In 1981, Matchbox in the US intended to scrap the Speedtrack brand and rename it 'Powertrack'.
Not to be confused with the UK Powertrack, this was a definite attempt to inject excitement into the market and to combat the success and variations offered by Aurora AFX.
The Lesney product catalogue of 1981 introduces us to six new racing sets. Essentially, only 'World Class Racing' and 'Jump Cross Championship' were totally new, the others being re-boxed Speedtrack sets - see detail elsewhere.
Significantly, there is no evidence of these sets reaching the US in 1981 or any other year. The Matchbox slot car involvement in the USA appears to have begun and ended with 'Speedtrack'.
The stillborn US Powertrack did appear in the UK though. For 1982, Matchbox revitalised Powertrack to produce 'Powertrack Plus'.
Essentially, these were the sets that had been destined for the US. Matchbox also stopped producing all of their previous sets. Lanechanger, Race & Chase - even the cheap & cheerful Monza - were dropped, alongside all US product (RPS and Speedtrack), Matchbox's slot racing range now just consisted of three sets.
It is fair to say Matchbox made significant efforts to boost the appeal of these sets though. The box artwork was nothing short of stunning, and though the cars were new editions of existing mouldings Matchbox had improved the specification.
All cars had Magnets mounted next to the crown gear on the rear axle to assist in handling, while the voltage was upped to 12V to considerably improve the speed and flexibility of the racing.
In spite of this, it is evident that Matchbox were in serious financial trouble and the expansion of Powertrack Plus - hinted at elsewhere here - was thwarted. The three sets here proved to be swansong products for Matchbox.
