After what feels like a very short amount of time, the Scalextric 2023 range announcement was upon us once more. Scalextric have really upped their game for this year with a huge number of cars scheduled for release. Overall, the new range has been well received by the customer base, although sceptics would note that some of the 2022 cars have still not been released, so will we actually see all the proposed new cars this year?
Moving in to the detail of the new releases, our attention was immediately drawn towards the new BTCC cars. There is no new body for this year, but Scalextric have managed to squeeze two more liveries out of the current moulds.
The first car is going to be a BMW 330 Rokit sponsored car for Jake Hill. This is a similar livery to the Car Gods BMW from 2022, but that is no fault of Scalextric as they can only make versions of what actually appears on the race track.
The second BTCC car uses the new Civic body from 2022 and is the car of Josh Cook from BTC Racing. Although still primarily a black car, this does have some nice touches of blue and gold to differentiate it from similar looking cars. Both of these cars will make it into the club collection, although we wonder how many more modern BTCC cars will Scalextric be able to make?
The historic BTCC series was sadly missing from the 2022 range, which was a bit of a shame given the existing cars for Rover and Capris already exist in the Scalextric catalogue. The closest they got was a new Rover SD1 with a stunning Malboro livery, but it comes from the 1985 French Supertourisme series, which is a little obscure.
Moving on to Formula 1 and fans will not be disappointed this year. Modern F1 has been accommodated by releases of both the McLaren and Williams cars from 2022. We are looking forward to seeing both of these cars, especially the bright coloured orange McLaren. We are hoping that both will receive some individual attention, rather than a single generic body shape being used for both models, although the pictures would seem to indicate the latter.
Scalextric have also visited the F1 back catalogue with a number of new cars. They have reused the 1987 William and Lotus 99T to create the team mates for the existing cars, which is good news for collectors.
Fans of the 1970s will be delighted that Scalextric will be producing both the Brabham BT46 from 1978 and the Lotus 79. Both cars will be in a twin pack, as well as the alternate team mates car in a single pack. It will be interesting to see how these cars perform on the track compared to each other.
There are plenty of other cars for slot fans to look forward to in 2023, too many for us to catalogue individually. It is nice to see Scalextric return to the rally scene with the 1995 Subaru Impreza of Colin McRae and the 1997 Ford Escort Cosworth.
Modern GT fans will also have a variety of models to choose from, with two Porsche 911 GT3s (although both in similar blue/black liveries !!), a Mercedes GT3 and a stunning looking Aston Martin Gt3 Vantage. The original green Vantage from 2022 sold out quickly, so we expect this one to be popular too.
There are so many new cars for 2023, that every slot car customer should find something to purchase, which is good news for brand owner Hornby – as long as they can deliver on their promises.
One other thing to note, is those items that did not appear for 2023. There is no racing truck or Formula E cars. It seems like these two series have run to their end of their production, which is a shame. Just one more truck would have completed a digital field and they did seem popular. The Formula E series does not seem to have the fan appeal to make the sales targets. Its a strange one as the 1/32 electric models are a perfect match for Scalextric, but it just has not taken off.
There is also a big range of TV/movie based cars again this year, which is good news for collectors of these types of models, although they will not be appearing at Slot Car Club.
2023 looks like a good year for fans, let’s just hope that Scalextric have not bitten off more than they can chew!
