Slot Car Buyer’s Guide

First time customers often inquire about the differences, advantages and disadvantages of the varied slot car manufacturers, so we have decided to dedicate a page to the subject and we will do our best to explain and define the characteristics of each slot car company.

Scalextric
The oldest of the slot car companies, Scalextric has been producing quality slot cars since the 1950’s.   We believe that the modern Scalextric slot cars offer the best value to performance and looks ratio.  For under $45 Scalextric offers cars with excellent detail inside and out, earth shaking performance right out of the box, and many of them have working headlights.  They also offer an economy line of cars that look great and perform flawlessly for $19.95 – $29.95.

Great Scalextric cars to consider:  MG Lola, Ford GT40s, Formula One cars, IRL cars

Fly
Fly, a Spanish company, has been around since 1996 and is largely responsible for the growth in the slot car market as it stands today.  Fly was the first company to introduce the extremely detailed (diecast quality) and extremely fast slot car.  In a single stroke Fly became the premier 1/32 scale slot car maker.  Since that time, however, the other companies have caught up to Fly and Fly’s standards in performance and detail have lagged as their prices have gone up and up. Retail prices for new Fly cars start at $64.95, however, we do still carry a large variety of older Fly cars at the retail price of $44.95.  Many out of production Fly cars have become desirable collector items (check Ebay) and this trend continues to this day as older cars go out of stock.

Carrera
Carrera is most noted for their track system, which is the favorite of many slot car enthusiasts.  Their cars are a great value usually costing under $35.  They do not perform at a Scalextric level, and they tend to look a bit toy-like in overall appearance but they do have a quality all their own and are very fun in their own right.  All Carrera 1/32 scale cars feature one adjustable magnet and their new releases feature two!  Carrera is also the only company at present producing 1/24 scale slot cars.

Some cool Carrera cars:  D-type Jaguars, vintage Stock Cars

 

Ninco
Another Spanish company, Ninco is also famous for its track system.  Ninco takes pride in producing slot cars that are very “loose”, thus delivering very realistic driving characteristics.  The cars in their “Classic” line have no magnets and are a hoot to drive as they are very easy to slide out, or “drift” in the corners.  Ninco is continually improving in the detail department and their latest releases are quite handsome.  Their Formula 1 cars with front steering are very popular.  Prices usually range from $44.95 to $59.95.

SCX
SCX is an independent offshoot of the Scalextric company, hence the name S-C-X.  SCX was the first company to deliver the 4 wheel drive slot car, present in their rally …

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