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Hello fellow racers. I'm excited to provide an expanded site that includes new rankings and research based on timings of 2,000 plus cars across many brands. I have now gone deep into testing a large collection of vintage Redlines, Lesney Superfast cars, Matchbox Laser Wheels, Siku cars from Germany, the 1/55th scale Fast & Furious Mattel cars, and cars from Ertl, Kenner, Tomica, etc. So much speed tested. I'm now using a two-lane, 27 foot Magic Derby track that includes an accurate timer. The Magic Derby track is 22% wider than the standard orange track, thus allowing me to test many wider and larger scaled cars.
Over the last 18 months I have received a great deal of feedback from site visitors, including ideas for improvement and cars to consider testing. Thank you for your interest and kind words. I built this site to help in cataloging and ranking the fastest cars. Of course, as most of you know, track setup (length, track type, degree of descent, etc.) and other considerations can result in different results. In other words, my fastest cars may or may not replicate on your track. That said, my experience is generally that the fastest cars are fast regardless of those considerations, although the degree of their speed will certainly vary.
Over the last 18 months I have received a great deal of feedback from site visitors, including ideas for improvement and cars to consider testing. Thank you for your interest and kind words. I built this site to help in cataloging and ranking the fastest cars. Of course, as most of you know, track setup (length, track type, degree of descent, etc.) and other considerations can result in different results. In other words, my fastest cars may or may not replicate on your track. That said, my experience is generally that the fastest cars are fast regardless of those considerations, although the degree of their speed will certainly vary.
My Track and Use of Graphite
I race on a 2-lane Magic Derby track, 27 feet long. That's equivalent to just under one-third of a mile at 1/64th scale. Race track setups are often times one-quarter mile or 20.6 ft. So my track is a little longer than that, which I prefer.
The length of the descent (acceleration phase) is about 7 feet. The slope on the descent is 25 degrees. I like a long flat run so that the track emphasizes cars with good wheels and consistent speed. The Magic Derby track is 22% wider than the classic orange track which opens up so many more cars for racing. Whenever possible, I'll make note of cars that won't fit on a standard orange track.
At this time I only race cars that are without modifications (e.g. added weight or changed tires/axles), but I have tested all my cars using graphite, which I would highly recommend if you are serious about racing. This is a pretty standard and accepted practice among diecast racers. It really brings out the speed in so many cars. I'll post more information over time about graphite methods.
The length of the descent (acceleration phase) is about 7 feet. The slope on the descent is 25 degrees. I like a long flat run so that the track emphasizes cars with good wheels and consistent speed. The Magic Derby track is 22% wider than the classic orange track which opens up so many more cars for racing. Whenever possible, I'll make note of cars that won't fit on a standard orange track.
At this time I only race cars that are without modifications (e.g. added weight or changed tires/axles), but I have tested all my cars using graphite, which I would highly recommend if you are serious about racing. This is a pretty standard and accepted practice among diecast racers. It really brings out the speed in so many cars. I'll post more information over time about graphite methods.
Testing Approach
I race every car under the same conditions. Each car was given the same amount of attention when applying graphite and given 6 individual races down my track on the same lane. If the last race was the fastest among the six or the last race showed good improvement, I gave the car an additional race. I averaged the two fastest races to arrive at a final time. For example, if the fastest time for a car was 2.520 seconds and the next fastest was 2.540 seconds, the final time would be 2.530 seconds. My thinking is that I'm searching for top speed, but I also feel it's important to show some consistency. So to have an elite time, you really need at least two really good races. I chose six races because some cars need 2-3 races to break in the tires and graphite. And from my experience, 6-7 races was generally sufficient to get a good representation of the speed of that car.
Racing Weight Classes
In addition to breakouts by overall speed and within brands, there will be rankings by weight classification. As racers we know how important weight is. The more weight the more energy that's generated.
The classifications are noted below, consistent with many diecast racing channels and tournaments. As a point of reference, the average modern mainline Hot Wheels car is 36 grams.
