Vintage WRC Cars (5) NINCO

＜Citroën C4 WRC＞
Judging by the era of the real car, I suppose this was released around 2009 or 2010.

By that time, my interest in the WRC had already faded considerably. Around me, most slot car racing activity had shifted toward anglewinder JGTC cars and Megane Trophy racing instead.

I first became interested in the C4 while searching for a suitable rival for the unexpectedly successful Scalextric Lancer Evo 7 I had prepared earlier.

This was before I discovered the Ford Focus WRC 2001, and since my collection contained very few Citroëns, I began looking into either the Xsara or the C4.

Among the various Ninco C4 versions, this Red Bull car was apparently the only one equipped with large-diameter wheels as standard.

I knew, of course, that Sébastien Loeb had been dominating the WRC during that era, but beyond that I had no particularly deep attachment to the car itself. It was a fairly casual choice.


＜Mitsubishi Lancer WRC04＞
Looking at the base of the crystal case, this one was labeled “2005 Limited Edition,” although I do not remember ever seeing it back when I first entered the slot car hobby.

Perhaps I simply had no interest in cars like this at the time.

After obtaining the Citroën C4 WRC, however, I reconsidered things and decided that the Ford Focus WRC 2001 was ultimately a more suitable counterpart for the Scalextric Lancer Evo 7.

That left the C4 without a partner, so I searched for something appropriate and eventually settled on this Lancer WRC04.

Both the C4 and the Lancer WRC04 received the usual preparation work: the magnets were removed and ballast weight added, the rear tires were replaced with Paul Gage PGT urethanes and trued, Z-Machine LED lighting was installed, and finally Patto tire decals were applied to complete the cars.