lambodiecast

When the 2018 Tokyo Auto Show opened its doors the automotive world was in shock ... Kato-san, th owner of Liberty Walk, managed to create something so controversial that his previous wide body, low riding cars, were put to shame ... Kato-san apparently had the nerve to cut up a Lamborghini Miura, add wide fenders, and slam her to the ground with an air ride system ... the audacity!

When the dust settled, and more details became available, we were told this wasn't a real, million-dollar Raging Bull from the Sixties ... but a replica, built on a Ford GT40 chassis ... wait a minute ... a Ford GT40 chassis ... that's almost as mind-blowing as touching a Miura ... but rest assured, the GT40 was also a replica made by GT Developments ... keep in mind when Marcello Gandini designed the Miura back in the Sixties he actually took inspiration from the Ford GT40 for the engine placement and the overall design.

The chassis remained, most of the interior remained, and the V8 engine from the kit also remained, but on the outside, Kato-san replaced everything with Miura look-alike parts, it took him six months to complete this low riding Bull for himself.

There are Jota style cutouts on the fenders behind the front wheels, the intakes behind the side windows, which are now sliding, plastic units, don't show any of those Miura fins anymore, while at the front a deep chin spoiler completes the Miura Jota look on this black beauty, there is even a fast filler fuel cap and a single windshield wiper ... on this 'replica' the entire front and rear section do open up like on the real car, hinged at the front and rear respectively.

One detail ... to open the engine cover you'll have to remove the exhaust tips because they come through the lower diffuser and would get caught when you open the rear section, do note the taillights are taken directly from the GT40 replica, as is the 302ci V8 engine with custom Wolf headers ... and no silencers ... this is a loud car, very loud.

On the inside we find a yellow roll cage installed and the GT40 replica interior, the dashboard, the dials, the seats ... all GT40 style, wheels are also GT40 inspired, period-correct 15-inch, four-bolt units made by SSR, 10 inch wide up front and 12 inch wide at the rear with 205/50 and 225/50 Advan tires.

But this wouldn't be an LB-Works special without those wide, riveted add-on fenders, a very low air ride suspension and a fixed duck-tale rear wing ... this is just a very low, very wide car showing the well-known Kato-san styling from every angle.

The scale model

So how did GT Spirit do in recreating this one of a kind Lamborghini Miura LB-Works replica in 1/18 scale?

I have to admit they did a really nice job this time, I couldn't find any real quality issues on this one, at least the windshield is fit perfectly, so that's a nice achievement already ... but honestly, this is a very nice 1/18 sealed model of the LB-Works Miura as she was presented at the 2018 Tokyo Auto Show, later on, the car was wrapped and doesn't look like this black Bull anymore, but personally, I do like this all-black look, so I'm happy. In fact, as GT Spirit and Kyosho work together on this model too, the Kyosho counterpart shows the red Advan wrap of this car if you are interested.

There is also a lot of attention to detail on this model, take a look inside the large openings on top of the front cover, you'll notice a pair of fans inside, a nice touch, as far as I can tell all the decals are also correct with the real car, like the large LB-Performance on the side sill, the small decal just ahead of the rear wheels ... right up the Advan script on the tires and the massive Advan logo on the back of the rear wing.

GT Spirit even put the logo on the radiator inside the front air intake, how great is that, and on the windshield, we find the LB script with the Japanese text, I really like that to be honest, the rivets on the fenders are visible too, and the wheels look great too ... if you look really close you'll even find the disk brakes and calipers hiding behind them ... very, very nice attention to detail.

If you look at the real car, you'll notice one specific decal only being put on the right side of the car, behind the rear wheel ... GT Spirit even noticed this and put it on the correct side too, the single windshield wiper is put vertical too, and on the interior, those GT40 seats and even the dials on the dashboard are present inside this scale mode ... even the yellow cage and the silver door panels are replicated ... GT Spirit really did an amazing job with this one.

So is it all perfect? What do you think ... of course not, there are errors on this model, and for me personally the worst one is the stance ... and this is an issue on many LB-Works models made by GT Spirit I've heard ... take a look at the wheels on this model, they are just about perfectly vertical ... this is just wrong, on the real car they have a serious camber because of the low air ride suspension setup ... GT Spirit should have put this scale model a bit lower to the ground and have the wheels angled to show this camber, then it would be just about perfect.

One other little detail ... look at the top of the engine cover, on the real car there are quick release pins there with a metal wire ... this was too small and too difficult for GT Spirit to replicate, so they just made a decal of it ... that's a bit sad, to be honest, they could have just omitted those altogether, but it's a quick fix I can do myself. But on a more positive note ... peek in-between those louvers and you will see details on the engine.

Bottom line

So what's my final verdict on this 1/18 scale model of a Miura replica, should you get it or not?

I personally love it, I like it for its quirkiness, for being different, and while I prefer it in this full black livery, I can understand other would go for the Advan livery with red added. I had mine on pre-order for a long time, and it's probably just luck, but I ended up with nr 004/999, so a very early model in a production run of 999 units.

It might not be perfect, but for a €90 sealed resin GT Spirit model I am very happy with it, in fact, I have it on display next to the Huratach by the same maker, and those two 'specials' look great together ... I love this model for what it represents in real life, I rather like what Kato-san does with his low-riding, wide fendered Lamborghini ... I would never do this to my own car, but I admire it anyway.

So yes, I would recommend adding this model to your collection, especially if you can find it for a price close to the original listing, it is different ... and it does exist in real life, and while it's only a replica with a V8 engine, I still believe this model has its place in my collection, it is Lamborghini related in the end.

Originally released in October 2019.

our RATING

Exterior		8/10
Interior		7/10
Engine	Not visible
Accuracy		8/10
Overall rating		8/10

Original price on November 6, 2019 : € 90