The classifications are noted below, consistent with many diecast racing channels and tournaments. As a point of reference, the average modern mainline Hot Wheels car is 36 grams.
Classification |
Weight Range (grams) |
Featherweight |
30.9 g or less |
Welterweight |
31.0 - 40.9 g |
Middleweight |
41.0 - 50.9 g |
Light Heavyweight |
51.0 - 62.9 g |
Heavyweight |
63.0 - 100.9 g |
Super Heavyweight Most of there of are oversize trucks/RV's, etc. For purposes of my ratings I'm not including this class, but will carve out a section for them. Some of the fastest vehicles are in this group. |
101.0 plus g |
Racing Speed Tiers and Single Casting Rule
An important consideration is that I only rank the fastest version of a specific casting (within a brand). For example, the Hot Wheels Ferrari F40, a fast casting. There are many F40's that have been produced. If I included every one I'll have a host of them in the rankings and I don't think that's very interesting. In the F40 example, my fastest is the red Gold Medal Speed version. So I don't replicate that by also including the Dash-4-Cash version. I will though call out those castings that have multiple versions that are really fast. I do though make exceptions to the single casting rule, however. For those castings where one is part of a vintage Hot Wheels set (i.e. Redlines, Blackwalls, Hot Ones or Ultra Hots), I will include that car, plus the more contemporary version if they both qualify. My bias is that I love the older sets and I feel like those are so unique.
To help with classifying cars by speed, I organize them into different speed tiers. I derived the breaks based on how much time is associated with a one car length beat in a two-car race. Based on slow motion video capture, a car beating another by one full car length equates to 23/1000's seconds on my track, assuming an average size/length car. My reference point for comparison is an average 2022 mainline Hot Wheels car, which on my track runs at 2.636 seconds. So a car with a 2.515 time would be 5.3 car lengths better than an "average" car (2.636 - 2.515 = .121. And .121 / .023 = 5.3). A beat of 5.3 car lengths would classify that car as 4-Star. See the table below for the breakouts. You can also use the 23/1000 metric to determine the "beat" between one car to another. For example, a 2.495 time car would beat a 2.548 time car by 2.3 car lengths.
To help with classifying cars by speed, I organize them into different speed tiers. I derived the breaks based on how much time is associated with a one car length beat in a two-car race. Based on slow motion video capture, a car beating another by one full car length equates to 23/1000's seconds on my track, assuming an average size/length car. My reference point for comparison is an average 2022 mainline Hot Wheels car, which on my track runs at 2.636 seconds. So a car with a 2.515 time would be 5.3 car lengths better than an "average" car (2.636 - 2.515 = .121. And .121 / .023 = 5.3). A beat of 5.3 car lengths would classify that car as 4-Star. See the table below for the breakouts. You can also use the 23/1000 metric to determine the "beat" between one car to another. For example, a 2.495 time car would beat a 2.548 time car by 2.3 car lengths.
Speed Tier (and count as of 4/14/23) |
Speed (avg of top 2 races) on my 27' track |
5-Star I have 78 castings at this tier |
Under 2.500 seconds 6.0+ car lengths faster than an average Hot Wheels mainline |
4-Star I have 170 castings at this tier |
2.500 - 2.522 seconds 5.0 - 5.9 car length improvement |
3-Star I have 268 castings at this tier |
2.523 - 2.545 seconds 4.0 - 4.9 car length improvement |
2-Star I have 343 castings at this tier |
2.546 - 2.568 seconds 3.0 - 3.9 car length improvement |
1-Star I have 384 castings at this tier |
2.569 - 2.599 seconds 1.6 - 2.9 car length improvement |
Competitive Non-Competitive Dogs I don't document all the cars at the Competitive level and below, but it would be a huge number. |
2.600 - 2.636 seconds 2.637 - 2.699 seconds 2.700 + seconds |
Fastest Diecast Top 100 - Quick Link
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