Scalextric slot cars were initially created in
the 1950s by British firm Minimodels. The company had in 1952
introduced a range of clockwork powered race car systems called
Scalex, which were then adapted into electric systems and renamed
Scalextric, combining the words Scalex and electric.
Initially focusing on 1:32 scale models of Grand
Prix racing cars, Scalextric cars became a landmark hit within the
burgeoning slot car racing market, so much so that Minimodels was
unable to meet the demand for its popular range and was
incorporated as a subsidiary of Triang. At this time production of
Scalextric vehicles changed from metal to plastic, which was both
cheaper and easier to mould.
The first Scalextric tracks were made of a
rubber compound and had two parallel grooves running along the
course to allow two cars to race against each other at a time. In
the 1960s production of the tracks themselves also switched over
to moulded plastic, and this style of plastic track with a new
attachment system is still in use today.
As slot car racing became more popular during
the 1960s, Triang opened additional factories in Spain, France,
Australia and New Zealand. One notable occurrence was that the
Australian factory produced some vehicles with obvious colour
variations from the parent company's guidelines. These included a
black Mini Cooper and an apple green Lotus, which was supposed to
be British racing green. This is believed to have been done by
local factory workers to spite its British parent company. These
models are extremely rare and popular with collectors.
Towards the end of the 1960s, Scalextric 1:24
scale models were introduced to meet demand in the US and Europe.
Sadly, these cars were not financially successful, and due to high
production costs were discontinued in 1970. Another financial
disappointment was the 'You Steer' line of Scalextric cars, which
allowed racers to steer the car left or right just under an inch
along the slots in the racecourse.
By the 1980s, Scalextric's parent company had
collapsed and one of its subsidiaries became Hornby Railways,
which to this day is the producer of Scalextric vehicles. By this
point slot car racing had lost some of its widespread appeal and
Scalextric saw some of its biggest competitors, such as like
Fleischmann and Märklin, stopping production.
The 1990s saw computer design and 3D printing
methods create more authentic and detailed models than those of
the initial slot car boom. New replicas of slot cars from the
1960s and 1970s appeared on the market, giving enthusiasts the
option of racing modern and classic cars against each other. The
Micro Scalextric range was also introduced, using 1:64 range cars
racing on dedicated Micro Scalextric tracks.
Towards the end of the decade slot car racing
saw something of a resurgence and Scalextric were joined by new
kids on the block like Nico and Fly, whose cars can race on
Scalextric tracks without modification.
Today Scalextric is as synonymous with slot cars
as Hoover is with vacuum cleaners or Tannoy with loudspeaker
systems. Scalextric Digital cars have been introduced, with
digital control systems that allow up to 6 cars to race in a
single slot with more realistic passing. Today's cars are usually
based on racing vehicles from F1, A1, NASCAR, Le Mans, touring,
rallying and ordinary road cars.
One prominent Scalextric enthusiast is Top Gear
presenter James May. In 2005 he attempted to set the land speed
record using Scalextric slot cars and a scale measured-mile,
inviting 42 of the world's best Scalextric racers to break the
then-current record of 458 mph. He himself used an off-the-shelf
1:32 scale Scalextric Ford GT to reach the equivalent speed of 392
mph, which is faster than the real Ford GT's speed of 212 mph. The
winning speed was 696.6 mph, which was in 2008 beaten by actor
Dallas Campbell, who set the current record of 983.88 mph using a
Scalextric Honda F1 model.
The future for Scalextric is looking good, with
franchises such as the Scalextric James Bond Quantum of Solace and
Scalextric Lewis Hamilton ranges predicted to be big sellers for
Christmas 2008, and other franchises such as Micro Scalextric
Disney Cars, Need For Speed Scalextric and Micro Scalextric and
new Scalextric MINI ranges released in 2009.
Paul Jones is an avid model enthusiast and has
been involved with model assembly, design and painting for over 20
years.
