[woodcote]

Let’s get those Advent Calendar teasers out of the way...

Okay, we knew there was a new Porsche coming in 2021 and this is it. The Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.0 is a true classic and it was raced everywhere in the 1970s and early 80s - all the big endurance races, numerous GT and touring car series, American Trans-Am and some rallies too. It is still a fixture in historic circuit racing and rallying. I’m sure we’ll be seeing quite a few Porsche Carreras in future catalogues – maybe the odd rally version? - but these first two liveries are excellent choices.

   

The Jägermeister-sponsored Kremer Racing car took part in the 1975 Monza 1000kms. Driven by Helmut Kelleners and Hans Heyer, the #76 Porsche qualified well in the GT3.0 class, but retired from the race with engine failure. The car was repainted in its more familar green Vaillant colours for the rest of the 1975 season, finishing ninth in the Le Mans 24 hours – Porsche 911 Carreras dominating the GTS and GT classes at that year’s race.

   

The second livery is Al Holbert’s 1974 Trans-Am version of the Porsche 911 Carrera RSR, with that big chunky chin spoiler. The 1974 Trans-Am season was a pale shadow of its former self, with only three races. Holbert won the opening 200 mile event at Lime Rock. Peter Gregg – in another 911 Carrera – won the final race at Elkhart Lake to wrap up the championship. Holbert finished fourth.

The Scalextric Porsche is powered by a standard short-can motor in an in-line configuration. As on the real car, the rear wheels and tyres are massively wide. The Kremer car has working front and rear lights, the Trans-Am car has just rear lights. The Porsche is Digital Plug Ready (DPR) so it can easily be converted for digital racing, using the C8515 Digital Plug. Both cars are scheduled for summer/early autumn.

   

And the Jaguar is an XJS… The first version is the Group A XJS race car, which was highly-competitive in the European Touring Car Championship between 1982 and 1984, picking up plenty of race wins – and Tom Walkinshaw winning the drivers championship in 1984. The XJS also notched up victories at the 1984 Spa 24 hours and the 1985 James Hardie 1000 at Mount Panorama in Australia.

The livery in the catalogue is of the Tom Walkinshaw, Chuck Nicholson & Win Percy car that took pole at the Spa 24 hours race in 1982, but the failed to finish. This car is due in the spring. The Scalextric XJS is powered by a standard in-line short-can motor. The car is narrow, with similar dimensions to last year’s Capri – a nice match, I reckon.

   

There’s also an XJS police car in the 2021 catalogue. The Scalextric model is equipped with a flashing blue light, no siren, but has a full-detail interior. The 3.6-litre XJS was used by a number of UK police forces, especially for motorway speed enforcement. Due in the summer / early autumn. I reckon we can expect more cool racing and road car liveries. And wasn’t the XJS also in the ‘New Avengers’ and ‘Return of The Saint’?

More new tooling anyone?

   

A popular request is for Scalextric to add the Plymouth Barracuda to their Trans-Am range – and here it is! The real Barracuda was one of the most eye-catching cars on the 1970 Trans-Am grid. Dan Gurney and Carol Shelby's All American Racers team developed a couple for a shot at the title. Swede Savage and Gurney were scheduled to drive a car each – Scalextric choosing the Dan Gurney car for this first release. When factory funding was cut, Savage became the team's sole driver. The car’s best result was a second place at Road America - the AAR Barracudas did not return in 1971.

   

A European Hemicuda version is also in the catalogue. This is a model of the Wolf Levi’s Racing Team ‘Cuda that raced at the 1973 Spa 24 hours. Driven by Pierre-Yves Bertinchamps & Yves Deprez, the massive 7-litre ‘Cuda qualified fifteenth and finished twenty-seventh.

These new cars are fitted with a sidewinder motor and full interior to match the other models in the Trans-Am range – something that Simon was at pains to point out after the criticism from club racers over the in-line AMC Javelin. The first prototypes of the car have recently been tested and are reported to be pleasingly quick with and without magnets. The ‘Cuda is big and nicely planted – and is likely to be a serious contender in Scalextric Trans-Am races. The Dan Gurney Barracuda is due to be released in the summer / early autumn and the Chrysler Hemicuda is expected at the end of the year.

There are a lot of new classic cars this year, so I’ll take a quick break and be right back…