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I actually had the 1/18 MR made Lamborghini Aventador J on order when it came out, but somehow the online shop didn't deliver, never heard why but still it left me without a scale model of the amazing looking Rosso J as later on the original Geneva shade MR made model became way too expensive.

So you can imagine how happy I was when AutoArt announced they would be producing this one of a kind Lamborghini in their Signature series ... and in four shades, now I'm only interested in the special red metallic shade as the one and only real Aventador J was finished in this color too, but I have to admit the black and the white ones do look very tempting too, but other models from AutoArt in the near future are more important to me than a fantasy shade on the J (I'm getting the Aventador LP720-4 and the Veneno LP750-4 too naturally)

So back to the 1/18 AutoArt Lamborghini Aventador J or Jota ... I don't know if AutoArt did it on purpose, but they release the other three shades before finally putting the red one on the market, and to make things worse my usual source for these models didn't even respond to questions about when it would be available for order ... so I now order these from a shop in Germany which sends them over in a matter of days, perfectly packed and with a nice discount.

When the large box was delivered by DHL it didn't take too long to carefully open it to discover one of my Holy Grails ... and I was really impressed by this model ... I have seen the real Aventador J when it was unveiled in Geneva back in 2012 and I confirm AutoArt managed to capture this difficult Rosso J paint very closely ... which was a point of discussion on many forum when they showed the first official photos ... the red was really off in those, but fear not, in real life it is perfect ... albeit very difficult to photograph ... even my photos took some serious post processing to get right.

Naturally I took a really close look at this beautiful scale model, during the photo shoot I did and afterward when I was processing the images ... and AutoArt did a really, really good job on this model ...

One of the things they might have done wrong was the front bumper ... in fact the J has a totally different unit compared to the regular Aventador, not only the lower section which is showing those stunning upright fins and is finished in clear carbon fiber ... but also the nose itself is different, on the J the 'points' are further forward compared to the original Aventador ... and AutoArt recreated this perfectly on a 1/18 scale ... which impressed me.

If you look very closely at the lower front bumper you will also notice the stylish 'J' and 'Aventador' script at the top with a nice TriColore underneath ... again AutoArt hit it out of the ballpark here, just like on the wheels, glossy black with carbon fiber fins and a red anodized central locking screw ... hiding black brake calipers, just like on the real car.

The one thing I might mention is the fact the carbon fiber on the real Lamborghini Aventador J has a more matte finish compared to the AutoArt version ... but still they managed it way better than MR which had glossy carbon fiber mind you, a serious error for such a high priced model if you ask me, so the AutoArt again beats the resin model.

Take a closer look at the rear view mirrors ... there are three of them on the Aventador J which are in fact all 'exterior' as there is no roof, also the 'windows' on the Aventador J as shown at the 2012 Geneva Auto Show made it onto the AutoArt 1/18 model ... if you take a look at photos of the real Aventador J taken later on you'll notice it now has regular Aventador mirrors on the doors instead of these slim units seen on the AutoArt model, also the windshield pods are higher these days, probably to increase practicality ... driving around with a closed helmet in the Aventador J might not look as cool as the owner wants to.

When you open the door on this AutoArt model you'll notice the amazing looking Aventador J doorsill, an aluminum plate on a black panel ... exactly like the real car, while the side sills have the upright behind the front wheels and show the amazing carbon fiber finish AutoArt is known for.

On the Aventador J the seats were made from Forged Composites, a special mixture showing a different pattern compared to carbon fiber, the AutoArt model nicely shows this too ... however the latter also boasts a four-point seat belt which was hidden from view at the Geneva Show car ... one thing I did notice was the fact the Aventador J has some amazing red stitching on the seats and on the headrest logo ... this isn't visible on the AutoArt model however, might have been too small in 1/18 but still on the regular Aventador model AutoArt shows stitching on select interior shades.

For the first time the Aventador J received Carbon Skin upholstery on various parts of the interior and dashboard ... on the AutoArt model this is mounted too, the complete central console on the Aventador J is new and actually runs in-between the seats all the way onto the engine cover, finished in the same Rosso J shade combined with glossy black and the red cover over the Start/Stop button ... AutoArt got it right from the start on this new model.

Still I did notice one small error ... the gear shift peddles behind the steering wheel ... AutoArt did install larger units finished in carbon fiber, but on the real car these are even larger and styled differently ... so that's the first detail I noticed they didn't get quite right ... but it sure isn't a deal breaker if you ask me, you really have to know the original car to even notice this.

Onto the engine now, AutoArt uses magnets to hold the engine cover in place, which works out for me, no problem, even when you hold the model upside down this cover stays fixed ... a better solution compared to Kyosho for instance ... when you turn the Urraco Bob upside down, or even tilt it a little the front hood goes tumbling to the floor, so putting in a few small round magnets is a perfectly neat solution.

And the engine itself is amazingly detailed too, the tops are black with a red Lamborghini script and the red air filters are even present as is the large strut over the engine to make the roofless Aventador less prone to flexing, even the carbon fiber pattern on the AutoArt model is true to the real car, but once again too glossy compared to the actual Aventador J.

Now the entire rear section on the Aventador J was new back in 2012, a very open design with lots of grilles finished in carbon fiber with a very special design quartet of exhaust pipes and that amazing 'hanging' rear wing design ... I loved it from the moment I've seen it, I'm still surprised no tuner has a similar design available in fact.

So despite two small flaws ... the peddles behind the steering wheel and the fact the carbon fiber is more glossy than the one on the real car I'm still very impressed with this AutoArt model ... I have it on display right in the center of my collection, drawing all the attention to herself ... this is a model that really deserves a place in any exotic car collection ... but you should get it in this Rosso J shade as only one real Aventador J was built in 2012 and it was finished in this shade.

Originally released in June 2014.

our RATING

Overall rating

10/10

Original price : € 155