This is a collection of over 400 slot car track sets, as well as individual slot cars and track parts, artwork, and slot car memorabilia. It was accumulated by a collector over a period 0f 60 years, and it’s now being offered for sale.
This is by far the largest slot car collection we’ve ever seen come up for sale and it’s certainly the largest we’ve ever featured here on Silodrome. In recent years slot cars have seen a resurgence in popularity, and original vintage sets have become highly collectible.
This collection is vast, by far the largest we have seen come up for sale, some of the kits are still unopened in their original boxes and plastic wrapping.
A History Speedrun: Slot Car Racing
The origins of slot cars dates all the way back to 1912 when the Lionel Corporation introduced electrically powered miniature cars that operated on a grooved track. Known as the “Automobile and Speedway Outfit,” these early models were rudimentary but they laid the groundwork for the industry of slot car racing.
Following World War II, the United Kingdom became the global hub for slot car production. In 1957, engineer B. Fred Francis transformed his clockwork-powered model car line, Scalex, by incorporating electric motors into the cars, giving birth to Scalextric. This transition marked a significant milestone in slot car history, and the name Scalextric became synonymous with slot car racing.
The 1960s witnessed a new surge in slot car popularity, particularly in the United States. Sales soared to over $500 million annually, with approximately 3,000 public race tracks established nationwide along with racing leagues and clubs.
This era introduced the Aurora Plastics Corporation’s innovative “pancake” motor design, upgrading the performance of the cars significantly. The 1970s saw the growing popularity of both R/C cars and arcade games which began to eat into slot car marketshare, this trend continued into the 1980s and 1990s.
Many of the big slot car manufacturers fell by the wayside, along with their pinball machine counterparts who suffered much the same fate. The late 1990s and early 2000s saw a renaissance of slot car popularity, vintage kits suddenly became valuable collectibles, resulting in many slot car sets being recovered from various attics and basements, dusted off, and sold on eBay.
The 400+ Slot Car Set Collection Shown Here
Collected over a period of over 60 years by a fastidious enthusiast, this assortment of over 400 slot car sets contains rare kits that span decades of production. As noted above, this is the largest collection of this kind we have ever seen come up for public sale, and it’s sure to attract plenty of attention.
The kits appear to span from the 1960s right through to more modern times, like this 1990s-era Jurassic Park set.
In the collection you’ll find that many of the kits are still in their original boxes in unopened condition, with the plastic wrap still protecting them. The collection also includes 44 pieces of slot car art , several carrying cases, a collection of literature, two illuminated signs, and quite a bit more.
The collection is now being offered for sale on Bring a Trailer out of Rome, New York with no reserve. If you’d like to read more about it or place a bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
