1:18 Countach Review: AutoArt vs. Kyosho

THE REVIEW:

I haven't exactly been a fervent die-cast model collector and I don't claim to be an expert on die-cast cars or Countachs in general, but I thought I'd lend an eye because it looks like more than a few people are torn as to which of these models to get. My lofty collection consists of maybe four cars, but I wanted to place the best Countachs I could find among them. I tracked down the two most notable examples from AutoArt and Kyosho in my favorite color for the Countach, white. I also broke out a set of digital calipers on the two models and will be mentioning their differences from that standpoint as well. For some bizarre reason, the Countach is very easy to sculpt incorrectly whether we're talking about toys, models, or drawings. However, both of these die-cast cars are well detailed and look incredible on the shelf, unlike so many other scaled attempts at the Countach. Either one could just as easily be the pinnacle of any collection, but for those without the desire to investigate both, I'll do it for you here.

Some background information first, the two cars allow us to compare apples to apples as they are both at least sidedraft examples. For each car, I tallied a list of goods and others so that you might be the judge for where to direct your cash. Availability these days can be fairly thin, and almost always on eBay especially for white cars. At the moment, both are still out of production as far as I know. The Kyosho was the most recent to be re-released and subsequently sell out. The market fluctuates for these models, but I also discovered that white cars tend to bring about a 15-20% premium in price and get snatched up sooner than other versions. Quattrovalvole cars are also rarer and more expensive. Therefore, the white QV is usually the unicorn as far as eBay bidding wars are concerned, and be aware that only the downdraft option exists. The market is also flooded with Walter Wolf and other LP400 editions that don't command the higher prices. The iconic poster car Countachs also look to be on a steady uptick as the real car itself rises in value. As of this writing, expect to pay around $200 +/- 50 for either Kyosho or AutoArt.

The same components open and close on each -- doors, hood, engine lid, boot. Both feature door struts and low, wide-style wings. Modeled after European market cars, they each have European marker lights and the front turn signals are arranged as only Swiss-market Countachs had them (backwards to everyone else). Each car is very nice regardless of how I critique them here, so most of what I can say about them is nit-picking.

Side by side, the basic differences can be spotted more easily. Obviously, the AutoArt car comes with a black interior while the Kyosho brings the white. A brief internet search will show what others are saying about the AutoArt having an overall more realistic shape whereas the Kyosho tends to slope forward and down starting at the aft edge of the roof. Some circles online call the Kyosho car the "fantasy Countach," accusing the sculpt of being more idealistic. While it does depart from the 1:1 car in some ways, I hope this review will point out the trade-offs that each model makes in order to demonstrate that they tend to equalize each other's faults.

With some issues, I can't really call them good or bad and all I can do is mention them for you to make the call. Of the two, the Kyosho is a brighter white color, so other colors might not compare as starkly. The AutoArt was the first car I obtained and, without the Kyosho to compare, I noticed that the white was not the brightest out of the box. It's not dull or dirty by any means. It's just not as bright as the Kyosho shows is possible. While on the subject of paint, my internet research on these cars revealed some owners having problems with the paint on older Kyosho models. Some Kyoshos develop spotty disturbances that look like a faint grit or metal corrosion under the paint's surface. While it is possible to correct such flaws with wet sanding and polishing, this is not ideal for a high-end model. Luckily, my example does not show any signs of these flaws, but I thought it was worth pointing out since so many people appear to have had problems. For painting details, both cars are missing the black window trim above the rear quarter windows. Whether or not you see it as a flaw is up to you, but the AutoArt's turn signal covers have more lines etched into them which creates a foggier look at some angles, whereas the Kyosho lights remain clear. Neither look bad or inaccurate, but this might also be another point of preference. The side mirrors also differ in that the two cars' mirrors swap proportions in each axis to be almost perfectly opposite of one another, go figure. The Kyosho's front tires are also noticeably narrower, but we can easily chalk this up to earlier Countachs having narrower tires than later Countachs and avoid the list of others.

The AutoArt car comes with "Countach" license plates permanently affixed whereas the Kyosho has a bare front bumper and a single "Lamborghini Countach" plate in the rear. The wheels are also different in that the AutoArt's wheels have a flawless metallic finish that would be tough to replicate, but might actually be a touch idealistic. The metal color has a smoothness to it that is beautiful and not at all paint-like. The Kyosho wheels are painted a bright silver color that isn't as fancy, but might actually look more like the real car. By scale, the AutoArt's wheels have a more accurate diameter vice the Kyosho's wheels which might be a millimeter larger than they should be. This difference, in my eyes, is completely unnoticeable so either car looks realistic. Both cars also have body panel gaps underneath the tail lights as an unavoidable function of die-cast manufacturing. AutoArt managed to minimize the gap with only one major gap whereas the Kyosho ends up with an "L" shaped gap.


THE GOODS AND OTHERS:

AutoArt Lamborghini Countach LP500S 1:18

GOODS:
- Detailing. The AutoArt car wins the award for most detailed model. The engine bay is noticeably more intricate and the details reach other facets of the car rarely seen such as the brake ducting, suspension components, and various other cables and lines. The smaller parts are very crisp. This also extends to larger aspects such as the engine deck lid which has better detailed vents than the Kyosho. Interior detailing is also high and the red piping is a nice touch. The dash is excellent.

