Scalextric Marks 50th Anniversary Year
The enduring British brand Scalextric is celebrating its 50th anniversary year by launching a series of new products to commemorate this special year which includes a limited edition presentation pack.
The commemorative pack brings together two key car models from the past and the present in the history of Scalextric; a classic Ferrari 375 with tinplate body, representing one of the first Scalextric cars ever produced, paired with Michael Schumacher’s famous modern Ferrari F1 race car from 2006. The Scalextric 50th Anniversary pack is limited to 7000 products available worldwide from August at £75 RRP.
This unique box set also features a beautifully presented book, “Scalextric: A Race Through Time”, capturing every facet of Scalextric over the years; a real celebration of the last 50 years, charting the history and milestones of the famous Scalextric brand.
The enduring appeal of Scalextric is very much down to the inventor of the slot car racing game, Bertram ‘Fred’ Francis, who had the foresight and engineering excellence to create a model car racing system that has endured over many generations and brought the unique Scalextric racing experience to millions of homes over the years. Scalextric first emerged at the Harrogate Toy Fair in 1957 and, since then, has become synonymous with slot car racing the world over and is well established as a famous British institution.
Whizzing through the years, Scalextric continues to delight children and adults alike. With 50 years of racing excellence, Scalextric celebrates both its rich heritage and innovative future with this exceptional limited edition commemorative box set.
Scalextric is also proud to launch its new EasyFit Digital Plug system. The Scalextric Digital Plug is a revolutionary device, which will enable simple ‘plug and play’ conversion for all Digital Plug Ready (DPR) cars released in 2007. The Scalextric Digital Plug is installed simply by unscrewing and removing the back panel of the DPR car and push fitting the Digital Plug. Screw the new panel back into place and your DPR car is converted to Digital in less than 60 seconds!
The Scalextric Digital system offers multi-car racing (up to six cars on just one lane!) with interactive lane changing functionality, allowing racers to over-take, introduce pitstops and even the ability to out-brake competitors into the corners! Scalextric Digital Plug Ready cars are available from RRP £17 and the Digital Plug RRP £10.
In total, nine Scalextric Digital Plug Ready (DPR) cars will be launched in 2007 and will feature models such as the 2006 Le Mans-winning Audi R10 Diesel, Ferrari 430GTR and the Ford Mustang.
Further boosting the already impressive line-up of Scalextric Digital sets, September sees the introduction of the Scalextric Digital World Championship set. Priced at RRP £250, this four-car set, complete with digital lap counter, enables racers to replicate the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship in their own homes by pitching World Champions Renault against Ferrari, McLaren Mercedes and Honda F1 in the ultimate digital challenge!
The Scalextric Classic Collection range will be enhanced in 2007 with the introduction of the Digital Plug Ready Chaparral 2F, the classic sports car from 1967. The 2F, a coupe version of the high-winged Chaparral 2E, was a competitive race car in 1967 and took victory in its last ever outing – the 500KM race at Brands Hatch. Set for launch in December, the Chaparral 2F will retail at RRP £30.
Furthermore, the classic Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR also makes its Scalextric debut alongside its younger sibling, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren “722 Edition”. Famous for its victory in the 1955 Milla Miglia with Stirling Moss and co-driver Denis Jenkinson, the original 300 SLR, with starting number 722, was commemorated in 2006 with a special edition of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, called the “722 Edition”. This limited edition two-car Scalextric set is due for release in September priced at RRP £60.
A brief history of Scalextric:
Scalextric’s roots actually date back to 1952 when a small company called ‘Minimodels Ltd’ introduced a range of metal bodied model racing cars which contained a unique type of clockwork motor under the trademark ‘SCALEX’. By the mid-1950s, the models were modified to take small electric motors and the ‘Scalextric’ brand (‘SCALEX’-Electric) was born.
Production of Scalextric products began in 1957 in Hampshire, England, and 1960 saw the introduction of the plastic range of cars as the tinplate cars ceased. Through the years Scalextric has been owned by companies such as Tri-ang and Rovex Ltd, and in 1971 production of Scalextric and Hornby trains began from Westwood, Margate.
In 1982, an independent company was formed – Hornby Hobbies Ltd (later Hornby Plc) – and during the late-1990s production of Scalextric was transferred to China. The accuracy and detailing of today’s Scalextric models remain second to none.
As the world turned evermore to digital technology, Scalextric was not to be left behind and in 2004 introduced its first fully digital racing set (multi-car racing with lane changing functionality). Scalextric SportWorld was also introduced to allow racers the ability to hook their Scalextric sets up to the internet to create a global community through on-line racing.
19 Sep 2007
(From http://www.scalextric.com/)
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