Notes: I was glad to see Renaissance make the Champion version of the Porsche GT1. Building a model of a car you have seen race can be that much more interesting. This car always seemed so smooth on track. At the 6 hours of the Glenn in 1998, (at Watkins Glenn, New York of course) this car challenged for the lead most of the race. I can't remember why it dropped back. I was too far away from the PA announcers to hear about the problems. I think it finished 3rd behind the Momo Ferrari and Dyson Riley & Scott. They were within .7 of a second apart.

The model is highly detailed for a car that has no removable body panels. This kit does give an option of opening both doors to show off interior detail. There is much to show. Electrical boxes and the drink holder are included as well as fine seat belt hardware and some well executed dash panel details. Wire is also included to add to the intricacy of what you see.

On the outside, the over all shape is rather good. I do question the shape of the rear wheel openings, but otherwise, it looks and sits correctly when finished. I do like that body openings are open on Renaissance kits. It adds to the complexity of the casting, and the building, but it really improves the look of the finished piece.

The instructions offer a lot of help, but they don't answer all questions. Detail photos of the outside and inside are needed. It is always surprising the little decal differences from one race to the next.

Many Renaissance kits can almost be treated like two kits in one. The buildup of the body, and then the construction of the chassis/interior. In this case, neither happens quickly when you decide to cut the door off of the body. Separate doors are provided for both sides. I decided to just open the drivers door. I do like to see one side complete. Cutting the opening went smoothly. It doesn't weaken the casting very much. The casting is good, but these require some clean up time compared to many others. Much of the back is open and requires careful clean up. After the body is prepped and ready for painting, it is a good idea to wait until the rear diffuser and suspension is built on the chassis. This way the fit can be checked and adjustments can be made. One area that was a tight fit for mine, was the front grill on the chassis plate. (the one that is seen from the front, not the one that you see when you look down from above) Adjustments were needed to get that to fit in the space.

There is a version that Renaissance offers with removable body panels. So this model has more detail in the rear suspension than can be seen from the back opening. I do think it should be represented, but, to be honest, my buildup of this is not perfect. And no one will ever know because you can't really see it. The suspension photoetched parts are very delicate. There is also a very nice turned air jack.

The parts for the interior are not delicate. They are easy to assemble. Just take the time to understand the order of installing the parts. The parts and what is shown in the drawing can be difficult to match up. Either I didn't understand the drawing, or I didn't install alI of the resin parts I received in the kit. A carbon fiber decal is provided for the back panel and some photoetched parts help make up the floor pan. Another nice detail included is the rubber hose for the air vents coming out of the dash panel. They are hard to describe here, but the look like the ducting used to channel air to brake disks. I think these are offered as a part that can be purchased individually. They are rubber and be bent to fit any space. There was enough of this left over, that they came in use when I built up the back of the Chaparral 2H. These are very nice and unusual details for an interior not usually offered. The chassis plate will need to be painted black for the engine compartment area, the front area and the bottom side. The interior needs to be painted white like the body.

The decals go on smoothly. But photo reference will be needed. The drawing only gives vague reference for some of the decals on the back.

Final assembly went rather well, except for not test fitting the front grill when testing chassis fit like I said you should. There are separate hood pins and body work hardware to add. The glass fit nicely. The door attached without problem using stiff bent wire inserted into the door and chassis. And Renaissance makes great wheels and tires. This kit requires more work than most regular kits, but the results are very nice.