La Pasion a 1/32, Slot Racing in Spain

Slot race scene in Spain

While visiting Barcelona I took the opportunity to check out the slot race scene in Spain. The first thing you notice is the availability of Scalextric. Some big department stores have a special section with Scalextric cars and tracks.

Scalextric – SCX - Superslot

You should know that for marketing reasons the Spanish Scalextric(-Techni Toys) is sold as SCX outside Spain. In Spain the UK Scalextric is available under the name Superslot. I like Superslot (UK Scalextric) the most because the cars are better detailed in general than the models of Spanish Scalextric (SCX).

Shops

There are many toyshops that have a big department of slot race items and there are a few shops, which are specialized slot race dealers. For example, in the shop of Slot Mania (Av. De Roma 115, Barcelona. www.slotmania.net) you will find every spare-part you need. The shopkeepers do not speak English but are very friendly. In this shop I bought Art-Kit light sets for my permanent track.
The Palau hobby shops (Pelayo 34 and Balmes 4, Barcelona) have a big assortment of slot race stuff. In one of these shops I was able to purchase the Fly Chevrolet Corvette Test Car 99. This is a special model that is "exclusively" for new members of the magazine Miniauto.

Miniauto

Miniauto (www.revistasprofesionales.com) is a Spanish magazine about model cars (metal and plastic) and many articles cover slot cars. I advise you to try to get a copy of the yearbook of Miniauto. The yearbook is written in English and Spanish (check out the Books sections of this site). Miniauto is available at almost every Kiosk. Sometimes you can be lucky to find other magazines about slot racing.

Ninco vs. Scalextric

In Spain many small slot car manufacturers release cars that are not or hardly available in the rest of the world. These small companies can survive because of the giant slot race market in Spain. Slot racing is big business in Spain. Scalextric is leader in the market.
Ninco is called "La Alternativa" (the alternative) in the special "Slot y Scalextric" of Autotec (originally a RC magazine). "The alternative", that is how the Spanish people thought about Ninco. Sale numbers are not available, but it is obvious that Ninco is becoming more than an alternative. There is a big competition going on between Scalextric and Ninco. Ninco is advertising with the slogan "Piensa en Rojo" (Think Red). In the advertisement in Miniauto (printed on a red page) Ninco mentions ten reasons to choose for Ninco. Scalextric reacted by publishing a two-page advertisement (also printed in red) by mentioning twenty reasons to persuade the public to buy Scalextric.

Rally Racing

The Rally sport is very popular in Spain. This interest reflects to the slot racing scene; "Rally slot, La Pasion a 1/32". The Spanish Scalextric has many rally slot cars in its assortment. Scalextric released a special Rally Kit. This kit contains three bodies of a Seat Cordoba (two tempo painted and one unpainted, virginally white), one chassis, one motor and six sets of wheels (front and back).

Clubs

In Spain it is very popular to join a slot race club. In every city you will find at least one club. Competitions are organized every weekend by the clubs or by manufactures at big events. In Miniauto you are able to check out the slot race calendar.
It is for slot racers highly recommended to visit Spain. You won't regret it.

More information

Around the slot car tracks
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