Is Spirit still alive ?

[Carrera124]

Hi all,


I am wondering, whether Spirit still exists as a slotcar brand/company ?

After toy fair 2010, I put some announced cars onto my "wanted list":

601308 BMW 2002 Street Version orange
801704 BMW 635 "Original parts"
701508 Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit Gr. 2 "Nothelle"
701505 Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit Street Version "red"
701506 Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit Street Version "silver"

None of them has been released yet.
Will these cars be released in 2011 ? Or, were they cancelled ?

[martini917k]

absorbed by SCX, but very little was launched in 2010

[Danni O'Laisip]

I thought that SCX was doing distribution for Spirit but they did not absorb Spirit. I too had a Spirit on my wish list. It would have been sweet to have that BK Motorsports ALMS Mazda.

[LDFan]

Originally Posted by martini917k

absorbed by SCX, but very little was launched in 2010

I have to agree with Danni; my understanding was that SCX was just helping Spirit distribute their products.

Can you provide information on where you heard about SCX taking over Spirit?

Dave

[Carrera124]

Nobody seems to know - I guess the cars listed above, will never be released any more ?

[martini917k]

maybe it was Sloter, they're both distributed by SCX now.
i only know of 3 635's, Jaegermeister, Bastos, Gitanes; i have the Gitanes & will be getting the Bastos. I have most of the 1600/2002's.

[roveros]

It would seem that the company is at least on the backburner as there are a few telltale signs. They sold their tyre moulds and formulas to scaleauto as the tyres they had werea firm favourite in spain for racing on plastic. Even in our market the wholesaler was offering huge discounts on spirit cars to retailers to get some cash flow. It would seem a combination of very mixed quality from model to model and also a bit of a non strategic approach to the type of car they released were at issue.

Spirit hardly released many cars that could realistically be raced against each other and every model seemed to come with different motors ratios chassis style etc. Not to mention the difference in overall quality. The chassis and modelling on the 406 and sillhouettes were light years in front of some of the other offerings. Reynards and Dallaras were good racers.

[martini917k]

the rally cars are fantastic! I still race them hard!

[LanciaB]

Well I also wonder if Spirit is still alive. No news, even in Europe....too bad, I love the 205, 406 and the Courage....

I'll quickly buy a BWM 635 before there won't be any more on the market.

[retro racer 44]

When a dealer's website says "Out of Stock, cannot re-order" or "While supplies last" it is usually a poor sign. It means they are sold out from the factory, or the factory is closed. If all their cars have the same message, it is usually the later. Too bad to see good cars go under, but some are resurrected by the company restructuring itself or by another company buying up the molds, etc.

[Scaleracing]

I will be visiting with them in a few weeks at the Toy Fair in Germany.

More news after that visit.

[Wet Coast Racer]

Indeed, the Spirit is willing!

Click on the pic to see more from Spirit:

[SuperSlab]

For a moment the picture looked a bit dark: a case of the Spirit is willing but the flash is weak?

[xerxes]

Spirit is alive and kickin. It's under the Avantslot wings.

[LDFan]

That's good to hear.

Too bad Sloter couldn't have survived w/ a similar arrangement. I'm still liking their Can Ams.

Dave