2008 Dome S102 Pilots: D. Ito, T. Kataoka Y.i Tachikawa Team: Dome Racing Team Race: 33rd overall (LMP1 class) at Le Mans in 2008 Ebbro - 44094 (resin)
Published 06/01/19
Designed as the successor to the S101, the Dome S102 debuted at La Sarthe in 2008. Developed in-house by Dome, the big differential of the new car was the closed-cockpit design. This new design allowed 9% less drag, consequently being 11% more aerodynamically efficient. Dome used the same style of monocoque chassis, yet this time it was a 100% carbon fiber affair. They also swapped the Judd GV4 engine for the newer and bigger GV5 S2 unit. The GV5 was a 5496 cm³ aspirated V10 that with 40 valves and DOHC produced 650 hp. Not only more powerful than the previous GV4, it was also lighter.
The car was ready only by March 2008, with barely enough time for Le Mans. Dome did manage, however, to do a shakedown at Spa, and the car lined up for the Le Mans test week in early June. As a works car, at test week the sole S102 classified in 11th. The race was a diesel battle, between the R10s and 908s, with the R10s taking the podium. S102 #11 finished in 33rd place, the last car to classify.
In scale, it’s a fairly nice model. I adore the lines of the real deal – to me the car looks fast, even standing still. Cars like this makes me long for the pre-shark fin era… But I digress, back to scale. Ebbro did a nice job replicating it in 1:43rd, and to my surprise, in resin! Detail wise it’s a very “complete” model, but at least on mine decals could be a tad smoother. However, in the end, you get a not expensive model that’s very nice, so a good buy.