FORD ESCORT PT-109 (UK) 143749 (US)

The humble Escort, the king of 70's rallying relegated to chasing a Hulk van around a figure of eight!

Alas! The Escort is definitely a favourite for Powertrack fans and rightly so. The chunky detailing and semi matt paint finish rendered it uber-cool, long before the phrase was invented.

The UK car was identical to the US car, though both appeared at the same time. The Escort was the first of four new cars for Matchbox in 1979. The Fiat, TR7 & VW Scirocco being the others. These four cars were all rally cars and this opened up the appeal of 'F1 & Sportscar' based slot car tracks.

I am still surprised the Escort and Fiat never appeared in a set together but I can tell you this. The Escort regularly appeared as a 'fill in' car, for when stocks were short of others. Both the PT-8000 and PT-6000 were known to include this item. In fact, Woolworths gave away a Ford Escort free with every Race & Chase back in 1980!

The US car was numbered 4 on a white rectangle, while the UK car was number 8 on a white trapezoid. Apart from that, there were a couple of additions;

The yellow Escort (above) was much rarer, featuring black detailing and the important Ford badging. This is a real collectors item and a fine addition to the range, but as with all the yellow Powertrack cars, the bodywork has faded and become fairly transluscent, a real pity in this case.

The Prototype Escort is shown above, and is pretty much stock Escort, though obviously the window plastic is missing. I reckon Matchbox were maybe wondering what colour to do the glass - although black or clear seem obvious, they went for a fetching dark green.

However, rarest of the lot is a red Escort I saw in 1979. Pretty much the same as a regular Escort but having a distinct red and black chequered roof. I saw several of these at a model shop in Reading that has long ceased trading. I remember being fascinated back then because I hadn't seen it before, and I was unlikely to see it since. Rest assured, they're out there somewhere...

POLICE CAR 143748 (US PROTOTYPE)

Take a look at this! The prototype Police car for the Speedtrack Race & Chase.

The remarkable thing about this particular car is the fact it looks so unlike the production version. Normally, the prototype Matchbox cars differ slightly, but this is an entirely different vehicle. It looks scratchbuilt from some other sort of HO scale car, with hastily fashioned details like the lights merely tacked on.

The prototype exists for photographic purposes but clearly it is priceless - it would be nice to know if this example is still in existence. Matchbox clearly did a U-turn with this design though.

The production version (above) is much different, but no less dramatic. Clearly American, but widely acceptable owing to the popularity of US cop shows on TV. There is no doubt it has presence but its more urbane, and lacks the 'fast back' nature of the prototype.

FUNNY CAR aka MONZA 143742 (US ONLY)

When Race & Chase appeared in the UK the set was equipped with the well known yellow & White Chevrolet Stingray. Now, eagle eyed as I was back then, I noticed that photos in the Argos catalogue and Littlewoods catalogues showed a photo of a car that looked like a Stingray, yet clearly wasn't a Stingray.

While this baffled me then, it was soon forgotten about. Now alas(!) I see the light, because in the US, the Race & Chase was supplied with this chunkier, squarer Chevrolet; the Monza.

Now, the Monza is great, it looks the part and evidently inspires thoughts of Smokey & The Bandit, but a Stingray it wasn't. The real Chevrolet Monza was an uninspiring car and Matchbox were keen to market it as a Funny car, owing to its 'droop snoot' stance. The car had 'Catch me' written on the back and it soon caught the imagination of schoolkids...

The original prototype (above) is shown in the 1978 catalogue and differs significantly. It has a grille for one thing, and spats on the rear wing. The graphics are there, but the Catch Me script is absent. What is apparent is the Matchbox 'm' on the bonnet/hood - the only car that does so.

The box art work for PT-6000 shoes a hybrid Corvette/Stingray/Monza. The box artist, (an Industrial Designer seconded from nearby Ford perhaps?) probably worked from photos of the US Monza, while decisions were being made on supplying a Corvette - or the then new - Stingray.

