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Stock #28742 |
CB's Die Cast Review: January 2, 2001 |
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2001 First Editions™ #1
Happy New Year, everybody!
As we forge ahead in this odyssey of life, we have the privilege of entering not only 2001, but the 21st
Century as well as the Third Millennium. Good wishes to everyone in the times ahead.
This year's First Editions lineup has more or a Le Mans flavor than in years past. The first
entry of this group to appear is modeled after the Cadillac Northstar Le Mans Prototype that ran in
the 2000 race -- the first such appearance by a Caddy at Le Mans in fifty years. The open-cockpit
racer is powered by a McLaren-prepared twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter version of the Northstar V8 engine,
fitted into a Riley and Scott chassis. The car also features the unique Night Vision system
that debuted later in the year on the production DeVille model. The car performed beyond
expectations when it debuted in the 24-hour Daytona endurance race in February and was projected
to finish in the top
five. But an oil pressure leak forced the car to withdraw with just over an hour left in the
race. In spite of the mishap, the car finished second in the SportsRacer class and 13th
overall. In addition, the Caddy was the fastest car overall during the first 18 hours, leading
the race briefly and running in the second place position after 16 hours. At Le Mans in June,
three of the Caddys finished in 20th, 22nd and 23rd place.
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The First Editions model is based on the Cadillac that finished 22nd in the Le Mans 24-hour
race. The die-cast body is painted silver enamel, has good detail throughout and appears to be
faithful to the full-sized car. The Cadillac shield and name are tamped on the node in black,
along with those of other sponsors. Additional sponsors are tamped on the sides in black and
white, and a U.S. flag is tamped in red, white and blue on either side, low in front of the rear
wheel. A tiny new-style HW logo is tamped in black and white on the right side, high in front
of the rear wheel. Unlike recent past Hot Wheels models of Le Mans cars, the rear spoiler is
die cast and part of the body. The chassis is black plastic and non-descript; except for some
exhaust detail in the rear. The inner intake vents and interior appear to be a separate black
plastic piece, although they could be part of the chassis component. The driver's seat has
moderate detail, as do the intake vents. There is no clear plastic in the model, as the
windshield "glass" is tooled as part of the body and painted silver enamel. The car rides on
standard lace wheels, is held together with two rivets at either end of the car and is manufactured
in Malaysia.
I have to admit, the car is constructed better than I thought it would be, based on the pre-production
pictures and web jpegs I've seen. Finding the spoiler as part of the body pleasantly surprised
me. I'm disappointed that the windshield is not a separate component formed from clear or tinted
plastic, but I guess in today's cost reality that is asking a lot. The body detail is stronger
than that of the Ferrari 333 SP. The fact that accurate markings are tamped on the car
helps greatly. This isn't going to be one of my favorite castings, but I won't dismiss it as
a failure at the end of the year. Hopefully the Riley & Scott and Panoz LMP
models will at least achieve the quality level that this model has.
