The end of 2022 saw the arrival of the Hot Wheels license at Carrera GO. Hot Wheels already had road circuits through the manufacturer Kidztech Toys, but we will come back to these elements in a future article.
For a few years now Carrera has been offering alternatives to the original assembly plan and I think that in the case of this circuit they are more suitable, we will come back to this later.
First view
Let’s start with the general appearance. We immediately notice the orange loop and the springboard of the same color. Between the two ramps of the springboard, we can see a crown of yellow flames. After the starting line, we see a small blue tunnel with the Hot Wheels logo, and in each turn, the outer barriers display the same colors as the tunnel. Looking at this box, we discover a rather colorful circuit.
Accessories
The tunnel
Let’s start with the tunnel, a simple piece of cardboard arched above the track, but which, due to its color and markings, looks very good on the track. Without realizing it, losing sight of your car for a few tenths of a second can disrupt driving, especially when approaching a bend.
The Springboard
This springboard is a fairly recent accessory in the history of the GO range. It is regularly found in certain boxes, usually red, it appears for the first time in another color (Hot Wheels orange). The springboard and its use is a matter of taste, you should know that you have to adjust your speed well to land well on the landing ramp. It is a source of many off-track exits, but also of beautiful stunts (be careful with fragile vehicles).
The Crown of Fire
A new accessory, here is a good thing in the GO range. The crown is positioned between the two ramps of the ski jump and allows vehicles to pass in the center. This makes the passage of the ramps more pleasant and above all gives volume to the track from a visual point of view.
Its design is rather well thought out, a crown in two identical parts that are connected. Two supports are housed in the slots of the track and support the crown of flames. For DIY enthusiasts, it is easy to cut a piece of cardboard and replace the flames with a new shape.
Using the flame crown requires good positioning between the 2 ramps. Too close to a ramp and the vehicle will not pass and will hit the flames. And spacing the ramps too far apart brings other constraints. If you like springboards, I think this accessory has its place because visually it brings volume and fun. The biggest constraint being the springboard and not the flames.
The track
The layout is classic, nothing new for a GO box, but where there is a lot to say is in the position of the springboard. If visually this circuit is beautiful, with the loop, the springboard above the bridge and with its yellow flame, in practice after a few laps of the track we see it is not practical.
A springboard must be done at a rather precise speed, not too slowly otherwise we fall back between the two ramps, not too fast otherwise we fall back after the landing ramp at the risk of missing the slot in the track. Positioning just after a turn, we do not have time to adjust our speed well and we tend to be too slow. Going faster is tricky at the risk of going out of the turn before, especially on the inside track. The position of the springboard is also a weak point of this box.
Fortunately, on the back of the box, Carrera offers other tracks where you will have plenty of time to position the springboard to pass it more serenely. If you have 2 or 4 additional straight lines, you can enlarge your circuit and use the springboard more serenely.
Thus the Hot Wheels 6.2m box (ref.: 62553) is more suitable.
The cars
There are many things to say about these vehicles. The first thing is that the design, color and decoration are in the purest “Hot Wheels” style. The thing that could be criticized is that here the bodies are made of plastic and do not have this shiny effect.
The two cars, apart from the color, have an important difference, the wheelbase. The blue vehicle has a wheelbase of 63mm while the red, longer is 82mm. Apart from the aesthetics, this difference has a great importance on the behavior of the car on the track. We notice it especially on the longest car (red), and mainly on the inside of the curves. It happens that the rear wheel comes off the track. Another difference, the behavior is different when you take the springboard.
Bilan
The “Hot Wheels” license is a success. But the position of the ramps is not good because of the small size of the circuit. I regret the unequal driving sensation of the two cars. Having 2 different vehicles is good, but here it is too much. Two vehicles of the same size in the same box would have been preferable, two long or two short.
A colorful circuit and that’s what’s cool. A new accessory, which is rare. We would have liked an all-orange circuit to be like with an original “Hot Wheels” track.
Carrera Hot Wheels 4.9m box
Reference: 20062552
Indicative price: €90