The funny car underwent a big paint job for the stillborn Positraction, but other than that it is one of the most common cars found on the Speedtrack pages. I like it though, its a hoot!

TEXACO F1 143730 (US ONLY)

The Texaco is pretty much as the Elf F1. In fact, they share the same moulding.

Both cars appeared at launch in 1977 but were deleted by 1979. Given the small number of cars available compared to other slot racing systems, this deletion seems to be a tad detrimental to expanding the range of accessories available.

The Texaco looked smart though, which is no small feat given its an uninspiring colour and livery. The car started off with white wheels but soon adopted the traditional grey five spokers.

Again, there is an early prototype version that is virtually identical but with dark grey wheels.

ELF FORMULA 1 143729 (US ONLY)

The Elf F1 is a cool car. No doubt about it, 30 years on it looks like a great retro slot car. Yet, imagine back in 1977 you found this in your slot racing set. You would probably think it looked like something from a Christmas cracker.

Like the Sportsman cars, the quality of these mouldings left much to be desired but the overiding impression I have now is that this is a fantastic Speedtrack car.
Although designed to simulate an early seventies F1 car, the Elf (and it's counterpart, the Texaco F1) never made it to Europe, which is a pity as the cars might have given credibility to the Powertrack PT-1000 and its budget price aspirations, freeing up the the F1 cars to provide a bigger UK set in the style of the Speedtrack International set.

The 1977 Speedtrack catalogue shows a prototype Elf, which differs slightly to the production version. The white detailing is almost removed save for the ends of the rear wing. The numerals are white numbers without backing, and the wheels are a dark grey.

GREMLIN SPORTSMAN 143726 (US ONLY)

This is the partner for the Pinto Sportsman and it is presented in a very off putting bogey green. The thing you notice with the early Speedtrack cars is they are woefully short on investment. Given Matchbox' roots on detail and authenticity, the Gremlim is a particularly nasty example. The moulded in colour has not aged well and my example is almost transparent...

The Gremlin certainly handles though, fit the 12V chassis with magnet and off it blasts - while this is the case of most Powertrack cars with the Plus Chassis the Gremlin at least looks like it means business, with none of the 'bustle' you get with some full bodied cars like the Escort and Fiat Abarth.

The Sportsman cars are fairly limited, having a shelf life of about 18 months. Good examples should fetch excellent money on ebay.

PINTO SPORTSMAN 143725 (US ONLY)

The Pinto is a delightful product to find 30 years on. It came as a total surprise to me that these cars existed and further more that they never reached the UK in one form or another.

However, they were crude devices and - without being elitist - were probably not of the quality expected by Lesney in the UK.

The Pinto is a different moulding to the Gremlin Sportsman, its set partner of 1977. One wonders why they were so similar but different - though this seems to be a Matchbox speciality.

The Sportsman cars were presumably inspired by US dirt racers, but were akin to our UK Hot Rods, which I remember being quite popular here at the time. I think Matchobx missed the opportunity to create a pair of Hot Rods for the UK here.

PORSCHE 936 PT-108 (UK) 143746 (US)

The Porsche 936 is a textbook Porsche Le Mans car. Not as famous as the 917 or the later 956 it nevertheless dominated sportcar racing in the mid to late seventies. For Matchbox, it was an obvious slot racing product and their interpretation is spot on.

Works Porsches were festooned with Martini striping, but the Matchbox product makes do with subtle badging and striping to the rear flank. A pity, considering the effect of the striping on the real life car. Care should be taken of the rear fins as the decals peel away easily in this area (below). Examples that have not peeled should be worth more I reckon.

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The Porsche went through a few iterations. The first was a vehicle with more Martini striping than usual and really looked the part, having much more of a scale model effect than the regular item.

The other was the Pacer version supplied in the Slipstream set. This was a standard 936 with the Pacer script stuck on both sides.

Given the privateer nature of Porsche racing cars it's a real shame more imagination wasn't invested in other liveries. The Powertrack Plus revision in 1981 was a prime example of this lack of imagination.

