Remember Slot Car Sets? If you're under 30, its possible you have no idea what I'm talking about, but from the late 1950s through the early '80s, just about every boy (and a few girls) owned a slot car set at some time in their childhood. These days, most kids go for gaming consoles over slot car sets, and the average age of most slot car set owners is somewhat older than it was in the '60s, but the hobby still enjoys a strong following.
Slot car racing was an evolution of rail car racing, in which the cars were guided along a raised rail in the track. Although both forms were being marketed simultaneously by the late '50s, slot racing eventually won out, due to its ability to allow the cars to slide on the corners. Scalextric were one of the pioneers of the hobby, with their 1:30 scale, and later 1:32 scale model cars, and the first to mass-produce the complete sets.
Stirling Moss was apparently an enthusiast, according to this early short documentary.
Sponsors
