The new Auto World Thunderjet race set, The Double 8 Racing Layout, has brought back a rush of wonderful memories of my first race set I received on Christmas of 1969. The box art looks just like the original Aurora set I remember playing with so well. The new Auto World set has the modern track that builds out the classic double eight track layout and actually has the box art cars in the set. We’ll take a closer look at those in a bit. This set also has the new adjustable power pack that allows for the power to be reduced for younger drivers and makes it a bit easier to navigate the turns. Let’s dig into the box and see what all is in there.
Before we get into the box, here’s a quick look at the original Aurora set. Auto World did a great job in capturing the feel of the original box art, right down to the red Mustang and yellow Corvette.
Everything is well packaged and secure. You get two color coded controllers that match the cars. The adjustable power pack, track, guardrails and bridge supports are all included.
Here’s the parts list.
The track layout map shows where all the track sections go to make the Double 8 layout. The back of the box shows additional layouts the race set can make.
And here’s what the Double 8 looks like all assembled.
This set is the first to include the new adjustable power supply. The unit can adjust to any voltage between 9 volts up to a maximum 24 volts with a full 2 Amps of power through the voltage range, to make sure the cars get what they need for the best performance.
I was excited when I got my first race set, but always wondered why Aurora did not have the cars on the box art match what was in the set. I don’t remember which cars were included, but I’m pretty sure they were the solid color Thunderjets. Of course the minute I learned how to do decals, I was working up my cars to look like those cool box art cars. Auto World took care of all of that in this release. The Corvette and Mustang are dead on matches for the cool box art cars, right down to the numbers and stripes!
1965 Ford Mustang Fastback – Red/White #1
1967 Chevy Corvette – Yellow/White/Blue #24
The cars look great and make for a fine racing pair.
This track provides plenty of racing action. The Double 8 layout makes for an equal number of left and right turns and the use of inside and outside lanes for each racer. This set makes for a great first track, with the adjustable power supply, beginners can learn to drive at the lower power settings and graduate to faster settings as they learn the hobby. The Auto World Double 8 Racing Layout Race Set will be arriving at your local hobby store or favorite web store in July 2022.