1987 Ferrari F40 Comparison 

Here's one of the cars everyone's talking about...

!Wait a minute. That's an impostor

Now THIS is the real deal, or is it??

Right.

So is the Elite really Elite? Let's see how it does against the old Bburago.
 

(Elite on the left Bburago on the right)

Front Compartment:

Added detail and the use of mesh on the main air intakes on the HW makes it superior. The holding wires are a neat touch - true to the 1:1 - and help the front cowling remain open from any position. (+) Hot Wheels

While the Bburago has plastic locks that help prevent this and the rear compartment from opening, the HW has painted ones on both sides. (+) Bburago
However, the HW's brake detail is better as it has drilled rotors that rotate independently from the calipers whereas the Bb simply lacks all mentioned. The latter has labeled tires, though. (+) Hot Wheels

Interior:

Pictures pretty much tell us this is the HW's territory. (+) Hot Wheels

 

Engine:

Added detail in this department also gives HW the advantage here. (+) Hot Wheels

As mentioned before, the locks are absent on the HW but the mesh, nicer tail lights and more detail give the HW another win. (+) Hot Wheels

Stance:

To me, the Bb F40 has the upper hand here. While the HW is slightly more refined, the more realistic looking tires have caused the HW to stand taller, even though the wheels are exactly the same size. (+) Bburago.

Conclusion:

The Elite HW F40 is definitely the better model but if it wasn't for Bburago decent efforts from 1987, we probably wouldn't be seeing this - The lack of dog-leg hinges is a huge plus for a model that was conceived in the late 80's.

What Hot Wheels has done, after many years of great sales of 'their' first F40, is what the enthusiast would do with a little bit of skill - make a model with great potential look better - and sell it for more.

It's definitely a good start for a new series of theirs but let's hope they don't get lazy and only start adding better detail to older molds. For the price, we'd like to see major improvements, like on the 288 GTO and the use of dog-leg hinges, for instance.

It's about time we start seeing better-made 1:18 scale Ferrari models. Wouldn't' you agree?