Scalextric
Encyclopedia
Scalextric is a toy brand for a range of slot car racing sets which first appeared in the late 1950s, as a creation of British firm Minimodels. The brand is currently owned and distributed by Hornby
Hornby Railways
Hornby Railways is the leading brand of model railway in the United Kingdom. Its roots date back to 1901, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was produced in 1920. In 1938, Hornby launched its first 00 gauge train...

.

History

Scalextric came from the Scalex brand of Minimodels Ltd, which was a clockwork
Clockwork
A clockwork is the inner workings of either a mechanical clock or a device that operates in a similar fashion. Specifically, the term refers to a mechanical device utilizing a complex series of gears....

 powered race car system that first appeared in 1952. Their inventor, Mr B. "Freddie" Francis, showed Scalextric ("Scalex" plus "electric") cars at the annual Harrogate
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...

 Toy Fair in 1957 in the UK. In 1958, unable to meet demand for their popular range, the parent company was sold to Lines Bros Ltd
Lines Bros Ltd
Lines Bros Ltd was a British toy manufacturer of the 20th century, operating under the Tri-ang brand name.Lines Bros Ltd, at its peak, was claimed to be the largest toy maker in the world.-History:...

, who operated as "Tri-ang". Their subsidiary Rovex, which specialised in plastic, then developed Scalextric, converting the metal cars to the easier and cheaper to mould plastic. The track, which was originally a rubber compound, became moulded plastic at a later date. Production continued at Mini-models in Havant
Havant
Havant is a town in south east Hampshire on the South coast of England, between Portsmouth and Chichester. It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area. The town has rapidly grown since the end of the Second World War.It has good railway connections to London,...

 until 1967, when it moved to Rovex's own site.

When Lines Bros collapsed, their subsidiary Rovex-Triang, which handled Scalextric and the Triang railway brand, was sold off, eventually becoming Hornby Railways. Although Scalextric remained based in the UK, most of the products are made in China.

Results were hit in 2007 by the closure of the Scalextric Race World retail store in Tacoma, however Scalextric-USA created a store front in Auburn, Washington
Auburn, Washington
-Parks:Auburn has an extensive system of parks, open space and urban trails comprising 29 developed parks, 5 undeveloped sites under planning, 2 skate parks, 2 water roatary parks, and over of trails , and almost of open space for passive and active recreation.-Environmental Park:The Auburn...

 showcasing Scalextric slot cars, tracks and accessories.

Products

The majority of Scalextric Products are 1:32 scale
1:32 scale
1:32 scale is a traditional scale for models and miniatures, in which one unit on the model represents 32 units on the actual object. It is also known as "three-eighths scale", since 3/8-inch represents a foot...

, though between 1968 and 1970 Super124 cars and track were manufactured at 1:24 scale. In the late 1990s, Micro Scalextric at 1:64 scale
1:64 scale
1:64 scale is a traditional scale for models and miniatures, in which one unit on the model represents 64 units on the actual object. It is also known as "three-sixteenths scale", since 3/16-inch represents a foot. A man is approximately 1-1/8 inches tall in 1:64 scale...

 was introduced. Cars and track are not compatible between scales; however classic 1950s models should run on modern Scalextric track and vice versa.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Scalextric track underwent a major redesign to make the track easier to assemble. The new design is known as Scalextric Sport. Scalextric Sport track can be connected to the classic design of track using special adaptor pieces.

Other manufacturers (such as Fly, Slot.it, SCX, MRRC and Ninco) produce cars that can run on Scalextric track without modification.

Also introduced, in 2004, is Scalextric Sport Digital (SSD), in which up to 4 digital cars can be raced in a single slot. The cars can change from one slot to another using special slot-lane change tracks, the lane change or otherwise being controlled by a button on the throttle. Sport Digital cars should run on non-digital track unmodified, but standard analogue cars require a new circuit (digital chip) to be added to them before they can run on the digital system.

Many of the original non digital Scalextric cars can be converted to operate on the digital system but not all, this is due mainly to insufficient space to install the necessary digital conversion chip. Performance of the converted classic cars on the digital system can vary, but enthusiasts have been able to successfully chip a wide range of cars, from Scalextric and also from other brands, to run on Scalextric Sport Digital.