- Paint. The white paint looks pristine and is very glossy and durable with no correction necessary.

- Tires. The rubber looks realistic and the widths are the widest of the two. The sidewalls look great along with their perfect Pirelli emblems. They look real, period, dot.

- Headlight mechanism. The headlights spring up (usually) when actuating the switch as they are designed. The Kyosho has a button, but ends up as more of a pushing and prying action.

- The wing pylons have an accurate thickness to them with respect to the real car and have rounded leading edges and squared-off trailing edges.

- The tail lights are a deep reflective red that appears more realistic when parked next to the brighter Kyosho tail lights.

- The overall shape and proportions of the car are very realistic and believable, unlike countless other models.

OTHERS:
- Soft body contours and lines. The edges and body contours don't appear as sharp as they are on the real car or the Kyosho. This seems to be the first thing that people notice with the two cars side-by-side. This is not only evidenced in the metal body parts such as over the wheel corners, but also in some of the injection-molded plastic parts such as the wheel flares. The front bumper is also a touch more curved along its leading edge.

- Door mechanisms. The doors do fit rather well when closed (even better than the Kyosho's), but the latches are so finicky, precise, and fragile that I dare not attempt to open the doors more than once every four years. You stand an excellent chance of scraping the paint inside the Naca vent when actuating the latch and I recommend only attempting it with a tool like a Q-tip. Once the door is open, I like that the strut is represented, but the hinge is a loose, wobbly affair. The doors can eventually be matched up at one point or another, but it's a pain to get them perfectly straight up and parallel at a realistic angle. I included a quick video to demonstrate some of what I'm talking about here. This is actually a pretty unfortunate aspect of this model since the doors are a signature of the Countach.

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- Headlights. The headlight lenses themselves appear to be smaller than they should be. The Kyosho opens up with the big wide lights and looks like the real car, but the AutoArt starts looking like a model in this department. Even when closed, they fall a hair shy of the Kyosho since the lids aren't as wide or as sharp.

- Rear window. The window ends up not being inset properly and the engine lid bar that should go over the window is flush with the window.

- The front side marker lights are improperly placed for most European-model Countachs. While they all might vary a little, I haven't yet seen an example with them as far down as they are on the AutoArt car. They should be higher at the very least.


Kyosho Lamborghini Countach 5000S 1:18

GOODS:
- The low, idealistic look. This is a big reason why people opt for the Kyosho. People love this and it gets the car closer to looking like the thrilling low-body poster cars of everyone's dreams. The Kyosho is not wider than the AutoArt, but the highest point of the roof is indeed 1mm lower than the AutoArt. The wings end up being at the same level, but the Kyosho's nose is lower. The windshield ends up being over 2mm longer front-to-back than the AutoArt's.

- Sharp body contours and lines. The Kyosho brings out the angular nature of the Countach in spades. Where the AutoArt car goes soft in the plastic over the wheels, the Kyosho is uber-chiseled exotica. The lighting in my images is meant to highlight some of these differences. The corners of panels and around headlights are also more squared and sharp.

- Door mechanisms, headlights, and the opposite of the rest of the AutoArt's faults. The doors are super easy to open and very sturdy. Damn, this car looks good with its doors open! Damn, this car looks good with its lights up! Damn, this car sits on its wheels well! Countach!

OTHERS:
- The low, idealistic look. This is a big reason why people don't opt for the Kyosho. While so many people love this look, still others notice that the roof line is not perfectly level as it should be, yet a huge unmentioned contributor is the front spoiler. The spoiler of the car is too tall and creates a jutting chin under-bite that lowers the look of the car significantly and deceptively. The lowest point of the spoiler should be comparable to the underside line of the car rather than how far the Kyosho's spoiler extends beneath the body's lowest point.

- Body height. In my scale estimation, the roof height of the car is perfectly realistic. However, the dimension from the roof to the bottom of the body could stand to grow a millimeter to create a thicker car. Even though the car doesn't look improper at all as it sits, it might look even better if slightly thicker. The tail lights are actually a fraction of a millimeter higher than the AutoArt. Despite this, the Kyosho includes more accurate rocker panels than the AutoArt which form a proper lip under the sides of the car. But don't worry, the body's height in no way alters the low crouch that it has on its wheels.

- The roof includes the corner vents from Kyosho's LP400 molds which are not present on this model-year of Countach. The more modern re-release of the Kyosho 5000S deleted these vents.

- Engine deck lid. The side vents of the engine lid are represented, but not cut through as they are in the AutoArt car.

- Too narrow wing pylons. The wings themselves are otherwise nearly identical.

- Disegno Bertone badge. The placement of the badge is not quite accurate to the real car, too far aft.

- Interior carpeted sub-panels. These are the areas ahead of each door sill that the Kyosho fails to represent properly.

- A history of paint problems scares collectors away, but this is not an "other" for my car. My car's paint is excellent and is bright and flawless.


