Wayne's Guest Reviews of Diecast Cars

A Comparison of 1962 Ferrari 250 GTOs: Bburago vs. Mattel

by Scott Schwartz -- reprinted by permission

(Note: This review has been lightly edited for spelling and style, but the text has not been substantially altered in any way)

First off, the Mattel is smaller than the Bburago (but IMO the Bburago is a bit big anyway). I don't think Mattel used the same mold as the Bburago, there are too many differences.

Body

The vent behind the Bburago's rear wheels is open whereas the Mattel's isn't. The two side vents between the doors and front wheels are longer and skinnier on the Mattel version. On the Mattel car, there are turn signals and side markers (part of the mold) between the headlights and front wheels (like on the 1:1). The hood has the same "functional" latches the Bburago has. The Mattel car has 2 windshield wipers. There is aluminum (painted) trim around the headlights. There is chrome trim around the windshield, door glass, and rear window of the Mattel car (just like the Bburago).The taillights on the Mattel version have amber and red lenses.

Doors

The doors on the Mattel version are full doors. They have windows and chrome trim around the windows. They also have black door panels.

Engine

The Bburago wins this. The Mattel's engine just isn't detailed enough. Black heads and exhaust, chrome carbs, and a grey engine block and transmission.

Wheels/Tires

I think Mattel wins here. IMO, the Mattel wheel/tire combo is better. It has small skinny tires up front and bigger rear tires (reminds me kinda of how the C5 wheels are). The Borrani wire wheels look more accurate than the Bburago's.

Chassis

The Mattel chassis is tube framed, more like the 1:1. It doesn't have all the black plastic underneath like the Bburago.

The interior is about the same as far as details and how it looks.The trunk opens to show the spare on the Mattel, just like on the Bburago. The red on the Mattel is darker than the Bburago red, closer to the red on UT's F355. The more I look at the Mattel, the more I think the Bburago is the toy (at least IMO). I looked at a few pictures of the 1:1 GTO, and the Mattel seems more accurate than the Bburago. There are no noticeable mold lines on the Mattel, unlike the Bburago (check the front lights of the Bburago).

This review is Copyright (c) 1999 by Scott Schwartz. Please do not distribute without permission. To contact the author, email me at Wander@Directcon.net

Comments from Wayne: While I haven't seen the Mattel model yet, I would like to point out that the 36 original GTOs were all fabricated by hand, and no two were exactly alike. What's "accurate" on one model may refer only to a single prototype, and another model may be faithful to a different example. Turn signals, side marker lights, vents, and grilles were all varied during the production run. In addition, some were rebodied since their construction by Ferrari, and other "GTOs" now extant are actually rebodied specimens of other Ferraris of the period.

That said, I agree that Bburago's version of Ferrari's red (Rosso Corsa) tends to the orange side of the spectrum.

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