RENAULT ALPINE PT-107 (UK) 143745 (US)

Here is a Powertrack regular, the Renault Alpine. It is quite a curious entry as it is available in so many variations. The differences are subtle, enough to make you wonder why they bothered..

The standard issue car is in the foreground right. This is common to both US and UK markets and is the only car here shown fitted with an Airbox behind the drivers head.

The later car, (back right) has the same livery but is without the airbox. It was also moulded in colour, while the standard car was spray painted. The latter appears waxy by comparison.

The black yellow Renault is much more faithful to the real racing cars of the seventies but quite scarce in Matchbox circles. There is no reference to this model at all in any period literature. Note the drivers helmet is red for these versions.

The other car is the Powertrack Plus version, more of which later. The last three cars mentioned are all without airboxes. The mouldings clearly have no fill in panel, so when Matchbox decided to mould in colour they also deleted the airbox.

Apart from the production models, check out this prototype from the UK Powertrack instruction manuals of 78/79. This car is significantly different, there is an airbox, but the rear wing is alot smaller. The front headlights are round and there are 4 slots in the front splitter. The grilles over the front wing are smaller and the driver is seated to the left of centre. The cockpit is a squarer profile and there are no cooling slats over the rear bodywork at all. The stripes run white and the drivers helmet is red.

Obviously, this is a pre-production example and could be made out of wood for all I know. If a working sample of this turned up its value would be significant.

JAGUAR XJ5.3 PT-106 (UK) 143740

The Jaguar was nowhere near as successful as the BMW in real life, but boy did it have a presence. I saw one of these in action at Silverstone in 1990 and it was a veritable monster. Someone at Lesney was also similarly moved to produce a body as it's a bit of a curiousity.

The big Jag looked the part too, in Access livery and it's contemporary Leyland reference, it was a very exciting addition to the Powertrack range.

The car was available in the US as an accessory, but was only ever packed with the slipstream set. That car was the revolting yellow version. This also had the dorsal adornment of the lap counter activator (below), though it is missing on the box artwork (above).

Apart from the stillborn Positraction version and the PPlus upgrade there are no remarkable variations of this Jaguar, but it remains an exciting Powertrack car.

BMW 3.0 CSL PT-105 (UK) 143741 (US)

Long before BMW became synonymous with Touring car racing, they began their domination with this car. Matchbox's car is one of their finest in its stunning Jagermeister livery, and remained largely unchanged in the UK & US guise.

The big curiousity is it was referred to as a BMW 3.0 CSL in the 1978 Powertrack catalogue, but a BMW 320i in the US catalogue of 1978 & 79. I actually think it's a 320i too...

Apart from the excellent Jagermeister version and the Positraction & PPlus versions to follow, there also existed two other versions of note.

The first is the chase car used in European versions of the Race & Chase set, badged PT-6100. This car was orange with yellow detailing.

The other version (above) is that found in the Slipstream set. Essentially the same as the Jagermeister version but also having the dorsal fin upon its roof to activate the lap counter.

McLAREN M23 - PT-102 (UK) 14 37 44 (US)

The McLaren is the other F1 Powertrack car and its also a chubby interpretation of the real thing. The real car is very flat but obviously the Powertrack version is hamsterised to fit it all in.

The McLaren was released in the UK as PT-102 and was only ever available in faux Marlboro colours of reddy-orange/white. In the states though, the car was redone completely. Was cigarette advertising on kids toys outlawed then?

The US car was blue, with yellow detailing and not marketed as 'McLaren' at all. Instead, it was clumsily titled 'M-26 Formula 1'

There are few variations of this car other than that though I vaguely remember different drivers helmets may have been provided depending on stock - this characteristic also applied to all the open topped cars, standard for this car on both sides of the Atlantic are a black helmet.

The US Positraction prototype was pretty lurid and mirrored the Penske livery that Matchbox were associated with at the time. This car is probably none existent - see Positraction cars section later.

