Slot Car Buyer's Guide page - Mail Order North America

Sport Craft -
Slot Car Buyer's Guide

The Slot Car Story

Customers often inquire about differences, advantages and disadvantages of the various slot car manufacturers, so we dedicate this page to that subject.  We will do our best to explain and define the characteristics of each slot car company.  Click on any of the company names to go to the respective web page where you will find their full line of scale racing cars.

Which slot racing car is right for you?

Scalextric
The oldest of the slot car companies, Scalextric has been producing quality slot cars since the 1950’s.   We believe that the modern 1/32 Scalextric slot cars offer the best value to performance and looks ratio.  For under $48 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 scale race cars that look great and perform flawlessly for $19.95 - $29.95.

Fly
Fly, a Spanish company, has been around since 1996 and is largely responsible for the growth in the model slot car market as it stands today.  Fly was the first company to introduce the extremely detailed (diecast quality) and extremely fast slot cars.  In a single stroke Fly became the premier 1/32 scale slot car maker.  Since then, 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 still carry a large variety of older Fly cars at a retail price under $50.  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 slot cars are a great value some 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 latest slot car model releases feature two!  Carrera also produces 1/24 scale slot cars and 1/43 scale slot cars (which run just fine on ordinary size track).

Ninco
Another Spanish company, Ninco is also famous for its slot 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 $42.95 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 car models.  They also offer very realistic Formula One cars with front steering.  At $39.95 - $55.95 SCX cars offer quite a value, and with proper tuning they can compete with the best of them.  All SCX cars also feature an adjustable magnet.

Revell / Monogram
Anyone who raced slot cars in the 60’s will remember this brand name.  Having re-entered the slot car market, Monogram is producing some of the most beautiful slot  race cars available today.  Focusing on vintage American endurance racing, their performance and detail just keep getting better and better.  These cars have a very "old school" vibe and are reasonably priced at $44.95 - $53.95.

AUTOart
A premier maker of 1/18 diecast models, AUTOart has entered the slot car market with some stunning releases.  AUTOart’s focus thus far has been on exotic street cars (Lamborghini Countach and Murciëlago), and WRC rally cars.  Their cars are beautiful and feature working headlights, a steal at $35.95 - $44.95 .  You won’t get Scalextric grade performance but with this much detail and at this price who’s complaining?  Look for an expanding selection in the days to come.  AUTOart also produces 1/24 scale slot cars.

Slot-It
From Italy, Slot It makes highly detailed 'ready to run' slot cars along with an assortment of upgrade parts of the highest quality.  Their cars are built to be very tunable and upgradeable and in top form will no doubt be the fastest cars in your stable.  They retail at $49.95.

In Summary
All of the slot cars offer up a great deal of fun and we recommend having at least one slot car from every company for you to compare and contrast.  We also recommend buying similar cars in pairs (i.e. same basic car in different body and/or color schemes) as this will not give the advantage to one driver or the other.  All brands of 1/32 slot car work on all brands of 1/32 scale track systems (Carrera, Scalextric, Ninco and SCX), plus they are very durable and require minimal maintenance.  So, let the fun begin.

For the Kids (and beginners)
As the slot car hobby presents a great gift idea for children we do have some recommendations.  There are several economy priced cars especially geared for the kids so that the dads don’t have to worry about their $65 Fly cars being wrecked by junior (or that annoying neighbor who likes to drive your cars harder than you'd like him to).  These cars have minimal body extremities (wings, side mirrors, etc.) and that makes for an extra durable car in the event of a crash.  These cars range in price from $25 to $35 (Scalextric and Carrera have many examples) and would make perfect stocking stuffers.

A Word on Magnets
The biggest difference between the slot cars of the 60’s and today’s slot race car is the addition of the magnet.  In a slot car the magnet is the equivalent of what "downforce" is in a real racing car.  Most all modern slot cars have at least one magnet mounted in the chassis to improve cornering capabilities.  Some cars have weaker magnets and some stronger, and the stronger the magnet, the faster the cornering.  Most magnets can be replaced to upgrade or downgrade in strength to suit driver taste and style, and as mentioned earlier some cars have adjustable magnets to increase or decrease "downforce".

We've got a slot car set for you!

Visitors since July 15, 2004.