The weeks of 3/5/23 through 5/15/23, I'll be testing more than 125 cars. Some of them are new entries (aka not currently in my rankings of at least a 1-Star) and some are potential upgrades (existing ranked cars).
New
Car/s |
Result |
Siku's (with the whitewall/deep dish tires). Lots of high potential. Acquired nice condition versions of the Nissan 300ZX, Opel Senator, Camaro Z28 and the Mercedes 500 SEC. |
The Nissan 300ZX is a new 5-Star entry at 2.489. The Opel finished at a fine 2.512 and the Camaro at 2.525. Was hoping for a better time from the Camaro. Mercedes 500 SEC came in at a disappointing 2.545. Decent time, but was hoping for elite. |
Tomica Cadillac Escalade Limo. Super heavy class (107 grams). |
Ran a 2.504 time. |
Vintage Corgi called The Futura. |
2.560, 2-Star. Decent, but hoping for something better. Now my 3rd fastest Corgi. |
35 new Hot Wheels mainlines (2023 and some 2022 models) |
I won't list all the cars, but 2 new entries at the 3-Star level. Group C Fantasy at 2.533 and the VW Kafka Racer, also at 2.533. The Rally Speciale was a strong 2.548. I've heard some buzz on the Speciale so may try to upgrade. |
Mighty Thor Character Car from Hot Wheels |
Finished at 2.587. Not that great. Has nice weight at 42 grams. |
Flame Flyer, a Mario Kart from Hot Wheels |
Now my 3rd fastest Mario Kart at 2.557 |
5 new Matchbox mainlines |
Only 1 qualified which was the Koenigsegg Gemera at 2.559. |
Haulin' Class, a Track Stars truck from Hot Wheels (89 grams). I have about 15 of these trucks and they are decent, but dissapointing given their weight and length. |
2.569, not that great considering the weight. |
About 10 cars from the 90's and early 00's Hot Wheels |
The best results were two strong Featherweight cars. The '12 Ford Fiesta from 2012 finished at 2.537. Only 28.5 grams. And the Mach 5 Speed Racer car from 2008. Ran a 2.550. Both of these are now among my fastest featherweights. |
Fast & Furious (1/55th scale) AMG Mercedes. Site friend Jason tested this car and it was elite for him. Very excited about this one. Rare model. |
Another new 5-star entry. 2.489, tied for the 29th fastest car. Wow. |
Ranger Rover from Majorette (Premium Cars series). I want to explore more from this brand. This looks like it could be fast. |
Pretty strong time of 2.545. Need to find more Majorette's worth racing. |
Fast & Furious (1/55th scale) 1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse. Site friend Jason sent me this car. Another hard one to find. |
One of the lighter F&F cars at 42 grams. The time was a decent 2.543, so a 3-star car, which is solid. |
New 2023 Ultra Hots cars. This series is okay, but the originals from the mid-80's are special and these are basic plastic cars with Ultra Hot look-alike wheels. The last series produced a few decent performers, so we'll see. |
Initial two that I've tested. The green Volkswagen SP2. A compact and light car, but with a surprising speed of 2.567. The '70 Pontiac Firebird was a competitive 2.615. The large wheels are too tight. |
New Marvel Character Cars Captain Marvel and Namor. |
The Captain Marvel car was a solid 43 grams and came in at 2.544, which will rank in my Top 25 Character Cars. The Namor qualified as a 1-star at 2.591. |
The new 2023 GM Brightdrop Zevo 600 truck (aka FedEx truck) from the Working Rigs series. I've raced a couple of Working Rigs before and they were poor, but this truck has some serious weight and decent wheels, so expecting a good time. |
Came in at a strong 2.521, making this a 4-Star performer. And just makes my top 30 Matchbox cars. Considering this truck is 83 grams, the time is not overly impressive. |
Potential Upgrades
Car/s |
Result |
2 of the '62 Corvettes (orange #11) from the 1980's Matchbox Superfast series. My current Superfast and Laser Wheels versions are only 1-Stars. Seem like they should be faster. |
PENDING |
Johnny Lightning Cadillac Escalade from the CLUE series. Trying to upgrade my current version which ran a decent 2.542. |
Improved slightly at 2.538. Still not in my Top 50 JL's. |
The Nissan 300ZX Gold Hot One (yellow released in 1987). Current version (white color from 1989) is at 2.525, hoping for something more elite. |
Improved on the existing time with a strong 2.508. Now a strong 4-star car. |
Fast & Furious (1/55th scale) 1966 Corvette. Have 2 of these and the best time is 2.553, so hoping for something stronger. |
Upgraded to a 2.527. Moved up some on my Mattel list. |
Basic Pro Racing Tauras Stocker. New in blister "Tide". This casting was the slowest of the 4 stocks cars in this series. Hoping to upgrade the current best time of 2.523. |
Improved to 2.513, moving this casting to a 4-Star performer. |
The 70's Van from the The Hot Ones reproduction series (released in 2011). I've seen this van run fast on different YouTube channels. My current one was poor. |
Ran a solid 2.531 (3-Stars). Was hoping for a little better, but a decent time. One of the better Hot Ones reproduction cars. |
Batmobile FTE. Current time at 2.545. I have about 5 of these currently. Keep thinking it can be improved upon. |
PENDING |
Zender Fact 4. Strong Welterweight car with UH wheels. Current time at 2.523. |
Dismal time, the wheels were poorly made |
Rocket Oil Special (2002 version). Current time at 2.544. I think it can be improved upon. |
PENDING |
Lakester from Rod Squad series. I keep hoping this can run fast. Current best time is only 2.574. |
Improved slightly to 2.567 |
Unobtanium, First Edition. My fastest for this casting is at 2.552. |
Improved to 2.536, now a 3-star car. I like the chrome wheels. Spin really nicely. |
Various cars from the 2010's and 2020's |
PENDING |
Hot Wheels Blackwall of the Tailbuster, New in blister from 1996 release. Current time for this casting is 2.578. |
Poor result. The tires are really tight and I can't loosen them sufficiently. |
Fat Fendered '40. Circus Wheels version. I have many cars from this casting, but have not landed on a real burner. Current best is 2.535. |
This version improved on my best time slightly at 2.532. |
Fast & Furious (1/55th scale) 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. A gift from my site friend Jason. My existing version ran a 2.517 (4-star). Hoping for a potential upgrade. |
Did not improve upon my fastest time |
Hot Wheels Screamin' Hauler. Current best time is 2.522 for the 2002 silver version. This is a heavy and highly regarded car and hoping to upgrade. |
PENDING |