MTR32 De Cadenet LM4

Review by Nick Garton

Le Mans cars are something of a stock-in-trade for the slottist, whether they be a rug racer, scratch builder or club champion. The variety of cars and eras and sub-types is virtually limitless, but for a section of Le Mans-loving racers there is only one place to shop for a car: Bratislava.

Yes, for bespoke sports and endurance racing nirvana one needs to go further afield than the local hobby store to find the little works of art produced by Milan Tomasek at MTR32 (www.mtr32.com). His production methods, materials and many of his subjects are unique - and at the sharp end of the Richter Scale when it comes to performance.

De Cadenet LM4 It may seem like an esoteric choice of car to make, but in its time the little Group 6 entry built by British privateer Alain de Cadenet was a little cracker. Having started his international sports car career in the late 1960s, racing the big Ferrari 512s for privateer outfits, de Cadenet found that Ferrari was no longer taking orders when new regulations ushered in the Group 6 era of 3-litre open-top cars. Without means to get hold of Ferrari's mighty 312PB, 'de Cad' opted instead to buy a customer Lola chassis and start tinkering with it. He enlisted the help of rising F1 star designer Gordon Murray, who brought a box of Brabham BT33 parts and a lot of knowledge. The team also bought an old Cosworth DFV engine which was later discovered to be the one which pushed Bruce McLaren to victory in the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix. Throughout the mid-1970s de Cadenet raced in the world championship, Can-Am and virtually anywhere else that he could - running as a de Cadenet rather than a Lola. By 1979 the car was a genuine contender and in 1980 it won two of the most prestigious sports car races in the world: the Monza 1000km and the Silverstone 6 Hours, both races which saw 'de Cad' share his car with South African lady racer Desiré Wilson (pictured right). The arrival of Group C effectively killed off the de Cadenet team - although by that stage the burden of owning and running a team was weighing heavily on 'de Cad'. He went to Cougar, while Desiré drove privateer Porsches... but neither ever matched the success they found with their all-British pocket rocket in the summer of 1980.   The Model MTR32 models come in a unique cardboard box, decorated to look like a race transporter for the particular model inside. It's a lovely touch, while within your model is securely screwed to a solid base. Once it's off you already notice something different - the body is squashy. Yes, Milan's bodies are made of lexan. You would never know it to look at his cars - indeed, his Ferrari 550 and Aston Martin DBR9 have many of the subtleties of curve and line that are absent in their hard-bodied equivalents from the big manufacturers. These bodies are works of art, and while they feel frail they are as tough as any nitrous-powered R/C car - and I should know, because I sat on mine!

The body is held on by four pins which go through the shell into blocks of rubber. Beneath lies Milan's bespoke chassis - available in kit form for scratchbuilders - made from PCB. The little de Cadenet is fitted with the anglewinder setup, and very sturdy and weighty it is too - but inline and sidewinder chassis are also available.

With a total weight of 82 grammes, virtually all of the mass sits below the waterline, and then we get to the motive power. Yes it's the 37,500rpm TSRF motor, picking up current via a TSRF guide, braids and wires: pumping all that power to the track via TSRF gears and axles.

There's no doubt that its natural domain is a big, sweeping board track and that's why it comes shod with foam tyres which give F1-style suspension on its immaculate plastic rims. However, I'm going to run it on the big Farnham track - 100% Ninco.

Performance

With nothing more than oiling the bearings and motor my fastest lap was 13.54 seconds, which puts the MTR32 de Cadenet in the thick of the Group 6 pack alongside the Slot.It Ferrari 312PB and Alfa T33, Sloter Lola or the Avant Slot Mirage when running without magnets.

It should be faster still, but those foam tyres can't hope to match rubber without being treated with something sticky - something which few clubs would permit.

On the right compound of rubber and possibly with a more tractable motor like a standard Slot.It V12 I don't doubt that this car would flatten much of its opposition. One thing is for sure: the big TSRF motor requires at least three metres to decelerate from warp speed if you don't run with brakes on, as we do at Farnham.

Verdict

If you want a unique slot car that combines as-good-as-it-gets detailing with track-shattering performance, MTR32 is the place to go.

In Milan's 'RTR' spec I think any car would be simply too brutal for any home racing setup, while for clubs who run purely 'RTR' it will be outlawed before you've even got it out of your race box.

In this setup its natural environment is clearly tearing up board tracks with the track brakes turned up to the max and a Jeremy Clarkson-like addiction to 'powerrrrr'. One thing is for sure: they must be having a heck of a lot of fun at the clubs in Bratislava.

For me, this model will be a shelf queen: a reminder of the fun I had with Alain de Cadenet and Desiré Wilson promoting this year's Autosport 6 Hours of Silverstone. Although, having said that, she may perhaps come out for a run on high days and holidays to scare small children and spark club debates on eligibility!

October 2011