Side by Side: Fly and Scalextric Ferrari 250GTO

The Ferrari 250GTO is a favourite of full size classic car collectors world wide. Just 39 were produced between 1962 and 1964 and the car’s motorsport heritage along with its’ stunning beauty means it is sought after by collectors world wide. The limited numbers and high demand mean that prices are astronomical! In 2014 one sold at Pebble Beach for $38,000,000 U.S dollars.

Sadly this means that the majority of us can’t afford a full size 250GTO but thankfully slot car manufacturers have made several replicas over the years. Today we will be looking at Fly’s interpretation along with Scalextric’s interpretation.

Let’s start with the similarities. Both have full interiors which are fully detailed and both externally beautifully detailed and have gorgeous correct wire wheels. The Fly car is the more intricate of the two as the bonnet holds are actually made of brass and there are some beautiful details around the exhausts. However the Scalextric car has working lights, more detail in the rear end and underneath with the exhausts depicted running the length of the car although the Fly car depicts the res of the actual drive train (diff, prop shaft, out shafts etc).

Both also have the motors in the front which I find interesting. I know Fly often put the motor where it would have been on the original car. Maybe Scalextric put the motor in the front to allow for the full interior?

The biggest difference is the size. The Fly car is much wider than it’s Scalextric counterpart and the tyres are much wider. I would imagine that this was done so that the car would handle better on wooden tracks. The abnormal size does somewhat hinder it as a model though, the Scalextric car does look a lot more to scale as the 250 was quite a narrow car in real life and certainly didn’t have wide tyres.

The Scalextric car also drives a lot nicer on plastic track. It’s has a much smoother curve of throttle and handles as most modern Scalextric cars do. On wood I would imagine the Fly car drives nicer as it has a lot more mechanical grip and doesn’t rely on its’ magnet, sadly though I haven’t had the opportunity to drive it on wood.

In terms of price neither are in production anymore so you will have to have a look for second hand ones on the internet or at swap meets. The Scalextric one seems to be the more desirable of the two and typically sells for between £50 and £100 whereas the Fly car seems to sell for between £50 and £75. I think for home use or as a static model the Scalextric example is nicer but for a bit of fun at a club or on a wood track the Fly car is perfect!

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