[Gpa113]

Hi Andy, 

Only listened to the full,   official Hornby Scalextric release today.  And yes, there was definitely a mention of more Andrews Heat for Hire liveries to come......  so Escort, Manta, Talbot Sunbeam Lotus or Chevette?   Hopefully all!

Off to Brands Hatch Saturday for a wet looking day at the stage rally. Should be fun!

Pip

[rallyhub]

Why do the cars differ in price (GBP 56.99 and GBP 49.99)?

Hub

[woodcote]

The price differential was something Scalextric introduced a couple of years ago...

Standard models: £49.99. GT/Prototypes, Touring cars, Street cars, some older rally cars etc.

Premium models: £56.99. TV & Movie, Single-seaters, Land Rover, Transit van, 4WD Rally cars

Added to that is now an online exclusive price of £39.99 and the new 'collectors' gold and chrome effect cars are £59.99.

I'm not 100% sure of the reasons for the differential. The premium cars will have some extra costs - licensing, manufacturing and/or packaging - but there might also be a case that collectors are subsidising the racers by a few pennies to keep most of the range below £50. The RRP is there so retailers can make money and are permitted to sell at up to 10% off the Scalextric website prices.

Discounting has been rather more aggressive in 2025 than before. Scalextric have heavily discounted some models that didn't sell very well at full price. They seem to have cleared the warehouse in Black Friday and New Year sales... although there are still some Harry Potter Anglias that didn't sell at £25 now back up to £56.99. Retailers appear to be permitted to discount the same cars at their own heavily-discounted prices. Scalextric's official Amazon UK platform also has a 'Deals' page with random cars - including new releases - at around £30-40 for a few days to keep people engaged. The only model of interest in that section now is the Adrien Fourmaux Puma at £45.59.

   

New for 2026 at £39.99 are the four GT cars from the Scalextric Pro World GT set. Usually this set has three already available liveries and one unique to the set (one of those became a Scalextric Club Exclusive). I like that all four cars in the 2026 set are new liveries and that Scalextric will make them available to everyone at the £39.99 price. I also suspect some of the surprise releases through 2026 will be website exclusives and at the £39.99 price point.

[rallyhub]

Hi Andi,

Thank you for your clear explanation.

Hub

[JaguarXJ220]

I think overall it is an excellent selection of new cars. Especially for me with the BTCC Nissans, Sapphire and Rover. 

Looking forward to getting the British GT Toyota as well. Can't find anything about it competing in 2003 though. 2006 yes. Oh well, doesn't matter, it looks like a very good reproduction of the actual car and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

As for the rest, as good as they are they don't float my boat and I don't need to buy any of them (or so she tells me ).

That Gantry is a great idea. Perfect for smartphones for timing etc. Maybe in the future we'll other variations on this theme.

My only complaint really is the timescale before I can get them on my track. Autumn/Winter!!!

[woodcote]

The waits this year don't seem too bad. The vast majority are expected in the first three quarters, with only a handful marked for the autumn - notably the two Primeras, the Loix Celica and Andrews Heat for Hire Sierra.

Due Winter 2025-26 (essentially Q1) are seven models, of which there are images available for three...

C4628 Ford Sierra RS500, driven by Dan Brown in the 2023 Youngtimer Touring Car Challenge.

         
C4631 Lotus Esprit Turbo from the James Bond 'For Your Eyes Only' movie.

C4634 Rover SD1 - Andy Rouse's 1984 BTCC winning car...

         
C4635 Mini Miglia driven by Endaf Owens in the 2024 Mini Miglia Championship.

C4653 Porsche 963 - the JDC Miller MotorSports entry from the 2025 24hrs of Daytona. It looks like all three Porsches might arrive at the same time - the Penske and Proton cars rolling over from last year.

