CB's Die Cast Review:  November 24, 1999

1999 four-car Segment 
Ferrari Series

attel's love affair with Ferrari increased tenfold with the consummation of an exclusive license agreement to merchandise all sorts of Ferrari-themed products.  Included in this category is an unannounced four-car segment of Ferrari models in the basic line.  This unofficial thirteenth segment differs from the other twelve in that it consists of four new castings.  Two of the castings never have been released in the basic line, while the other two are updated improved versions of earlier First Editions models.

The F355 Challenge (stock# 23903, collector# 1115) is a beefed-up competition-ready version of the Ferrari 355 released in 1995.  All the tooling on the current F355 is new, and more intricate than that of the earlier casting.  The one-seat black plastic interior sports console, dashboard and seatbelt details.  Windshield wipers are molded into the smoke gray glass.  A small spoiler made of the same material sits on the rear deck.  Extensive decorations, including Italian flag inspired stripes on the nose and roof, are tamped on the body, and do not detract from the appearance.  This car is the only one of the four to be painted other than red, carrying a nice coat of silver metallic high gloss paint.

The 456M (stock# 23930, collector# 1118) is an all-new well-detailed casting.  The body details include door handles, keyholes and fog lights, while the chassis sports a highly detailed drive train.  The gloss red enamel painted body covers a light tan plastic interior under a clear plastic windows insert.  The interior includes a detailed dashboard, armrests, center console and front floor mats.  Many of the interior details are easily visible through the large windshield.  A small three-color Ferrari emblem is tamped on the nose of the car.

Another F355 model, the F355 Spider (stock# 23931, collector# 1119), is the third car in the series.  The model more closely resembles the 1995 version than the Challenge, but this convertible has improved tooling as well.  Even though the Spider and Challenge are basically the same model, they do not share a common chassis, as there are subtle differences between the two.  The tan two-seat interior is designed the same as the `63 T-Bird, with full floor and fold-up sides and dashboard.  In fact, the interior detail is the most intricate in a basic car in a long time, with an open steering wheel, console buttons, ashtray, inside door handles and other details.  Small three-color Ferrari shields and emblem are tamped just behind the front wheel well and on the hood respectively.

The F50 (stock# 23932, collector# 1120) is the hardtop version, and does not share any components with its 1997 First Editions cousin.  The new model features a black-painted chassis, and detail that is more refined that the earlier version.  The black interior is difficult to see, but well-defined details in the center console are visible, such as the stick shift, seat belt latches and parking brake lever.  The windshield and engine cover are clear plastic, and you can see some of the black plastic engine details under a strong light.  As with the Spider, the F50 has the three Ferrari emblems tamped on the body.

This is an impressive series, and more work than usual went into the tooling of these cars.  All four have a metal chassis which, with the exception of the F50, is zinc plated.  All ride on small five-spoke wheels.  One interesting note is that, while all four cars carry a small HW logo, three of the cars have it on the driver's side, where it is not visible in the blister package, and the fourth has it on the rear deck.  Ferrari obviously has final say in the quality of each car and the decorations.  A minor nit pick is the tamping of the tiny three-color emblems.  It appears to be difficult to register the colors properly on a tamp that small, as most of the emblems are misaligned.  This is a minor issue however, as the cars are outstanding.  Hot Wheels collectors who are Ferrari enthusiasts will be ecstatic.  One other note is, unlike the Ferrari 512M last year, Mattel chose to call attention to these cars by changing the color of the title stripe on the blister card from blue to red.  This attention-getter has worked, as all four cars have been difficult to find.