C54 Lotus Scalextric Car

C54 Lotus Scalextric Car

A C54 Lotus 16 from the 1st edition Scalextric catalogue in 1960. Scalextric was first invented by Fred Francis in 1956. It became incredibly popular and is an example of the type of toy that was being played with by children and adults alike during the Space Race period.

Although modern Scalextric are made by Hornby, these older types were made by the company Lines Brothers (who operated under the name of Triang). Triang had taken over the original company set up by the Scalextric inventor Fred Francis, Minimodels. When Scalextric was first introduced at the Harrogate Toy Fair in 1957, it was immediately evident that it was going to be a big hit.

This C54 Lotus 16 Scalextric car is a 1:32 scale model and it is one of the first types of Scalextric that were made in plastic, rather than the original tin. Lotus 16 single-seat race cars were the first Lotus cars designed for use in Formula One. They were operated by Team Lotus and were driven by British legend motor racers Graham Hill and Innes Ireland.