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BMW M3 GTR
Review by Taxi


Model	Fly BMW M3
Motor	Fly Racing,front mounted,inline
Chassis	Plastic
Body	Painted & tampo printed plastic
Wheels	Painted plastic wheels, rubber tyres
Price/Availability	Around £35 (std) £45 (lights)
Rivals	Ninco BMW M3,Scalextric Porsche GT3

Likes	Nice powerful motor, lots of detail
Dislikes	Prices! and flimsy rear wing

What is it about the BMW 3-series? And especially the BMW M3 (321bhp in a road car! Gimme!) It seems that just about all of them are driven by psychopathic poseurs on a mission! (Apologies if you are a/the sane M3 driver). And with this being the racing version we can only expect even worse.

The car I've got for review is the very loud orange and yellow (with flames!) version from the Japanese touring car series. This is the version with lights.

Starting as usual with the bodyshell, we find a well finished car that nicely captures the look and stance of the M3. If that sounds a bit odd, the reason I've put that in is because I also have a Ninco M3, and if you look at the two side by side the Ninco car somehow looks softer, less defined than the Fly car. Anyway, back to the point! Paintwork and printing are to the usual high standard, everything is sharp, clear and legible. The body has some nice detail touches such as open Naca-style duct on the roof, red tow hooks front and rear, big open vents in the bonnet, which are backed by plastic grills and wire mesh to give a nice effect. Another wire mesh grill adorns the front, below the chromed BMW 'kidney' grilles and BMW badge on the bonnet lip. One odd detail though. Running from the interior to one of the rear side windows is a pipe (I presume it's a fuel tank vent pipe), but because it ends at the window rather than coming through it, the effect is rather odd. (or I need to get out more). The interior itself is highly detailed with full roll cage, detailed instruments, fire extinguisher and various electronics boxes and a nicely presented driver with some detail on his helmet. There's even a tiny BMW badge on the steering wheel. The only criticism I have is that the clear coat on this model is a little thin and orange peely (is that a word?) in places. Strangely, this isn't a problem on the other Fly BMW I have, so be picky!

Obviously the level of detail here adds weight, but don't worry because the motor is up to the task. Although it's a Mabuchi size rather than NC2 size motor, it carries a Fly racing wrapper and really does seem more powerful than standard (this car will outrun a Fly Marcos in a straight line). Here the motor is mounted inline, at the front with the usual Fly propshaft arrangement. Pinion and axle bearings are brass. The bearings snap tightly into place with no need for glue. Front axle is Fly's stub axle affair, but both my cars were relatively slop free. The wiring is very neatly arranged, the wires running to the rear lights are held in place by little clips moulded into the chassis. Wheels and tyres are very good, painted an aluminium colour and are good representations of the BMW style wheel, and have small photo-etched brake discs fitted as well. Nice.

Performance is very good. Yes the car is a little heavier than some but the upgraded motor more than makes up for it. I did my usual mod of cutting out the base of the magnet pocket to sit the magnet flush with the underside of the chassis to give a bit more grip and counteract the effect of the weight going sideways. I fitted a small spacer on the rear axle to take the slight slop. The car was a little noisy at first, but with the spacer, some lubrication and a bit of running in it's now more than acceptable.

The lights need a couple of laps to get up to full brightness but look great. Because this is a battery system, they remain at full glow whatever you're doing with the throttle and remain on for some time after you've removed it from the track (v. helpful if you're night racing and trying to locate your crashed car!).

I like these cars. I don't mind the small weight penalty for all the extra detail, especially when you have the upgraded motor as compensation! With a little work it's competitive, or at least competitive enough. Well worth adding to the collection.

A little word on price. I bought my first (unlit) M3 not long after they were launched and paid nearly full price (£30). I bought the lighted car several weeks later at a substantial discount (£27). It's always worth shopping around and seeing what discounts turn up a little while after a new model is released!

Taxi