As use of Scalextric Digital has increased, a community has established itself where users have developed enhanced powerbase functionality, fuel management and timing systems to increase the realism of the hobby.

A kit for converting Scalextric sport into Scalextric digital requires a digital power base; a transformer; lane changing track (to utilise the full benefits) and digital controllers.

To push Scalextric digital further into the 21st Century, Scalextric have released (Late 2010) a revised 6 Car digital powerbase, C7042. This powerbase includes a separate screen which aids set up and also displays race information such as lap times etc. Scalextric worked closely with its customers to make the product they wanted. The resulting product includes features such as yellow flag options for dealing with crashed cars, ghost cars to race against which can run and change lanes without a human controlling them, and the ability to race in analogue mode, for people who still have cars to race that are not digitally chipped.

In Spain, Hornby Scalextric is marketed under the brand Superslot, as the Scalextric brand is owned there by Tecnitoys, whose products are sold internationally under the SCX brand. Whilst there are some common standards, parts of the two ranges (particularly in their digital offerings) are not compatible, and should not be mixed.

Sets

Scalextric is typically sold as a set containing enough track to make a circuit, the necessary power supply and throttles and two cars. The cars are usually based on real vehicles from Formula 1, A1 Grand Prix, NASCAR, rallying, touring, or Le Mans, or based on ordinary road going cars. A number of novelty sets have been produced; for example, horse racing sets and 360 degree sets. The latter, produced sporadically since the 1960s, have a specially-made guide that enables the car to run back the way it has come by spinning through 180 degrees.They have now invented a micro scalextric track for the olympics which is a veldrome that has 2 scalextric bikes.

Licensing

Scalextric have offered a number of TV and film tie-in
Tie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...

s, including Batman Begins
Batman Begins
Batman Begins is a 2005 American superhero action film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman, along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson,...

, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...

, The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

and the 2007 Live-action Transformers movie. They also produced sets for The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man (TV series)
The Amazing Spider-Man is the first live-action TV series based on the popular comic book The Amazing Spider-Man, not counting his appearances on the educational The Electric Company series, and was shown in the USA between 1977-1979...

(the 1970s series), Tim Burton's Batman
Batman (1989 film)
Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl and Jack Palance...

, James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

007 1960's, Knight Rider, Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch is a 1970s American cop thriller television series that consisted of a 90-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 60 minutes each; created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast between April 30, 1975 and May 15, 1979 on the ABC...

, The Italian Job
The Italian Job (2003 film)
The Italian Job is a 2003 heist film directed by F. Gary Gray. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Seth Green, Jason Statham, Mos Def, and Donald Sutherland. It is an American remake of a 1969 British film of the same name, and is about a team of thieves who plan to steal...

(2003), Top Gear
Top Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...

, The Sweeney
The Sweeney
The Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...

and The Dukes of Hazzard.

Scalextric has also recently licensed the Need for Speed brand from Electronic Arts and has produced a set based on the popular video game series.

On 22 November 2004 thieves stole 2,500 Simpsons Scalextric sets from the back of a lorry which was parked near services on the M2 motorway in England.

Vehicles

In addition to all types of cars, Scalextric vehicles have included motorbikes, sidecars, go-karts, pickup trucks, SUVs, racing trucks, articulated trucks, horses, skateboards and bicycles.

Track

Standard track consists of straights of various lengths and corners of different radii and degree of turn. Special track includes several different styles of chicane, cross-over tracks, crossroad track and humpback bridge. Novelty pieces of track have included pitlane tracks, Le Mans start, blow-out track and loop-the-loop tracks.

