Vanquish MG McLaren M8D

03/23/03

It's finally here, the Vanquish MG McLaren M8D, a car eagerly awaited for some time now, and an icon of many Can-Am fans world wide. Bruce McLaren's name has been synonymous with motorsports since the '60's, and lives on today as one of the big names in auto racing. In the '60's and '70's, it was the name to beat. Like many, I grew up memorizing my Auto World catalog, and no one reading an Auto World catalog in the late 60's and early 70's could possibly not be familiar with the Auto World McLaren. We build models and raced slot cars, bought the decals and read Model Car Science magazines, and everything had ties or reference to the Auto World McLaren. Though this car does not depict the Auto World version, it too has ties, and therefore has a place in the hearts of many who remember the "good ol' days" of auto racing.
	The Vanquish MG McLaren I tested depicts the familiar McLaren orange #5 driven by Denny Hulme, the 1970 Can Am Champion. This, the second unique release by Vanquish MG, holds many similarities to the Lola T-260 released earlier this year. Lets get the most obvious similarities out of the way right now: It's too large, and it has the controversial

differential. So with that out of the way, let's look at the car. The finish is absolutely awesome, though some may think the orange is not dark enough to match the prototype. I don't see the difference as being so great to be an issue. I found no dust or imperfections in the paint or clear coat. The tampo printing is sharp
and well done, conforming to the sharp body lines without fail. The body lines and molded details are sharp and clean, and I could find only a little flash on the body. The vent moldings are crisp, and are backed up with grille-work. Probably the most fragile details on the body would be the rear-view mirrors.

My biggest complaint about the overall outward appearance is that the driver sits way too high in the cockpit. All the pictures I've seen of the real car and driver shows the helmet of the driver positioned below the level of the roll bar, but on this model he is about 1/3rd of a head above the roll bar. It has been described as though he were sitting on a pillow. This could easily be fixed by trimming the bottom off the driver should this be an issue for you.

Removing the body requires the removal of four screws. Under the body we find the superb detail the Vanquish MG has come to be know for. As a kid I built a 1:20 scale model of the McLaren, and it had only slightly more detail than this car. The underbody detail is a work of art, and the engine is the centerpiece. The picture at right says it all, and to fully appreciate one you must see it for yourself.

The engine depicts a big block Chevy, complete with red valve covers and Chevrolet logos. Also included are the famous velocity stacks and distributor cap. Also molded to the engine are the rear shock absorbers with springs. This is some awesome detail for a slot car, and though some argue that all this detail is unnecessary, I find it adds to the scale racing experience.

Removing the interior detail requires removing an additional two screws from underneath. Unlike the Lola T-260, the interior pan does not make up part of

the body, so if you desired to lighten up the car be eliminating some of the unseen detail, you wouldn't have to go the extra step of cutting and splicing some of the interior to the body.

The actual chassis and pan assembly is identical to that of the Lola T-260. It consists of a thin frame of a chassis clipped onto a pan that matches the contour of the body. The chassis frame holds a strong button magnet just forward of the motor. The front axle is solid and floats up and down. The rear end hold the infamous differential. This one item has probably sparked more debate than any other single slot car item, with possible exception of the use of magnets for downforce.

A differential allows the two rear wheels to spin independently of each other, and Vanquish MG claims that this allows for a 15% faster cornering speed. Though my test of the McLaren and Lola T-260 have not proven this, I have determined that by using a differential requires a slightly different touch in cornering. It is my theory that if one were to learn to drive the differential car, one might just find that it is possible to get faster times than if the car had a solid rear axle.

Whatever the cast may be, it has also been found in the past, as with my own Lola T-260's, that the differential in the Vanquish MG's have failed due to the added flex allowed by the design of the differential. Harry Wise found in his own tests a way to strengthen the differential, lengthening the life of the differential, possibly eliminating failure all together.

Harry recommends taking the differential apart, which is just a matter snapping both sides of the axle off from the crown gear. Use oil or silicone lubricant on the gears inside the housing, and superglue the pieces back together. I've found that this does help in keeping everything in line, and the lubricant helps decrease the noise level that comes from the differential. With this done, it's time to hit the track.

I found that the rear tires needed a bit of truing. I was surprised by this because the Lola I had tested previously required almost none. Once done, however, the car ran smooth. There is a fair amount of noise that emanated from the differential, but the more I drove it the smoother it got. Prior to writing this, I put about 2000 laps on the car, and it became less and less noisy, more and more smooth. I also experienced no symptoms failure of the differential as well.

I found the car to be a perfect match for the Lola T-260 by Vanquish, and it should be. It's using the same chassis and running gear, and very similar in weight. The cars look great together on the track, and because of the size make for some close side-by-side racing, even on a Carrera track. When compared to my Lola with a solid rear axle the McLaren was only a fraction of a second slower on my 36' Carrera track.

Since my Carrera timer only measures to the fasted 1/tenth of a second, it's difficult to get an accurate measure of how close or how far apart the times really are, but the McLaren was able to pull off a 2.9 second time, while the solid axle Lola managed a 2.8, though not consistently. Though this could mean a difference of close to 2/tenths of a second difference (high 2.9's compared to low 2.8's), I believe it's closer to less than 5/100's of a second based on the consistency of the times for the McLaren, and the fact that I couldn't get constant 2.8's for the Lola. These differences may be more noticeable on a longer run, but I can't support that at this time.

I found this car a blast to drive, and a welcome new car to the market. The McLaren is the car I've waited for, and now that it's hear I am not disappointed. The size issue is the main reason many have shunned the Vanquish. Let me state that on the track running with the FLY's it's hard to notice that the car is larger in scale than other cars on the track. If you have time to notice, you're driving too slow...

Thank you to Jon at Rad Trax for sending me these great cars. I recommend you check out his website for Vanquish MG and other great cars.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to eMail me at ken@slotcarillustrated.com.

Ken

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