To each his own, but now you know some of the differences between the two cars when compared directly. My personal plan at this point is to modify the Kyosho and display it, but I might still keep the AutoArt in a box because I can't seem to un-like it enough to part with it. I'll likely fill the Kyosho's roof vents and paint the wheels white for a full triple-white treatment, but I'm putting the Kyosho in a case because it hits all of the Countach's finest points for me every time I look at it.

THE PICTURES:

AutoArt vs. Kyosho

AutoArt

Kyosho

AutoArt vs. Kyosho Headlights

AutoArt

Kyosho

I was hoping to let everyone initially see this in the Countach section lest it go unnoticed further down the forum, so Allan authorized me to put it here so that we can move it once the newness wears off. More pics to follow!

I have to check I think I have all the Kyosho and Autoart Countachs.

AutoArt

 

Kyosho

 

AutoArt

 

Kyosho

AutoArt on the left, Kyosho on the right

 

 

 

AutoArt vs. Kyosho

 

AutoArt

 

Kyosho

AutoArt vs. Kyosho

 

Kyosho

 

AutoArt

 

Kyosho

Awesome thread you started. You made me get out my Kyosho (but in red of course) to take a closer look at it. Interior and front parking lights are more accurate. My doors open really nice and are very stable. I have an Autoart 930 and I think that is an incredible model also. Thanks again for great comparision!!!

Damn maid has broken most of the mirrors off. I think I have all of colors produced by both companies. The others are packed away.

As an aside, with the larger 1/12 scale Countach offered only by Kyosho, I'm actually pretty hard-pressed to find any flaws. Kyosho nailed it.

 

The Kyosho also lacks the classic Countach shifter knob that the AutoArt does have. Notice the shifter is topped with a knob more like later Countachs and Diablos. One other thing I forgot to mention is the difference between the two models in the driving lights. Since the AutoArt is the more detailed of the two, the lights look better, but the Kyosho does it for me because it keeps the front bumper clean of a license plate. Trade-offs.

 

AutoArt

 

Kyosho

What an excellent review! I have yet to buy a 1:18. Here I come baby...

Kyosho's most recent 5000S issue has a few improvements such as deletion of the roof vents, spare tire straps + cover, and swapped turn signal lights, but it's offered only in yellow, black, or red...no white. Both companies have more Countachs in the plan, but are very slow to reach production. A 25th Anniversary CT is supposedly coming from AutoArt -- that spot currently monopolized by an out-of-production model from Ricko which is fairly inexpensive by comparison (albeit rare).

 

What I'd really like to see is a Diablo from Kyosho. The AutoArt Diablo is awesome, but still carries a touch of the softness seen in the Countach.

More pics.

 

Check out how the light falls on the contours of the two models here. That extra few millimeters of windshield real estate can be seen in this image of the Kyosho as well.

 

 

Nothing is more exciting than a good spare tire comparison.

 

AutoArt vs. Kyosho

I have to check I think I have all the Kyosho and Autoart Countachs.

I have seen yellow and black as well. Do you have any QV models?

Thanks for the write up, it made me go and look at what my black over white is. It's an Autoart, got a broken off mirror too.

 

I thought both my doors were faulty until reading this, they are exactly as described.

Thanks for the write up, it made me go and look at what my black over white is. It's an Autoart, got a broken off mirror too.

 

I thought both my doors were faulty until reading this, they are exactly as described.

When I repaired the mirror on Allan's 1/12 Countach, I ended up ripping the other one off and doing the same treatment to both of them.

 

I drilled into the mirror as well as the car with a tiny drill bit by hand. Then I took a thick paper clip and cut off the right sized shafts (maybe 5mm) that I could anchor in the car and the mirror. I had to bend the shafts at an angle with a set of pliers. Then, I epoxied them in place. Viola. I'm sure the same could be done with either of these 1/18 cars, but with a smaller paper clip. Sure, they could still get knocked off again with enough violence, but at least they can be reattached with that little shaft in place.

If I tried that I'd break the other mirror off, both doors and probably a couple of wheels as well.

I have seen yellow and black as well. Do you have any QV models?

Id have to go through all my boxes. I have soo many damn models

I have never seen any QV's. If any one knows of any ever produced please let me know

Kyosho has a 1:18 QV DD (eBay example). If I'm not mistaken, one in white and one in blue. AutoArt is supposedly re-releasing a Countach that is called a 1985 QV on every list for 2014Q3, but first sample photos are just of an improved 2-valver. It appears to have fixed the small headlights and sharpened up the features quite a bit, but it remains to be seen since "1985" is mentioned.

Wow, I did not realize. If I would have known I would have held out for a QV instead of a 2 valve But at least I got a red one to match my car

Maybe one of these days I'll come up with a transkit of my own for 1/18.

Very nice comparison, I have the white Kyosho one, but went for black on the AutoArt version, love the white interior with red piping inside the black Countach.

 

As for the QV, I bought the 'Smurfs' version when it came out:

 

should have gotten the white QV too back then, today it is way too overpriced.

 

Looking for 1/18 Countach models ... check out my little collection

 

I even managed to obtain an actual AutoArt prototype:

They paint them in one solid shade like this after the factory aproves them ... these are real hand built pre-production prototypes ...