Historically Matchbox cars have been more known for realism than speed, but there have been many Matchbox models that are really fast. Within my fastest speed tier (5-star cars), Matchbox is second to Hot Wheels for the number of elite models and third across the fastest three tiers.
Below you'll find my latest Matchbox top 50 cars. I included pictures of most of them. Updated as of April, 2023 after more than a year of time testing my collection of over 2,300 cars across many brands, including a large collection of Matchbox (based on my experience and also researching YouTube racings channels and other racing sites). Certainly though there are more cars to test and new cars being released.
Key notes/considerations:
Please see information on the home page for more details on testing method, speed tiers and other details.
Also, see the pages under Matchbox for details on the Laser Wheel and 80's Superfast series and the original Lesney Superfast cars.
Below you'll find my latest Matchbox top 50 cars. I included pictures of most of them. Updated as of April, 2023 after more than a year of time testing my collection of over 2,300 cars across many brands, including a large collection of Matchbox (based on my experience and also researching YouTube racings channels and other racing sites). Certainly though there are more cars to test and new cars being released.
Key notes/considerations:
- I race on a two-lane, 27 foot Magic Derby track (equivalent to about one-third of a mile). The Derby track is 22% wider than a typical Hot Wheels orange track, allowing me to race more car sizes/scales.
- I categorize my cars into speed tiers with 5-Stars being the best. The 5-star performers all have times under 2.500 seconds.
- I only count the fastest casting in my rankings for a specific car/brand. For instance, instead of counting every fast Toyota Supra, I only recognize the fastest, which is the white I-75 version.
- I've applied graphite to the cars, which really brings out the speed potential for diecast.
Please see information on the home page for more details on testing method, speed tiers and other details.
Also, see the pages under Matchbox for details on the Laser Wheel and 80's Superfast series and the original Lesney Superfast cars.
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My top 5 fastest Matchbox cars. All 5-star performers. The BMW 850i, the '97 Corvette, the white Ford Crown Victoria Police car, the "Superfast" Datsun 280 ZX and the '56 Ford Pickup. The Laser Wheels version of the Datsun 280 ZX is also elite, but the Superfast version was just slightly quicker.
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The next fastest. Also all 5-star performers. The 1970 Ford Mustang Boss, the 1970 Chevy El Camino, the BMW 328i, the Laser Wheel Pontiac Firebird Racer and the re-issued Blue Shark from the 50th Anniversary series. Note that the Firebird Racer does not fit on a standard orange track.
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Some more elite cars. The Ford Sierra xR4i and Chevy Pro Stocker, both from the 80's Superfast series and 5-star performers. Followed by the white Toyota Supra and two Laser Wheels models: the Nissan 300ZX Turbo and the Camaro IROC-Z28. The latter 3 are strong 4-star cars.
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Cars 16 through 20 include the Pontiac Fiero Racer, AMG Mercedes 500 SEC Laser Wheels, the Land Rover Freelander, the Sauber Group Laser Wheels and the Model A Ford Van (with the great 5-Spoke Triangle wheels). Note that the Pontiac Fiero Racer and the Sauber Group cars do not fit on a standard orange track.
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Cars 21 through 25 start out with 3 Laser Wheels: the Porsche 928, the T-Bird Turbo Coupe and the Ferrari Testarossa. Followed by the GMC Terradyne and the Laser Wheels Peugeot Quasar. Note that the Ferrari Testarossa does not fit on a standard orange track.
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Also in the Top 50 are three vintage Lesney models: Vauxhall Guildsman, the Sun Burner and the original Blue Shark. See the Matchbox Lesney Superfast page for more details on this series.
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The Fastest Matchbox Top 50
The list consists of a mix of vintage and more contemporary models:
Some stand out performers:
In the table below, I included a column listing the wheel type for the car. There a few very important wheels types are prevalent among the Top 50. See the Matchbox page Best Wheel Types for more details.
Warning that 4 of the cars are too wide for the standard orange track:
- 3 Lesney Superfast models from the 70's and early 80's
- 13 Laser Wheels cars and 8 Superfast cars from the mid-80's
- Just 3 cars released in the 1990's (Toyota Supra, the '62 Vette Corvette and the Oldsmobile Aerotech).
- 21 cars from 2000's. Several from the revised Superfast brand.
- Only 3 cars since 2010: the 2010 Lesney Edition release of the Camaro Z-28, the 2019 Blue Shark from the 50th Anniversary and the 83 gram GM Brightdrop FedEx truck from the Working Rigs series (2023). There are a dozen 1 and 2-star ranked cars since 2010, but again very little elite recent elite speed.
Some stand out performers:
- 12 of the cars are 5-star performers. There are only 76 across all brands.
- The BMW 850i is tied for the 20th fastest car overall. It's also the 9th fastest Middleweight car.
- The Ford Sierra xR4i is tied for the 5th fastest Welterweight car and the Sauber Group car is tied for 14th in that class
- The '97 Corvette is tied for 12th as the fastest Light Heavyweight car. The Ford Crown Victoria Police and the Superfast Datsun 280 ZX are tied for 15th as the fastest Light Heavyweight.
In the table below, I included a column listing the wheel type for the car. There a few very important wheels types are prevalent among the Top 50. See the Matchbox page Best Wheel Types for more details.
Warning that 4 of the cars are too wide for the standard orange track:
- Pontiac Firebird Racer, Pontiac Fiero Racer, Sauber Group and Lamborghini Countach.
