been available as a slot car before. Both Carrera (at the time) and its then and current competitors had previously only offered the "tall" predecessor model. With the new release from Carrera, a blank spot on the slot car map has been erased. The Schnitzer version, painted in bright yellow, will be delivered first. As the dimensions and weight indicate, this is a relatively large (or at least long) slot car, which is not exactly lightweight. The weight difference to the Ford Capri Zakspeed is 10 grams, but the BMW has a continuous front axle instead of the Ford's individual wheels. The powerful, wide, and flat look comes across very well in the model, and it also characterizes the driving characteristics: Even with low magnetic holding force, the risk of tipping is close to zero. However, due to the weight, acceleration is not quite as good as the Ford Capri. In return, the roadholding is a bit firmer and more forgiving. Overall, the model requires some getting used to, but then it can be driven very comfortably and quite quickly around the track.

Conclusion:
As surprising as the announcement was, the implementation was just as successful. If I had one wish, I would also like to have the model in a large 1:24 scale on the Carrera track.


CoMod Chris