Everyone loves a Ferrari, right? I think at this point we can anticipate at least one new Ferrari model every year. That is a good thing. There is a plethora of older Ferrari's to be done, but at the rate Ferrari is pumping out new cars, Hot Wheels can barely keep up.
So here is our new Ferrari of 2013. Maybe there will be another, but for now it is the F12 Berlinetta. I have made the point several times here that Ferrari, at least in my mind, has had a design renaissance, and they are finally beautiful again. Gone are the over the top, may too masculine monster machines, and back are cars that hearken back to the beauties of the 60's - rip-roaring engines encased by super sexy looking lines. Every boy's dream...
So now we have the 599XX/GTO, the superb 458 Italia, the California, the FF (which some don't like, but I really do), and now the F12 Berlinetta. What a car it is. It contains many of the newer design queues of the FF, but looks even better. I was hoping, and expecting, Hot Wheels to put one together quickly, and they did not disappoint.
And now we have it, in hand. There they are...the beautiful lines, the wave-like front fenders, the sloping rear, the exposed teeth and smile on the front grill and the...wait...what is that...no, Hot Wheels, you didn't...oh, you did...darn it...and...large rear wheels. Sigh...
Yes, I know large rear wheels are a signature Hot Wheels move. But it appears so is realism, at least lately. There has been a great deal of attention paid to proportions, lines, and looks, and the F12 is no exception. So why the large wheels? It takes what would have been a near perfect casting, and throws the looks off quite a bit.
As I was photographing the model, I found some angles I was quite fond of, and they were mainly those that deemphasized the large rear wheels. I take pride in not being a complainer, so I will stop. I know the large rears have to happen on some models, I just wish it wasn't this one.
Thankfully its cousin with very similar design queues, the Ferrari FF, did not fall victim, and it ended up being one of my favorites of 2011. Comparing the two would have been a little better had the F12 shared the FF's proper proportions all around but it makes sense to show them together.
So there is my complaint. It doesn't happen a lot, and I still like everything else about this model quite a bit. Enough to add this current and all future versions to the collection. I just hope Kyosho does one soon...
(Hot Wheels Batch E is now available at Wheel Collectors
(Hot Wheels Ferrari
Hot Wheels Ferrari F12 Berlinetta (2013 Mainline):
Together with its cousin, the FF:
