Surprise at Toy Fair Nuremberg
The announcement at the toy fair in Nuremberg (Germany) of the Mitsubishi Pajero models and off-road track pieces were a pleasant surprise. The big off-road tires, drop-arm guide system, Proshock independent suspension and the new NC-7 Raider Ninco motor make this model very interesting.
Dakar Victory in 2002
The press release of Team Mitsubishi in 2002: Japanese rally driver Hiroshi Masuoka celebrated a dream victory on the Arras-Madrid-Dakar Rally in the capital of Senegal today after winning the 9436 km 17-day rally in his Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero. For Mitsubishi, it was a record seventh Dakar victory and the Japanese brand filled all of the top eight places and nine Mitsubishis were classified in the top 10.
Total Traction
The Mitsubishi Pajero of Ninco looks like the old models of Scalextric/Exin TT. In the beginning of the nineties the Spanish manufacturer created a line of off-road models with active suspension. Eight TT (Todo Terreno - Total Traction) models are produced; three buggies, two Peugeot 405's and three Nissan Patrols. A designed Mitsubishi Pajero did not go into production.
The Model of Ninco
The Mitsubishi Pajero is presented in a new box. The size of the box has not been changed, but the base part has been adapted to the model, an all terrain vehicle. A small screw replaced the clip that holds the car. The model is a decent replica of the real car. As well the dimensions as the decorations are quite close to the original. Two liveries of the Pajero are released in 2003: the winning car of Dakar 2002, driven by Hiroshi Masuoka and the red Mitsubishi of Jutta Kleinschmidt.
Technical details
The chassis has been adjusted to the body through three short screws. At the chassis you notice interesting technical parts. The Pajero has an all-wheel-drive system. A pulley and belt system is running all the wheels. The system has been used in other models, such as the Golf and the Seat Cordoba "Telefonica".
The Proshock independent suspension has already successfully been used on the Renault Clio 1600. The Mitsubishi has the suspension of average hardness, the blue ones. The tires are very big, 23x10 sized, and have a soft compound with an aggressive off-road tread.
Raider
The transmission is standard with the pinion of 9 teeth and the crown wheel of 27 teeth. The NC7 is the first motor with a long drive shaft. The NC7 Raider motor, that seems to be specially designed for the Pajero, is powerful (19.300 rpm).
Handling
The soft compound of the tires makes the Mitsubishi run smoothly on the track. The model rolls easily over if the speed is too high in sharp turn, but this car is not made for speed contests. This is an off-road car that needs a rough terrain. The Pro-arm, a drop-arm guide system is specially designed to go over obstacles. The hindrances can be very high because the drop-arm is not as long as the guide system of the old TT models of Scalextric. Small barriers are taken with the powerful Raider.
Track
You can have hours of slot racing fun with the Mitsubishi Pajero "Raid" four-wheel-drive models and off-road track pieces. The kit (no. 10505) contains 4 painted standard curves and four half straight sections. The surface of the off-road track is smoother than the normal track of Ninco. It is possible to use normal cars at these special sections. On the track pieces you can put the plastic obstacles to enjoy the thrill of gravel and muddy roads.
Jan Willem van Capelleveen
More information
Slot car notes
Ninco Slot Cars
Ninco Mini
Ninco: The first years
Ninco Digital
