1971 marked an ambitious 4th year for Hot Wheels. Mattel introduced the Big Belter/Matchmaker, RRRumblers motorcycles and Sizzlers Fat Track. The big promotions involved more Don Prudhomme and Tom McEwan drag racing plus Ontario Motor Speedway.
For the Hot Wheels mainline there is:
1. The Flyin’ Circus Set.
Box art – front. Courtesy eBay.
2. The Great Getaway. A limited production chase set sold only in Canada.
Box art – front. Courtesy eBay.
3. The Ontario Trio with oval layout, drag strip and figure – 8 course.
Ontario Trio box art – front.
4. The Danger-Changer 2-Pak deserves special mention because it did not show up on any sets in 1971 (with the sole exception of a single Danger-Changer in the Great Getaway set).
With Danger-Changers sitting in the track, the potential for a collision will always grab a kid’s attention.
5. The Mongoose & Snake Drag Set from the United Kingdom (Funny Cars).
UK box and contents. Courtesy eBay.
6. The Mongoose & Snake Wild Wheelie Set (Rail Dragsters).
Box art – front. Courtesy eBay.
7. The Big Belter/Matchmaker & Victory Pak accessory paks let you make the same track as The Wild Wheelie Set.
Victory Pak.
Here’s a video summary of the 1971 Hot Wheels mainline track sets.
The brand new RRRumblers motorcycles run on 5 tracks.
1. The Big Belter/Matchmaker & Victory Pak combo.
2. The Stunt Rider Set
3. The Daring Duo Set from the United Kingdom.
4. The Dizzy-Dare Set.
Box art – front. Canadian version.
5. The Mean Mountain.
Here’s another video summary. This time for the RRRumblers motorcycles.
And finally we have the 1971 Sizzlers Sets; 2 orange track sets and 3 Fat Track Sets. With 3 cars wide passing available on Fat Track, racing doesn’t get much wilder than this. Ontario Motor Speedway (OMS) played a prominent part in the first year of Fat Track.
Sizzlers sets include:
1. The High-Winder Set.
Box art – front. Courtesy eBay.
2. The Pursuit Set – United Kingdom.
Box art – front. Courtesy eBay.
3. The Big “O” Race Set (Fat Track). A nickname for OMS.
Box art – front. Courtesy eBay.
2. The California 500 Race Set (Fat Track). The main open wheel event at OMS.
Box art – front. Courtesy eBay.
3. The Super Circuit Race Set (Fat Track). This is Mattel’s biggest Hot Wheels set for 1971.
Box art – front. Courtesy eBay.
This is a summary video of the 1971 Sizzlers track sets:
So there you have it. A summary of all the 1971 Hot Wheels track sets; including cars, RRRumblers and Sizzlers.
It’s still fast. Still fun.