FERRARI 312T2 - PT-101 (UK) 14 37 43 (US)

The Ferrari 312T was synonymous with Formula 1 and Matchbox were keen to use it in it's advertising literature and box artwork. The driver clenching the steering wheel is sat in a Ferrari.

A pity then, that Matchbox in the UK sought to package this in it's smallest set and never use it again. Of course, it looked a little ungainly, having that podgy look that most HO F1 cars have to get over the motor. But crucially, it had no lights, and as Matchbox Powertrack began to trade on that feature it meant these soon became obsolete...

(Although the Truck Racers - conceived much later - also had not lights!)

The UK and late US cars had 'Agip' fuel stickers on the front wing and clearly marked as 'Number 2'. The earliest US cars were less adorned and without a number. Both cars referenced Ferrari though.

Note: No Ferrari came with white wheels...

CHEVROLET CORVETTE PT-104(UK) 14 37 27 (US)

The Corvette is the other ubiquitious Powertrack car and it too suffers from the 'under-design' of the Porsche. However, it was never re-made, although you could argue the Corvette Stingray was a beefed up version and should have replaced the Corvette.

I like the Corvette but it doesn't handle especially well. Only when fitted with a 12v PP chassis does it come into it's own and the silver version of this car really flies.



The version at the top is the US Speedtrack car with white wheels. Like the Porsche, in 1978/9 Matchbox junked the white wheels for the typical 5 star grey design common on all other Matchbox slotcars - even Lanechanger.

The grey wheeled version is a staple Powertrack car but I would think white wheeled versions can claim a premium if the rest of the car is in mint condition.

The other big surprise on this car is that the red/blue stripes continue on to the door. This was not a feature of UK Powertrack cars, even though it is clearly shown on the box artwork of PT-2000.

The Corvette here is the common grey wheeled variety. However, what marks this out as a bit special is the 'spangled' number 4 on the bonnet and flanks. This also omits the door striping.

The Corvette generally is car is worth very little. A white wheel version could be worth a little more but the spangled number is purely US versus UK. However, any version with door stripes should command a serious premium.

PORSCHE 911 TURBO PT-103 (UK) 14 37 28 (US)

The Porsche is a toy car staple and Slot racing sets are no exception. The very first Porsche created for Speedtrack and PT-2000 was an inferior moulding that looked like a Porsche, but lacked the Matchbox craft that adorned many of the other cars. The Corvette of this period too, also suffered.

The Porsche was modelled loosely on the 934 RSR as raced by the Kremer team in 1974. It was a seriously fast car, but by the time Powertrack came to market the 935 Turbo was coming to the fore and this looked rather dated at launch. However, the rush to market with a slot car clearly meant the Porsche 'would do for now'.

With the UK launch of Powertrack Plus in 1981/2 Matchbox introduced the revised Porsche 911 Turbo, the now familiar red 'Esso' Kremer Porsche found in the Matchbox PP-9000 set. However, the version above is an old Mark 1 Porsche with the Mark 2 graphics applied to it. This photo example a very rare model indeed and hence worth a serious premium over any other.

While the UK got the faux 'Vaillant' livery of European racing scene, the US got a very smart faux 'Gulf' oil scheme. This is a white wheeled example and there are later grey wheeled versions, so a mint white wheeler would command a small premium over normal versions. Interestingly, the front axle widths were narrower on these bodies and the UK front axle does not fit without bushes - this is also true of the Corvette from this period.

THE GARAGE

The cars supplied in all the Powertrack & Speedtrack sets were also available independently. Matchbox certainly tried to ensure this was possible, though it seems there distribution was rather sporadic. The great thing about the Internet now is that however rare or random the item it usually ends up on eBay!

Now, eBay is not the be all and end all but it does enable a measure of the popular and not so popular. For collectors and enthusiasts the this guide is intended to be accurate to the extent of my product knowledge and catalogues to hand. It would be unusual if there were not variations and addendums to be found.

