Having said that, predictably the first thing you notice as soon as you pull the car out of the box is the colour. Minichamps did a great job here. The paint is smooth, shiny, and metallic, and lives up to its “Solar Beam” moniker. The metallic flakes certainly add a lustrous finish to the paint. It just looks great in the light. Moving on to the various aerodynamic addenda that this car has plenty of, and we find printed carbon fiber graphics, which look well done. Carbon fiber is everywhere on this car – splitter, wing, various smaller winglets and gurneys, door sills, engine bay, side vents. Exterior wise the worse bit is definitely the shutlines on the doors, very poor, and the Solar Beam Metallic exterior paint doesn’t help minimize the issue.
Speaking of vents, you’ll find none on this car, as Minichamps’ models do not come with perforated items. All solid black grilles here. We weren’t expecting them to adorn this car with perforated grills anyway, so I’ll give them a pass.
The car sits well on its wheels, though the ride height looks to be a touch high at the front. It could be induced by the full functioning suspension front and rear. I suspect once the car sits for a bit the suspension will even out. I should also mention that the inside of the rear left wheel appears to be hanging in the air on my model. The tires do not sport any manufacturer prints or stamps, while the brake calipers come with an “AMG” stamp. The rims and brake rotors look on the cheap side, but on the whole, if this car is examined as anything more than the sum of its parts, it’ll disappoint, so we won’t go too far beneath its skin in search of beauty, because there is none to be had.
Underneath the hood the dog leg hinges prevail, while the engine, like on so many modern cars, doesn’t offer much eye candy either. Minichamps did try to mimic the carbon fiber look here, though not the best reproduction it does look clean and all elements seem to be in place.
The underbody offers a nice view of the rather pretty exhaust system that ends at the rear of the car in tacky chrome quad tips. The suspension detail is surprisingly good here, with all the geometry faithfully reproduced.
Inside the interior is full of basic, black plastic details, though the fit and finish is better than I expected out of the box. Full carpeting is found here too, something lacking of late from many of their releases. The carpeting also extends to the rear storage, the icing here is the under belly of the hatch is finished too. Very nice!
In conclusion, what we have here is a runway model. She’s easy on the eye, but as soon as she starts talking, you’ll be waving at the server and asking for the cheque. Beauty is very much skin deep here, as is the trend with Minichamps models of late. The carbon print is great, and even the side view mirrors are covered with the stuff, although it’s the paint that steals the show. It’s a good looking model, and it’ll make a great show piece and a special addition to any supercar collection, so get yours before they’re all snapped up, but be sure to keep your expectations low!
