This is the 1/18 Porsche 964 Carrera 4 from Norev, a very good attempt at a fully opening 964 if you missed out on the Autoart Carrera RS version. Norev realsed this model in Carrera 2 and Carrera 4 varients, each model also getting a Cabriolet and Targa trim in various colors. I have honestly been looking forward to this for a while, so I took my Autoart 964 out to compare, the AA model being my personal favorite model in my collection.
The Carrera 4 has a marque plate front and rear with the model name, same as the Autoart, giving it a nice quality look. This is something I wish all brands would do if they chose to put a plate on the model, because I feel that plates that mimics a real license plate aren't as good looking to display. Unfortunately, and I know this might sound ridiculous, but I could not open the front hood of the Norev model... I tried every conceivable method, so my apologies, but I have no picture of it open. Also, the AA has that silly looking giant badge on the front, like the 993 Carrera they did.
The interior has flocking to mimic carpets and trim rather than using plastics to do so, which gives it a high quality look. Even the bottom section of the door in the interior has the flocking, which is accurate to the real car.
The taillight bar on the Norev seems a little more accurate to me compared to the AA, with the ends of the Autoart version being too orange. The "Carrera 4" decal is not great on the Norev, it's hard to read, and not just because it's against the dark paint of the car, but the text itself is almost illegible.
The engine bay even has the warning stickers/labels, a nice but often overlooked detail on models. The engine is nicely presented, with different colors used rather than a big slab of black plastic. There does appear to be a mistake on the Norev, however. The part of the chassis in the interior of the engine bay directly above the taillight bar is painted black, where it should be body color.
I know these aren't technically the same cars, but the Autoart has the retractable rear spoiler which does not open on the Norev, a feature that should be on all 964s regardless of trim level. I'm sure Norev determined that was not worth the effort/cost to implement and I don't think it's a big issue either. Even the AA's is flimsy and can easily be damaged if not careful. Another detail on the Autoart which is absent on the Norev is the orange window defrost lines in the rear window. Suppose it's possible the real cars didn't all have them, but I see no evidence of that.
While the Autoart is still the king of the 964 Carrera, this Norev version is absolutely killer quality for the price. I really couldn't be happier that some brands out there are still willing to make a great opening models and not charge a small fortune, especially when you consider Norev themselves had recently released some poor quality sealed models. After this model I hope that Norev takes on the base model 993 Carrera, because I think the Autoart one is great and all, but now too expensive to obtain. Awesome job Norev!
Thank you for taking a look, feel free to leave feedback/ suggestions or ask questions and so forth. Not sure how often I'd be doing reviews, but maybe another model will come around that I feel is worth doing.
