Slot cars have been around since 1912, when Lionel made its first slot cars and tracks. Its business did not last very long — Lionel dumped the cars for model trains in 1915. An almost 40-year-drought followed until 1954, when a British slot-car enthusiast club called the Southport Model Engineering Society created a much-copied 60-foot long track for 1:32 scale cars. The modern, collectible-slot-car era had begun.

Not long thereafter, in 1957, a U.K. company called Minimodels introduced its first Scalextric slot cars. Examples of single-passengers roadsters from that year include a C55 Vanwall and a C54 Lotus. In 1963, Scalextric released its first car with lights (an MM/E1 Lister Jaguar) and its first motorcycle (a B1 Typhoon, complete with sidecar).

These cars, along with other models, gave slot-car fans plenty to get excited about. The biggest manufacturer was a U.S. company called Aurora — cars riding on the Aurora Thunder...jet 500 chassis from 1963 are highly collectible. Tyco was also early at the starter’s flag.