So Old Man Winter has settled in for the beginning of 2022 and with the cold weather comes plenty of indoor slot car time. Okay, to be fair, anytime of year is good for slot car time, but the bitter cold and snow make for a good reason to stay in and get the cars out for some track time. And there’s nothing like adding a few new cars to the garage to keep the excitement going. Auto World has a new X-Traction release , (#34 SC368) coming out in late February, early March. We get a good assortment of body styles and eras, a little something for everyone. Let’s take some time to take a look at this latest offering.
SC368 #1 1957 Chevy Nomad – Pale Yellow/Black and Solid White
1957 was the last year that Chevrolet offered the Nomad in the two door, slanted post version. A total of 6103 of the wagons were sent to the dealerships. Although the Nomad name would live on, it would be on more traditional 4 door wagons.
SC368 #2 1965 VW Samba Bus – Gray/White and Lime Green/White
Also known as the Type 2, Volkswagen produced the VW Bus version beginning in 1951. With the addition of the panoramic windows in the roof (21 and 23 window versions) VW used the name Samba to distinguish it from other versions. The Auto World version is the 21 window Samba bus. Factory paint was normally in two-tone schemes, but was also a popular vehicle to custom paint.
SC368 #3 1976 Ford Torino – Metallic Blue/White and Solid Flat Black
The Torino was the platform that carried the most varied options for the Ford mid-sized car. It came in coupe, sedan and wagons and had several trim options for each. This release has the sporty Gran Torino paint scheme complete with the body swoosh graphics that was very eye catching for the mid 1970’s.
SC368 #4 1979 Jeep CJ-7 Renegade – Metallic Blue/Orange and White/Orange
The Jeep CJ-7 was the slightly larger and wider big brother to the CJ-5. It came in a variety of trim packages with a slew of off-roading options. This release captures the ‘79 Renegade, complete with the bright hood graphics and “Renegade” logo along the sides. The Renegade was introduced in 1976 and ran through 1986.
SC368 #5 1995 Mazda RX-7 – Solid Black and Orange/Carbon Fiber
This body style of the RX-7 was the third generation of the model and was a favorite of street racers. The RX-7 was the first Japanese mass produced twin turbo charged car to be released to the public. Cranking out 250 H.P. from 1.3 liters made it a potent package, just waiting for NOS bottles to be attached!
SC368 #6 2008 Dodge Challenger – Graphite Metallic/Silver and Lime/Black
2008 marked the release of the third generation Challenger. Joining Chevy and Ford in releasing retro versions of their most potent muscle cars from the past, Dodge placed their focus on the Challenger to complete with Mustangs and Camaros. Keeping the body lines and classic appearance from their first generation 1970’s Challenger, this modern model captures the style of the 70’s with todays engine technology and classic Mopar performance.
Here’s the packaging for this latest release.
And here are a couple of different views of this release.
Auto World has set up another great release of Xtraction cars in this latest offering. These should be arriving at your local hobby store or favorite web store in late February, early March 2022.