'THE GARAGE' cannot be completed quickly so I intend to add pages to the Blog as they are done - as I try to list things in a methodical manner it may be sometime before I get one to Speedtrack & Lanechanger cars...

As some cars and body styles were used across both sides of the Atlantic I will have to 'bundle' all the cars together and state variations as they arrive.

Please bear with me as I compile this guide - it is no doubt subject to various improvements in the coming weeks...

LANECHANGER 2000

Lanechanger 2000 was the bigger of the two sets and it featured the ubiquitious but elegant Porsche & Monza pairing once more.

The clip on chicanes could be used in most straight track situations but other than that, in the UK it was fairly expensive and couldn't really justify itself against the competition, not least from Powertrack itself.

Lanechanger 2000 comprised:

1 x Martini Porsche 935 Turbo

1 x Chevrolet Monza

1 x 15" Start straight

9 x 15" Straight track

4 x 9" Straight track

10 x 90 Degree curve

1 x Mains transformer

2 x Hand controllers

3 x Chicanes

Crash barriers - current opinion is some Armco and some Plasticard type

Bridge supports

Track Length: 25ft

Typical selling price: £55

LANECHANGER LC-1000

For the UK market, Matchbox dropped the RPS tag and it was called just Lanechanger. There were only two sets ever available in the UK and they differed very little.

Lanchanger 1000 did feature two different cars though. The stunning (for the 70's!) green and brown Porsche 935 and the even more horny white and red Monza. They were no different underneath and still used the same 10V power supply.

The Chicanes were new - a clip on type not available on US RPS. They were yellow plastic affairs with an advertising hoarding fitted across the top.

Lanechanger 1000 comprised:

1 x Porsche 935 Turbo

1 x Chevrolet Monza

6 x 90 Degree curve

5 x 15" Straight

1 x 15" Start straight

2 x Advertising hoardings

1 x Bridge supports

Track length: 13.5 ft

Typical selling price: £34.99

SPEEDTRACK TURBO RPS 6000

This is the largest Lanechanger set available but I am not sure if was ever launched...

The big trick of this set is it offered a hump back bridge and a pit stop that was 'off lane'.

This seemed to be a great idea but I have doubts how a slotless car might negotiate a hump back bridge. No matter the coolness of the idea was perhaps lost on the very naff cardboard supports that were employed to make it.

The Lanechanger concept could have really benefitted from significant belief in the product from Matchbox. It seems to me that Matchbox merely put its toe in the market but given the choice it would go with slot racing and Powertrack/Speedtrack.

This is rather a shame because the Lanechanger premise offered all that Powertrack offered with the added - considerable - benefit of changing lanes.

R.I.P.

Turbo RPS-6000 comprised:

1 x Porsche 935 Turbo
1 x Chevrolet Monza
1 x 15" Start track
12 x 90 degree curve
9 x 15" Straight
2 x 9" Straight
1 x Hump Back bridge
1 x Pit Stop Track
1 x Pit garage building

1 x Timing building

1 x Lap counter
1 x Mains Transformer
2 x Hand Controllers
12 x Crash barriers
Bridge supports

Track length:

Typical selling price: unknown.

SPEEDTRACK TURBO RPS 4000

The Turbo RPS 4000 was introduced in 1979 and replaced RPS 4000. It was indeed Turbo'ed, in as much as the slam button on the top of the controller gave more welly when pressed. How driveable this was goodness knows...

Whether this went faster than the RPS 4000 remains open to debate, and I am not entirely convinced yet that this set was launched anywhere - opinions and proof welcome...

Set details as RPS 4000

Typical selling price: Unknown.

SPEEDTRACK RPS 4000

The RPS 4000 upped the ante considerably for slotless racing. The set was extended and a new sand trap chicane was created.

Again, the Corvette and Porsche dummies appear for a photoshoot (see RPS-2000) but are never seen again.

The sandtrap here features a moulded Funny car trapped in the sand. This is painted Red, while in production versions the car was unpainted - though a splurge of yellow paint was blown over it to imitate sand.

