The Hot Wheels Car Culture Modern Classics is a set that I wasn’t really that much interested in compared to some of the others. The only real draw for me about this set was the introduction of a brand new casting. The Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 EVO II. Yes, that is a mouthful. But it is a car that has had a good run in the motorsport scene. The original race going version of the car had a Cosworth-built engine with 239 kW of power and 324 PS of torque. The EVO II homologated version ran at 173 kW of power and 235 PS of torque instead. But it had a commanding presence with generous performance for the time and having a limited run made it a very desirable car indeed.
Other cars in this series include the Renault 5 Turbo. A car that has been designed for rallying by the French. The car was modified to have a mid-mounted 1.4L turbocharged engine that produced 118 kW and 160 PS. Admittedly, putting a mid-mounted, turbocharged engine, on a short-wheelbase rear-wheel drive car was a bit crazy. But Renault was crazy like that. And the car went on to win the Monte Carlo Rally on its first outing with the WRC.
The Porsche 964 wasn’t built for a specific type of race unlike the 190E and Renault 5. Instead, the 964 continued the 911 moniker in Carrera form. It came with an air-cooled, naturally-aspirated, horizontally opposed engine making 184 kW of power and 250 PS of torque. As the casting on this series does not have a rear wing, we are assuming that this is the non-turbo version of the Carrera.
Next is the 1985 Honda CR-X. The first generation Honda CR-X was not intended for racing. However, a high-performance version of the car di come out in the form of the Si which came with a 1.6L motor pumping out 101 kW of power and 137 PS of torque. However, with a curb weight of less than a ton, the car performed quite well. While the casting on this series is based on the first generation CR-X with modifications, it was done so in a good way. Personally, I have been introduced to the second generation CR-X when I started learning about cars.
Finally, we have the 1992 BMW M3. BMW’s M-series cars are their high-performance versions of their normal road cars. This one is based from the BMW E30. With the final versions running 158 kW and 215 PS power and torque respectively, these cars were practically ready for motorsports. As such, the car has been seen racing in the several Touring Car championships and even raced as a rally car on selected rounds of the WRC.
The set, is such a mixed bag that even the name is sometimes hard to explain. Modern Classics can be interpreted in different ways but different people. And the definition of modern changes depending on who you talk to because someone born in the 70s will have a different outlook that someone born in the 80s. Even in automobile-speak, enthusiasts will still have different takes on what a modern classic actually is. I did get the set and I will be putting down some notes on these cars. But its worth may be a bit of a hit-or-miss.
Toy Box Garage 