Welcome to ZAMAC Chef LaLDiecast. I'm today's host Philipilihp Spelled Backwards and I will be leading you on a miniature automotive journey through the turns of tampos, hairpins of headlights, and wide roads of wheels to battle it out between two of the same model made by different manufacturers.
Without further ado, let's meet today's secret ingredient: Panamera!! We will be comparing a Hot Wheels dark blue Panamera to a Matchbox silver Panamera.
Introduced by Porsche in 2009 at the Shanghai Autoshow, and now in it's second generation, the Panamera has always garnered a love/hate relationship with the general public. Often described as plain "ugly," I personally feel like the Panamera is grossly misrepresented. It's long lines and gentle curves strike an agressive, yet restrained tone, and while far removed from its ancestors, the shape of the Panamera very much shows the family resemblance to the 911.
So now America, with an open heart and an empty gas tank, I say unto you in the words of my uncle: 'Allez compare!
First Observations
Both the MBX and HW Panameras are the first generation, but somehow the HW version looks more aggressive. It might be the body kit, it might be the spoiler, or even just the nice dark blue paint. I don't know. But I like its style.
Body
As mentioned above, the HW Panamera is a little bit more aggressive looking. It also looks slightly wider than its MBX cousin, which, after careful measuring (by which I mean very imprecise measuring with my eyes), is due to the side skirts put onto the HW Panamera with the base of the model. Interestingly, the wheelbase is a little bit wider on the HW as well, but the slightly flared fenders hide that difference well.
The HW also has a rear spoiler, front splitter, and slightly extended rear difuser/bumper.
I'm going to give the edge to the HW here, because a Turbo S always wins over a base model.
Tampos
This is where the MBX shines. It has tampos for headlights, tail lights, Porsche badge at the front, "Panamera" badge at the rear, and a rear license plate with a few stripes and "PP" (hehe) written on it.
The HW has tampos for the head lights, front Porsche badge, rear "Porsche" and "Panamera Turbo S" badges, and rear license plate reading "HWNM 2014," which I'm guessing refers to "Hot Wheels New Models 2014."
The MBX is the clear winner here, as it is just dumb that HW put tampos in all the right places except the tail lights. Why not go that extra tiny step, HW?
Wheels
HW has silver ten spoke wheels, pretty standard HW fare, but they look good here. I would have rather seen the multispoke wheels, but then again I just prefer those in general. Wheel swap? Maybe.
The MBX has black five spoke wheels with a silver edge. These look excellent with the silver bodywork! MBX gets the win for wheels.
Conclusion
I really like both these models, but MBX just gets that little extra boost from their excellent tampos and wheel choice. I might have to revisit this after I do a wheel swap for those multi spokes on the HW, but for now I'm taking the MBX.