There are five generations of 1/32 scale Scalextric track:
  1. Original Scalextric Track (Mk. 1): This was made from rubber with thin, vertical electrical connectors, and held together with separate metal clips. This track had white lines between each lane.
  2. Original Scalextric Track (Mk. 2): Released in 1965, the material became plastic, electrical connections were through wider, horizontal pins, and the track was held together by two integrated circular, spoon-shaped pins and sockets moulded into each end. Converter pieces were available to link the two types. It is now known as Classic track. Classic track is compatible with other leading brand, SCX's classic track.
  3. Scalextric Sport: Released in 2001, another plastic track, but with a smoother surface. The track connectors are square and slot into place unlike the ring shaped Classic track ones. Converter pieces are available to link to Classic track.
  4. Scalextric Digital: Released in 2004, Scalextric Digital is compatible with Sport. It allows up to 6 cars on a 2 lane track at one time, with each car fully controllable. This was a feature previously unavailable from Scalextric.
  5. Scalextric Start: Released in 2010, Scalextric Start aims to be a basic track for children. It has only one type of straight and corner, and each set can be made up into various layouts; the cars included in the sets are fantasy models, which reduce manufacturers' licensing costs, and a converter track piece is available to allow cars to cross from Start track to Sport and back again.

Scalextric racing in popular culture

In 2009, BBC Top Gear
Top Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...

presenter James May
James May
James Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....

 announced plans to recreate the full length Brooklands racing track
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...

 using Scalextric track and cars. This was undertaken with a team of 350 volunteers building the track from an uncounted number of pieces of Scalextric track, navigating ponds and roads, closely following the route of the old Brooklands track. This event broke the Guinness World Record for the longest ever Scalextric track in the world, intended to measure the original 2.75 miles (4.4 km) of the original Brooklands circuit but in reality recording 2.95 miles (4.7 km) in length (due to the need to navigate modern features that block the original course). The episode was first shown on BBC2 on 17 November 2009 as part of "James May's Toy Stories
James May's Toy Stories
James May's Toy Stories is a television series presented by James May. The series was commissioned for BBC Two from Plum Pictures. The first episode, "Airfix", was shown on BBC Two at 8:00 pm on Tuesday 27 October 2009....

", and repeated on BBC America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...

 in 2010.

Early Scalextric cars as they appeared

1957 Metal-bodied Ferrari 375 and Maserati 250F with Gimble-pick-up
  • 1st edition catalogue 1960 - C54 Lotus
    Team Lotus
    Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...

    , C55 Vanwall
    Vanwall
    Vanwall was a Formula One motor racing team that competed in the 1950s. Founded by Tony Vandervell, the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of his Thinwall bearings produced at the Vandervell Products factory at Acton, London...

    , C56 Lister Jaguar
    Jaguar
    The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...

    , C57 Aston Martin
    Aston Martin
    Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...

  • 2nd edition catalogue 1961 - C58 Cooper Car Company
    Cooper Car Company
    The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...

    , C59 BRM, C60 Jaguar D-type
    Jaguar D-type
    The Jaguar D-Type, like its predecessor the C-Type, was a factory-built race car. Although it shared the basic straight-6 XK engine design with the C-Type, the majority of the car was radically different...

    , C61 Porsche Spyder
  • 3rd edition catalogue 1962 - C62 Ferrari
    Ferrari
    Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...

    , C63 Lotus, C64 Bentley
    Bentley
    Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...

    , C65 Alfa Romeo
    Alfa Romeo
    Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...

    , E1 Lister Jaguar with lights, E2 Aston Martin DBR with lights
  • 4th edition catalogue 1963 - C66 Cooper, C67 Lotus, C68 Aston Martin, C69 Ferrari GT, C70 Bugatti
    Bugatti
    Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....

    , C71 Auto Union
    Auto Union
    Auto Union was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony, during the Great Depression. The company has evolved into present day Audi, as a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group....

    , E3 Aston Martin with lights, E4 Ferrari GT with lights
  • 5th edition catalogue 1964 - C72 BRM, C73 Porsche
    Porsche
    Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....

    , C74 Austin-Healey 3000
    Austin-Healey 3000
    The Austin-Healey 3000 is a British sports car built from 1959 to 1967, and is the best known of the "big" Healey models. The car's bodywork was made by Jensen Motors, and the vehicles were assembled at the BMC Abingdon works....

    , C75 Mercedes
    Mercedes-Benz
    Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...

