SCX FERRARI FXX

Review by Taxi

As if the Enzo wasn't extreme enough, Ferrari continued to develop it in the guise of the FXX. Even by Ferrari's standard this is a very exclusive car with less than 40 made, including one for a certain Mr Schumacher.

The Enzo was largely ignored by the slot car manufacturers, only Carrera made a (rather disappointing) model. This model from SCX may turn out to be almost as exclusive as the real thing, so let's see what it has to offer. 

We expect modern slotcars to look great and this car fares quite well. Although the FXX will never win an automotive beauty contest, SCX have done a good job of representing the original. The body moulding is crisp and clean without any visible flaws. Paintwork is equally good, a deep glossy red, smoothly and evenly applied. The car doesn't have much tampo printing, but what's there is good.

The FXX doesn't have mirrors, which means less things to damage in those inevitable off-track excursions! (The real car has a rear facing video camera). No aerials and robust rear winglets make this a potentially hard-to-damage car. Front and rear lights are fitted in the body shell, though there is noticeable 'light-bleed' front and rear.

Generally the car is neatly assembled; glazing, lights, exhausts fit perfectly. But the lower body sides are separate pieces and on my car there are small gaps between these and the main body - you can see a line extending from the front edge of the rear wheel arches. The gap is tiny, less than 1mm but it's enough to be visible. 

The interior is nicely moulded but nearly everything is dark grey or black so it doesn't really stand out. There is a partial roll-cage too, and the driver is present from mid-chest up. Through the rear windscreen we can see a large chromed 'engine'. 

The chassis is attached to the body with 5 screws - two at the front, two in the centre and one at the back. There are also two pins moulded into the body which locate in holes in the chassis. This seems a bit like overkill. I usually remove the centre screws and pins to allow the body to move a little. 

The chassis is a familiar SCX set-up, with snap-in guide, front stub axles and the drive train housed in a separate pod. The motor pod is not the new design we've seen on the Morgan and others, instead it's the older type with a single pivot point front and rear. The motor in my car is a RX42 although apparently some of these have been produced with the more powerful 42B.

The pod is supposed to give a little flexibility but its travel is limited by stops moulded into the underside of the interior. These can be trimmed but not by much or the tyres will rub against the wheel arches.

I noticed that my car wasn't quite sitting flat. I adjusted the spring contacts for the motor which are the usual suspects but it didn't cure the problem. I was starting to think that the chassis was warped but it's ok. It turns out that the motor pod is slightly warped so it had to be set out of line with the chassis to get the axle level. I'll probably hot-glue it in place.

As it is, the FXX is a lot of fun. It's no rocket, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's a car that is easy to drive, the milder motor means it's so smooth and consistent to drive without the snap and twitch you sometimes get with more powerful cars. Handling is quite accomplished - yes the tail will swing wide if pushed too hard but generally is a capable and forgiving car to drive. The sort of car that you put on the track to run for ten laps, and find yourself 200 laps later with a huge grin on your face.

My car has a couple of minor (in my opinion) faults. I don't want to call SCX's quality control into question over one example but if other people also have these issues I would encourage them to report the problems on forums or direct to SCX. SCX have shown that they will respond to problems: there were problems with light circuits burning out a year or two ago, but that seems to have been sorted - this car has done hundreds of laps and the lights are absolutely fine.

But I'm enjoying the FXX anyway. Overall it's nicely made, very well finished and its performance is strong enough to be a lot of fun. It may not be a killer at the local club but against other cars in its performance class (other SCX, Carrera, Scalextric etc) it's going to be competitive. 

And as a car to drive for smiles, it's a winner...