RPS-4000 comprised of:

1 x Porsche 935
1 x Chevrolet Monza
10 x 90 Degree curve
1 x 15" Start straight
4 x 9" Straight
6 x 15" Straight
10 x Crash barriers
1 x Mains Transformer
2 x Hand controllers
1 x Timing building
1 x Pitstop

Track length: 23 ft

Typical selling price: $90/£50

SPEEDTRACK RPS 2000

RPS 2000 is the entry level Lanechanger set. Very basic and cost wise about the same price as a mid price Powertrack set.

This early 1978 photo is interesting because the crash barriers are a trial type and did not see production. Furthermore, the Porsche appears to be regular Matchbox 75 series car - with a tacked on rear spoiler, no wonder it's hiding behind the barrier. The Corvette was never a Lanechanger car but here is the Powertrack version complete with lights. Lanechanger cars, for all their sophistication and 10 volts do not have lights. I have to say the Corvette looks great here and it did eventually become a Powertrack Plus car in this guise - 4 years later!

The set featured in the 1979 catalogue has the Martini Porsche 935 and the Blue/Yellow Chevrolet Monza. Whether this was actually the case is open to offers, as this pairing is offered in all the US RPS sets.

RPS-2000 comprised:

1 x Porsche 935

1 x Chevrolet Monza

6 x 90 degree curve

5 x 15" Straight

1 x 15" Start Straight

1 x Mains transformer

2 x Hand controller

6 x Crash barriers

Bridge supports

1 x Timing building

1 x Pit garage

Track length: 13.5 ft

Typical selling price $50 - $60

LANECHANGER & LANECHANGER RPS

Lanechanger first appeared in 1978. This was Matchbox's response to the impending TCR onslaught. It was a good package but never quite caught on in the volume Powertrack & Speedtrack did.

There are reasons for this, not least the paltry range of cars available. Admittedly, one was the stunning Porsche 935 Turbo in faux Martini guise - this was the headline racing car of the late seventies after all. The other car was the Chevrolet Monza, which frankly was not at all popular and can barely support itself on a google image search. However, it did look the mutt's nuts and in blue and yellow it was very smart.

In the UK, only two sets were available. One was a longer layout than the other but that was the only real difference.

In the US Lanechanger was named RPS. This stood for Rack & Pinion Steering. Actually, this was pretty nifty. The cars operated without a slot and had three power strips in the track. Car 'A' had pick up shoes that picked up power from LH and Middle slots, car 'B' picked up power from RH and middle slots.

Originally, Car 'A' was always the Monza and Car 'B' was the Porsche. However, later versions of the cars came with both types of pick ups so it didn't matter which car was which.

By clicking the button on top of the hand controller (the same type as Race & Chase sets) you could jog the gear and literally steer the car to the next lane.

I haven't sampled whether this works at all in practice but the I have read elsewhere that it does and it does it very well. On straights, a car in the right lane will move to the left, on curves the car will only overtake on the outside. Hmm, not sure how all this works yet but will no doubt be told by Lanechanger fans soon enough...

For me the Lanechanger sets offered plenty of eye candy. Being the seventies, I know I was torn between the PT-6000 Race & Chase or the LC-1000 Lanechanger. The cars in LC-1000 were uber-cool. However, Father Christmas decided it was to be the Race & chase.

Lanechanger was a ten volt system. The track (being slotless with three rails) was also not interchangeable with Powertrack or Speedtrack. The car bodies had very large front wheel cut outs, so you could not easily put a LC car on a Powertrack chassis - it looked odd. However, with some modelling filler and some considerable time you can graft an LC car onto a Powertrack chassis - as long as you were confident it will not be abused in racing...

Elsewhere, it was business as usual - same useless US packaging, excellent UK packaging. Same crash barriers and bridge supports.