     190SL, E5 Marshal's car with lights
  • 6th edition catalogue 1965 - C76 Mini Cooper,
  • 7th edition catalogue 1966 - C77 Ford GT40
    Ford GT40
    The Ford GT40 was a high performance sports car and winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans four times in a row, from 1966 to 1969...

    , C78 AC Cobra
    AC Cobra
    The AC Cobra, also known colloquially as the Shelby Cobra in North America, is an Anglo-American sports car that was produced during the 1960s.-History and development:...

    , C79 Offenhauser
    Offenhauser
    Offenhauser was an American racing engine manufacturer that operated from 1933 to 1983.The Offenhauser engine, familiarly known as the "Offy", was developed by Fred Offenhauser and his employer Harry Arminius Miller, after maintaining and repairing a 1913 Peugeot Grand Prix car of the type which...

     front engine, C80 Offenhauser rear engine, C81 Cooper, C82 Lotus, C83 Sunbeam Tiger
    Sunbeam Tiger
    The Sunbeam Tiger was a muscle car version of the British Rootes Group's Sunbeam Alpine roadster.-Development:The West Coast Sales Manager of Rootes American Motors Inc., Ian Garrad, realized that the Alpine's image was that of a touring car rather than a sports car, and he set about changing its...

     C84 Triumph TR4A
    Triumph TR4A
    The Triumph TR4A was built between 1965 and 1968 by the Triumph Motor Company in the United Kingdom.The TR4A was an evolution of the TR4, updated with a new chassis. It was hoped the new, but more complex independent rear suspension would address the buying publics' desire for more comfortable...

    , C85 BRM, C86 Porsche, C87 Vanwall, C88 Cooper, C89 BRM, 90 Ferrari, C91 D-Type Jaguar, C92 Porsche
    Porsche
    Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....

  • 8th edition catalogue 1967 - C75 Mercedes 190SL Sports (James Bond
    James Bond
    James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

    ), C97 Aston Martin (James Bond)
  • 9th edition catalogue 1968 - C1 Alpine Renault, C2 Matra
    Matra
    Mécanique Aviation Traction or Matra was a French company covering a wide range of activities mainly related to automobile, bicycles, aeronautics and weaponry. In 1994, it became a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group and now operates under that name.Matra was owned by the Floirat family...

     Jet, C3 Javelin Special, C4 Electra Special, C5 Europa Vee, C6 Panther, C7 Rally Mini Cooper, C32 Mercedes 250SL, C99 Fiat
    Fiat
    FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...

     600
  • 10th edition catalogue 1969 - C8 Lotus Indianapolis, C9 Ferrari, C14 Mantra GP, C15 Ford Mirage, C16 Ferrari P
    Ferrari P
    The Ferrari P series were prototype sports cars in the 1960s and early 1970s.Although Enzo Ferrari resisted the move even with Cooper dominating F1, Ferrari began producing mid-engined racing cars in 1960 with the Ferrari Dino-V6-engine Formula Two 156, which would be turned into the Formula...

    4, C17 Lamborghini Miura
    Lamborghini Miura
    The Lamborghini Miura was a sports car produced by Italian automaker Lamborghini between 1966 and 1972. The car is widely considered to have begun the trend of high performance, two-seater, mid-engined sports cars...

    , C18 Ford 3l GT, C19 Scalextric Team Car, C36 Honda
    Honda
    is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...

     GP
  • 11th edition catalogue 1970 - C20 Dart GP, C21 Cougar Sports
  • 12th edition catalogue 1971 - C22 Porsche 917GT, C23 Scaletti-Arrow, C24 Team Car MkII, C34 Jaguar E-type
    Jaguar E-type
    The Jaguar E-Type or XK-E is a British automobile, manufactured by Jaguar between 1961 and 1975. Its combination of good looks, high performance, and competitive pricing established the marque as an icon of 1960s motoring...

    , C37 BRM
  • 13th edition catalogue 1972 - C26 March Ford 721, C41 Ferrari GT330, C43 McLaren M9A, C44 Mercedes Wankel C111
  • 14th edition catalogue 1973 - C25 Ferrari 312B2, C28 Renault Alpine, C37 BRM, C46 Porsche 917K, C47 Tyrrell Ford, C50 JPS Lotus 72

External links

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