A Volkswagen supercar? Yeah, right. You've got to be joking - that would have been the remark one would have heard prior to the unveiling of the W12 Concept in 2001. Volkswagen's audacious attempts to take itself upmarket were brought to their zenith with the W12 Concept, a car that would defined Volkswagen's pursuit of luxury and sport. But wait, where did affordability go? Well, as the economy went south, plans to produce the W12 were set aside for Volkswagen to pursue more "profitable" means. But the car itself will never be forgotten.

A design that I found a bit bland for a supercar is definitely enhanced by this radiant orange hue. It really makes the car stand out, especially next to the more reserved and serious Ford GT model. The scale of the model is spot-on; subjectively, the car appears longer than it actually is. The paint is the best Yat Ming has done ever, although there is still room for improvement: there are a few inaccuracies at the edges. Furthermore, the paint was filled into the spaces for the air ducts, which should have been black at least. Otherwise, not a bad job.

The front lights look quite good - although, there are attachment posts, they are tiny and stand on the corners of the lens, looking like they actually belong there. The VW badge in front and on the rear is a sticker, although it looks OK. The fog lights, however, are chrome and not realistic at all. The grille is textured but not perforated. However, it looks quite good. The tires are not marked; the wheels, however, are done really well, in fake carbon fiber trim, although Yat Ming did try to replicate the feeling of the material. Nice job there. The brake discs look sort of cheesy, but the calipers are correct in shape and proportion. Mirrors are done in plastic, but match the paint of the body well. They're a little bit fragile, but that is due to their unique shape.

The part of the W12's design I like least is the Passat-like taillights, although Yat Ming does a good job capturing the shape and essence of the units. The chrome dots in the center of the lights are accurate. The exhaust pipes are neatly chromed but are not hollow, which is a shame. One gripe is about the gas cap, which is just a sticker, and not part of the actual mold. Otherwise, the model looks quite good from outside.

20/25

Interior Features, Quality:

Possibly the best Yat Ming interior ever. For example, the seats, while still hard plastic, are textured realistically, and shaped very well. The instrument panel has decent detail and the transmission tunnel has good detail and is textured also. Orange dominates the interior and really brightens things up. The tinted glass roof is well finished. Door detail is surprisingly good. However, there are a few inaccuracies and a few expected shortcomings. The pedals are chromed, which is not really accurate, but they are also way too big for the interior. Also, the orange floor mats are hard plastic, and lack any realistic texturing. Overall, this is a pretty nice space, but really nothing special when compared to the best, like the Ford GT.

22/25

Features:

The W12 Concept features opening doors and rear engine cover. The front compartment does not open, which is certainly disappointing. The scissor doors use tiny hinges that are definitely an improvement on previous Yat Ming releases, and proof that this company is watching the market. However, around the door frame, the paint fades away to a dull orange at the bottom, and on top, bare metal is exposed. This is definitely a major shortcoming of the model and one that Yat Ming must fix. There's absolutely no reason why bare metal has to be exposed in even a budget model. Opening up the glass rear engine cover reveals the best Yat Ming engine to date, showcasing the (relatively) compact W12 design. Much of the engine is chromed, while it should be brushed aluminum, but most of the detail is there. The engine is textured very well, and the compartment is painted throughout.

21/25

Value:

This was really a surprise release for Yat Ming, who typically did classic 50s and 60s cars, as well as a few oddballs. Now, Yat Ming is getting into making the new stuff as well, and the W12 Concept is one of their most recent releases. Yat Ming has had no problem selling the W12 Concept models, and they've become a semi-hit. After all, who can ignore the bright orange supercar bodywork? Still, the sales success status of the W12 Concept means that it will probably never be rare. However, that's not why you buy the model. For the money, the model is darn good, although it pales in comparison to the other new releases from Beanstalk and Maisto. Only one color is offered, which is the orange reviewed here, though the W12 Concept also appeared in yellow.

23/25

Overall:

I can confidently proclaim that the W12 Concept is Yat Ming's best model to date. Granted, there's still a lot of room for improvement, but the W12 Concept model at least shows that Yat Ming is not sitting still and being content that the rest of the market is passing them by. Indeed, the W12 Concept means that Yat Ming is going forward, producing models that consumers want, and making them a good value and a reasonable buy. Now that that's covered, how about raising the ante on realism? The W12 Concept is surely an amazing car, but it deserves a representation that is a bit better than what I have here. This is a good model, but it lacks an opening front compartment, it has unmarked tires, and a heck of a lot of cost cutting. Still, it looks great, which prompts the question, "how do they do that?"