Latterly, Matchbox did introduce more versions of the Monza and Porsche as well as a BMW M1 and Zakspeed Capri. Track wise, there were only two lengths of straight track and only one type of corner so scope was limited. In terms of accessories there was very little, but the RPS 6000 offered some scope from the norm...

In 1980 Matchbox dropped Lanechanger. Perhaps Ideal had consolidated their position with TCR, perhaps Lanechanger couldn't compete with Powertack/Speedtrack. Maybe Lanechanger didn't work so well in practice, perhaps the cars were too clever and unreliable. Whatever the reason it had a very short shelf life. There are a surprising number of RPS sets on Ebay and it must have has some success, maybe I will procure one in the name of research...

Watch this space...

WORLD CLASS RACING

Hmm, this is a poor prototype for the excellent PP-9000 loop the loop. Poor, because the track seems to have been shortened just to suit the photograph! The absence of two 15" straights before and after the banked curve will have made this very frustrating and ultimately boring.

Everything else is here, though the loop is coloured silver/black on the outside - it changed to a very smart red/black on the PP-9000.

The cars are probably not the intended vehicles, but the Porsche & VW are shown again. I suspect - along with the Escort - these were the only 'Positraction' available for the photo shoot. (See 'Car garage' for full details of the stillborn Positraction cars).

Finally, a few things to notice on these final three US Powertrack sets; The hand controllers are all Race & chase type yet do not have an obvious secondary function. The connectors to the track terminal are the same as ordinary Powertrack/Speedtrack. UK Powertrack Plus had different hand controller and transformer connectors entirely.

The World Class Racing set comprised:

1 x Porsche 911 Turbo
1 x VW Scirocco
1 x Loop - (4 parts)

4 x Banked 45 degree 9" curve
8 x 90 degree 9" curve
2 x 15" Straight
1 x 9" Terminal track
3 x 9" Straight
1 x Mains transformer
2 x Hand controllers
5 x Bridge supports
2 x Sticker sheets
8 x Crash barriers

Track length: 18 ft

Typical selling price: Unknown.

JUMP CROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

The Jump Cross Championship is the precursor for the PP-3000. It is all but identical, introducing the 24" long flying jump and crossover.

The only significant thing to this set is the Porsche 911 which is repainted a fetching silver, though it is not the new Porsche moulding introduced on Powertrack Plus.

Yet again, this set did not get launched, it remains a prototype for photo purposes. One wonders if it appeared at trade shows of the time but I used to attend the Model Engineers show at Earls Court and the Ideal Home show in this period and these sets did not appear there.

One curious thing is the exclusion of the 'laser' track stickers. No bad thing really but they probably suited this set more than some others.

Set contents as PP-3000 so:

1 x Porsche 911 Turbo
1 x VW Scirocco
1 x 9" Terminal track
10 x 90 degree 9" corners
1 x 24" flying jump
1 x 9" Crossover
1 x Mains transformer
2 Hand controllers
10 Crash barriers
3 Bridge supports

Track length:


Typical selling price: unknown.

PRO-8 CHALLENGE

This is the first of Matchbox's rebranded Speedtrack sets for the USA. Called Powertrack, the main thrust of the product was to include faster cars with 12 volts. See elsewhere for more details of what was changed but the main thing is this set does not exist...

The cars are a fabulous VW Scirocco - its painted in BMW racing colours! The other is the Escort in a rather gloomy black and brick red colour that might have looked better in the flesh. Might have.

The track left a lot to be desired for 'high speed racing action'. At under 10 ft it is one of the smallest Powertrack sets ever made. The start line featured new graphics, but it was no improvement on the original start line.

Also check out the bridge supports - first outing of the new design found in Powertrack Plus.

The hand controllers are the Race & chase type but presumably this was for cost grounds to standardise product. Maybe you could reverse current to race against your opponent literally?

As a curiousity there is much of interest here, but as a racing set it is ill conceived. Better was to come.

Pro-8 Challenge comprised:

1 x Ford Escort
1 x VW Scirocco
6 x 90 degree 9" curve
1 x 9" Terminal track
1 x 9" Straight
2 x 15" Straight
2 x Bridge supports
6 x Crash barriers

Track length: 10 ft.

