Scalextric

Scalextric is a British brand of slot car racing sets which first appeared in the late 1950s. Scalextric was invented by engineer B. Fred Francis,[1] when he added an electric motor to the Scalex tin cars that were produced by Minimodels Ltd, his own company.[2] The first "Scalextric" were made in Havant, Hampshire, in 1956. Hornby Hobbies acquired the company in 1968.[3] In 2026, the Scalextric business was sold to Purbeck Capital Partners

History

The forerunner to Scalextric was Scalex, which Francis first produced through the company Minimodels Ltd which he had founded in 1947. The company was based in London and made tinplate toys and models. Early products included the Startex toy car range and the very popular Scalex, which was introduced in 1952. Scalex was a range of toy racing cars with clockwork motors which were activated by pulling out the steering wheel.

The first model in the Scalex line was the

Products

At the beginning of the 21st century, Scalextric track underwent a major redesign to make it easier to assemble. The new design is known as Scalextric Sport and can be connected to the original track using special adaptor pieces. The new track was designed to be compatible with all earlier 1:32 cars.

In 2004 "Scalextric Sport Digital" (SSD) was introduced, which allows up to four digital cars to 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 will run on analogue layouts without modification, but analogue cars require a digital decoder to be installed before they can run on a digital layout.[8]

In late 2010, Scalextric released a revised six-car digital powerbase, C7042. This powerbase includes a separate screen which aids set-up and also displays race information such as lap times. The company worked closely with customers when developing the new system. The result includes features such as yellow flag options for dealing with crashed cars, ghost cars to race against which can run and change lanes automatically, and the ability to race in analogue mode for older models that have not been converted to digital.

Micro Scalextric

Micro Scalextric (or MicroScalextric, as appears on product boxes)[9] was launched on 1 February 1994 (then known as Scalextric Micro MR-1) at the Olympia toy fair. It became available to the public in October of that year and used a much smaller track geometry to the standard Scalextric product. Many of the Micro MR-1 models were re-badged products manufactured by Marchon, Inc. In 1995, again at the Olympia toy fair, a new track system was introduced along with new vehicles. At the same time Scalextric Micro MR-1 was re-branded as Micro Scalextric. The Micro Scalextric range is aimed at children four years of age or older and has a scale of 1:64[10] and is often, incorrectly, described as HO scale (1:87). There is also a 'My first Scalextric' range, aimed at 3-year olds. In February 2019 a new track system was introduced.[11] Warner Bros have licensed a number of Looney Tunes characters for use in the Micro Scalextric range of products. The latest (2019) range Micro Scalextric slot car motors run on 9v, which is different to earlier Micro Scalextric vehicles.

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, such as 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.

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 pit lane tracks, Le Mans start, blow-out track and loop-the-loop tracks.[12]

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 the lanes. Track produced during the 'Minimodels era' was slightly glossy, and curved sections had side protrusions to allow for the attachment of the supplied crash barrier. Later 'Triang era' Mk 1 track dispensed with these, possibly because they thwarted future additions like outer radius curves. The later iteration had a more realistic matt finish to its road surface. The earliest track had a dedicated 'power straight' for the connections to each lane, whereas the later one used power clips that were held in place between the contacts of any two track sections including curves. It was during this transition that the original on/off button control gave way to hand-held plungers with a greater degree of speed control.

1) Original Scalextric Track (Mk. 2): Released in 1962, 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 another leading brand, SCX's classic track.

2) 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.

3) 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.

4) 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.

producttype	Slot car racing
currentowner	Hornby
country	United Kingdom
introduced	1956
website	uk.scalextric.com

History

Products

Micro Scalextric

Sets

Design

Licensees and derivatives

Television and film licensing

In popular culture

External links

References