This AUTOart 1:43 HINO GT 500 truck (yes, we said “GT” and “truck” in the same sentence) is patterned after the unit that’s been boinking through the sand in the Dakar Rally, and collecting Class Championships (four in a row, as of this year’s event) for Team Sugawara. No, this isn’t the same rig used to deliver parcels; though the truck looks like its road-going cousins, this carbon-bodied mini-monster uses a comparatively tiny engine — a turbodiesel straight six of around 8 liters — to crush its competition, who run larger, heavier machines. AUTOart’s model of the 2012 entrant is a riot of crisp sponsor logos on a hybrid metal and plastic body. The details all over are tiny, and very well done, from the delicate headlights and bezeled rear markers to the multi-layered chassis, jammed with heavy-duty running gear. Above the knobby tires, the right-hand-drive cab is full of sharp castings and legible tampos, and the effect is more like a submarine control room than the sand-bound dash for a truck. Given the popularity of this series — and the HINO brand — we imagine that “dashing” is exactly what collectors will be doing. Rally ’round, boys. — Joe Kelly, Jr.
1:43 | $114.90