Typical selling price: Never launched.

SLIPSTREAM RACING

Slipstream racing was a unique concept for a slot racing set. The Pacer car would act as a mobile chicane and slow a car down for half a lap. It would then cross over to the other side to annoy the other car. The object being to beat the Pace car to the switch track to avoid being slowed down.

The switch track allowed a slow moving Pace car to cross over to the other lane. A faster travelling car would go straight on. What happens when the poor car stuck behind the Pace car also switches to the other track?? Answers please...

The BMW & Jaguar are my old favourites from PT-3000 and a rare opportunity for a UK spec car to make it across the Atlantic. Of course, it couldn't be straightforward. The cars were fitted with a dorsal fin made of plastic which was supposed to trigger the Lap Counter. These were unspeakably naff afterthoughts and rightly absent from this set photo. One other travesty was painting the Jaguar yellow - eugh!

The Lap counter was the paddle type affair also seen in the Lanechanger set, RPS 6000. Interestingly, the track terminal supplied shows the power take off for the UK Lap counter (PT-221) but the one supplied in this set has no power requirement whatsoever. Strange...

The only other thing to mention is the Pace car itself. A Porsche 936 Le Mans car no less! A most unlikely Pace car and a company purporting to understand model motor racing systems might have instead offered a Porsche 911, or Corvette perhaps? My own choice would have been a Pace car variant of the Police car, with flashing lights...

This set doubtless offered an exciting variation of slot car racing - an element of strategy for once.

Slipstream Racing comprised:

1 x Jaguar XJ5.3

1 x BMW 3.0 CSL

1 x Porsche 935 Pace Car

1 x 9" Cross track

1 x 9" Terminal track

8 x 90 Degree 9" curve

8 x 9" Straight

1 x Mains transformer

2 x Hand controllers

1 x Lap counter

9 x Crash barriers

Bridge supports

2 x Sticker sheet

Track length: 15 ft

Typical selling price: unknown

TYRONE MALONE'S DAREDEVIL RACE & CHASE

This set was a hugely popular alternative to the Police car based Race & Chase. It was only ever available in the US and features two identical racing trucks. One in the Knievelesque colours of Tyrone Malone, the other in a very menacing gloss black.

The track layout was more serpentine and had NO crash barriers. Other than that, it was stock race & chase product.

Of more interest are the Racing trucks. They were 6 volt trucks in the US but were only available in the UK as 12v trucks. In actual fact they were never issued in the UK so you can only get 6V versions of them. In 1982 I did see a Tyrone Malone truck in a Matchbox 75 blister card case. On closer inspection it had Powertrack wheels and not die cast wheels. It was an actual Powertrack car in MB 75 packaging! As I stuggled to unload my pocket money to buy it for a paltry 80p I realised I did not have enough money. My attempts to find my mum were thwarted and I missed out on a real bargain.

The trucks are very tall and you needed to use 3 tiers of bridge supports to enable them to go under the track easily. You will see this photo uses only two -maybe that was the idea to keep you U-turning all the time...

This set shows the first outing for the 'laser' stickers used on Matchbox 'Powertrack Plus'. Although resembling a pizza, this set was not exactly hard to notice on the floor, so no excuses Grandma...

The trucks shown in this 1981 catalogue feature aerofoils on the bonnets. This is not typical and therefore these are always worth a premium over standard trucks.

Tyrone Malone's Daredevil Race & Chase comprised:

1 x Tyrone Malone Truck

1 x Bandag Bandit Truck

1 x Tip bridge

8 x 90 degree curve 9"

1 x 9" Terminal track

2 x 9" Straight

2 x 15" Straight

1 x Mains transformer

2 x Hand controllers

8 x Track Aprons

4 x Apron ends LH

3 x Apron ends RH

Sticker sheet

Bridge supports

Track length: 13.5 ft.

Typical selling price: unknown.