Majorette Lamborghini Aventador SV roadster, Renault Alpine A110, and VW T6 van

Here are three more new Majorette castings that rounded out 2017. Now I did not include a review on a few other new Majorette castings for 2017 include the Alpine’s related Vintage counterparts: the VW Beetle, VW Bus, and 1967 Ford Mustang.  This is because enough companies have replicated all three and these Majorette versions are not the best ones out there.

Lamborghini Aventador SV roadster

The Aventador roadster is the second Aventador for Majorette but the first Lamborghini roadster for the brand.  The SV stands for SuperVelocite and it means less weight and a bit more power for a more extreme version of a Lamborghini model.  In the Aventador this means a large lower front bumper slots, a front chin spoiler, a fixed rear spoiler, and a revised rear fascia.  The roadster’s top is a two-piece carbon fiber setup and also there are steering and suspension improvements geared more for the track, and all of this weight loss resulted in 110 Ib’s lighter and makes the engine seem more powerful than what a 50 hp bump would sound for the 6.5L DOHC V-12 motor now making 740 horsepower through a 7-speed semi-automatic transmission to all-four wheels for better traction.

In blue this SV roadster looks pretty good and stands out from any other Aventador diecast in 1:64 scale.  The front has headlights that are part of the window trim, the sharp peaked front-end with larger scoops; note that I made the black trim larger than it should be all thanks to a large paint chip at the end of the front bumper.  The sides add an all-metal windshield frame, exterior mirrors on the front doors, separate lower rocker panel trim, and large side scoops joined by blacked-out multi-spoke wheels with a nice red chrome outer ring.  The rear has a separate rear spoiler, blacked-out valence panel with Lamborghini badge, a larger lower diffuser with central quad exhaust tips, and details that I had to add like the taillights and the blue body-color stripe that hovers above the diffuser.  Another problem that I see is the working suspension that raises the stance of the car when it should be sitting lower.  The engine compartment is split into two, yet the engine is still visible between the two slants, while the rollbars have a nice separate black trim that is part of the interior.  If your car is open you’d better have a detailed interior and this Majorette casting does not disappoint.  The front seats are supportive and detailed, the center console has detailed buttons for the radio and HVAC controls, and the 3-spoke steering wheel sits ahead of the gauge pod, and that working suspension slightly interferes with the footwell area but otherwise the interior is nicely done even without the detailed door panels.  A lower ride height and a few more additional details would make this Majorette casting the best Aventador casting out there in 1:64.

Renault Alpine A110

I knew about the A110 Alpine before others might know all thanks to a Maisto 1:18 casting that I used to have.  How can such a smooth car with a rear engine be such a successful rally champion?  Well maybe you haven’t seen my review yet of the Renault 9 Gordini that I did a few years ago and that was a rally car despite the taxi cab look.  The A110 is a vast departure from the 9 even if it shares the same engine components.  The A110 was created in 1961 as a pure rally car for the Renault brand and that included some civilian vehicle sales as well.  Unlike other Renaults at the time the A110 has sleek bodywork that includes full integration of the front rally driving lights into the front bumper and an abbreviated rear-end at an angle to give the A110 the look of a sleek Italian sports car.  Underneath the A110 uses a steel backbone with a rear engine and transaxle from the R8 Gordini including the 1.1L I-4 that produced 98 horsepower through a 5-speed manual transmission to the rear wheels.  The interior has seating for two with the rear seats removed to make room for the larger engine, a race car like dashboard with simple control layout even for a road car, and a full-size spare tire fits nicely in the front trunk area.  After years of successful and winning rally careers the A110 was at the end of its line due to the limits of chassis development and the success of the new Lancia Stratos race car.  In 2017 Renault brought back the A110 as a new mid-engine sports car to go after the Porsche Cayman and Alfa 4C.

Painted in blue, or even the one with the added rally graphics for this year, the A110 looks good though the working suspension makes the car sit a tad bit higher than the real vehicle.  The front has round headlights that are part of the window trim, round inner driving lamps, gray bumper with more driving lights, ALPINE letters below the twin brown hood latches, and a sleek side beltline profile.  The rear has detailed taillights, Alpine-Renault badge on the trunk that is taller than the fenders, gray bumper, and a large muffler and exhaust tip just ahead of the engine.  I find it odd that the rear fender intake scoops are missing on this model, though the base underneath has some detail front suspension and undercarriage protection for the rear engine.  The doors open to an interior with excellent details that start with the supportive front bucket seats that have the detailed patterns, the former rear seat hump, shifter on the transmission tunnel, and simple dashboard with detailed switches and 3-spoke steering wheel.  Lower the stance and improve the wheels and this will be a winner for the Majorette brand.

Volkswagen T6 van

Volkswagen has come a long way from the original VW Bus to the more modern Eurovan, now called the T-series, and while been absent from the U.S. VW line for a while it has been prevalient in other countries including Europe.  The T6 is the latest of the Transporter line introduced in 2015 and as a mild update to the previous T5 vans and still has that tall, slab-sided look of past Transporter vans.  The front has LED running lights, more chrome trim, and as shown here an option of a custom two-tone look as a retro salute to the first VW busses.  The rest of the vehicle has dual sliding doors, a rear liftgate, and options of a pickup and chassis version for commercial duty.  The interior has seating for seven people in this passenger van with a high seating position and a simple dashboard layout with all controls, while in the middle, in easy reach of the driver as well as some familiar VW controls.  The engines range from I-4 to a V6 with gas and diesel options, this one likely the 2.0L SOHC turbodiesel I-4 that produces 140 horsepower through a six-speed manual transmission.

Majorette started with an impressive look using the retro white and red two-tone look and with the added chrome trim looks classy on this van.  The front has large headlights that are part of the window trim, chrome horizontal bars with the VW logo, and a lower bumper with more chrome bars and foglights.  The sides have dual sliding doors, lots of window space, and chrome 7-spoke wheels, while the rear has detailed taillights on a large liftgate and a trailer hitch for towing.  Things get to be a bummer as this casting, which looks to have some opening part, does not and when you compare that to the Siku model that has rubber tires and an opening rear hatch it seems like a major oversight.  The interior has detailed seating though it uses second-row captain chairs for a six-people capacity and while the dashboard has detailed controls and 3-spoke steering wheel it lacks the dash shifter thanks to some crude square block below the dashboard.  The Majorette VW T6 van looks good on the outside but lacks a few more details and some opening part to really be an advantage over a comparable Siku model.