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.
2. The Great Getaway. A limited production chase set sold only in Canada.
3. The Ontario Trio with oval layout, drag strip and figure – 8 course.
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).
6. The Mongoose & Snake Wild Wheelie Set (Rail Dragsters).
7. The Big Belter/Matchmaker & Victory Pak accessory paks let you make the same track as The Wild Wheelie Set.
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.
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.
2. The Pursuit Set – United Kingdom.
3. The Big “O” Race Set (Fat Track). A nickname for OMS.
2. The California 500 Race Set (Fat Track). The main open wheel event at OMS.
3. The Super Circuit Race Set (Fat Track). This is Mattel’s biggest Hot Wheels set for 1971.
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.