C4654 Ford Puma Rally1 - Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka's entry for the 2025 Monte Carlo Rally. This continues Scalextric's run of a Puma from each year's Monte - 2024 (Adrien Fourmaux), 2023 (Tanak) and 2022 (both Loeb and Greensmith's cars). Munster & Louka made a big impression by winning stage 10, the first of Saturday morning.

         
C4656 Toyota Supra RZ driven by Chris Dawkins and Kevin Clark at the Brands Hatch round of the 2006 British GT Championship.

[rallyhub]

I like Scalextric's idea of making a series of Rallye Monte Carlo Ford Pumas, one for each year.

Hub

[KensRedZed]

Nope. I'm holding out for a Mangusta. 

Something tells me I might have to wait a little while yet.

   

[woodcote]

Sadly Ken, I don't think you're going to get your wish anytime soon. Unless Scalextric stretch their movie range to Quentin Tarantino's oeuvre... A Mangusta appeared in Kill Bill. Tarantino is a car nut and there are some very nice cars in his films. He deliberately uses them to help define his characters (Pulp Fiction, Death Proof, Kill Bill and even Reservoir Dogs), as well as helping define the period the movie is set (most notably in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood). Hmm, I'm convinced - I can see something taking shape for the suggestion box!

Anyway, back to the 2026 range - and I've counted twelve Spring 2026 (Q2) releases, of which there are currently real photographs for three of them...

C4606 Checker Taxi Cab from the James Bond movie 'Live And Let Die'

C4625 Volkswagen Golf MK1 driven in modern day classic touring car racing by Malcolm Jeffs.

C4629 Ford Escort Cosworth as driven to fourth overall in the 1995 RAC Rally by Alistair McRae and Chris Wood...

         

         

C4632 Ford Sierra Sapphire as driven in the 1991 British Touring Car Championship by defending champion Robb Gravett - a very nice follow-up to the François Delecour rally model...

         

   
C4636 Dodge Monaco - New York State Police

C4652 Mazda RX7 FD as raced in the production class at the 1994 Twelve Hours of Bathurst by Neil Crompton and Gregg Hansford.

C4655 Aston Martin GT3 Vantage - Gulf Edition - which raced at the 2025 Twelve Hours of Bathurst, driven to GT3 Silver class victory by Jamie Day, Mateo Villagomez & Jaylyn Robotham...

         
C4658 Shelby GT350H - Red and Gold - an original Hertz rent-a-racer, restored and has been a star of North American races and shows since 2005.

C4661 Land Rover Series 1 - Royal Air Force Edition

C4662 Ford Mustang GT3 - the Gradient Racing Mustang, driven by Joey Hand, Harry Tincknell, Tatiana Calderón & Till Bechtolsheimer at the 2025 Twenty Four Hours of Daytona.

C4665 Toyota Celica GT-Four - a first bit of new tooling. This is the works Castrol-liveried car entered for Didier Auriol in the 1995 WRC. The livery on the CAD render looks like the car he shared with Denis Giraudet to win the Tour de Corse. Toyota's illegal turbo restrictors weren't caught until the penultimate round in Spain, leading to disqualification, a one-year ban and the loss of all 1995 championship points. However, the defending champion does remain in the history books at the winner in Corsica.

C4669 Ford Lotus Cortina - Gulf Edition

Nearly half of the 2026 Scalextric releases will arrive over the summer, which is only 6 months away!

[woodcote]

Another online exclusive is this new rally-themed set, available in the summer and priced at £159.99

   

It features high-detail cars (no blacked-out windows) - Colin McRae’s Subaru Impreza and Didier Auriol’s Toyota Celica GT-Four. The packaging is in the same retro styling as the previous Sierra and Senna F1 sets, the nostalgia appealing to adults returning to the hobby. It has the Hot Laps gantry included and links to the app for some 1990s rally-themed gameplay. The set details are here.

There's also this image just released of the 'For Your Eyes Only' Lotus Esprit Turbo, due very soon...

   

And finally for this update, a couple of images of the under-glow on the Skyline...

   

That's another model expected in the summer.