Dear reader, as far as automotive tastes are concerned, my childhood beginnings back in the 70s consisted of Guisval’s cars, random cars that I would build with my Lego pieces, and incessantly wasting batteries with Rico’s Mercedes SEL, a toy car with a cable remote that Manolo Escobar (well known spanish singer) advertised on TV back in those days… And when I could, I would sneak out to one of my neighbors’ house to admire his Scalextric.

Years go by, and around 1985, I discover the pleasure of buying car magazines, devouring their contents. And of course, like everyone who starts in a discipline, I do it with devotion and being aware of the very latest in the car scene… The eighties!

As time goes by, and as one becomes an adult, one realizes that in more than one conversation, we refer to the 70s as if it were the stone age, the Cromagnon, the Cretaceous, as if the human being had not left the caverns. And applying that perception in all areas, including cars.

What happened? Were we still riding wagons in the 70s? Was it such an archaic time?

One of the most prominent slot brands, Sideways, sends us a very explicit message through their 1/32 products: «Welcome to 70s brutality !!!!». That decade brought much more than sideburns and bell bottoms. It is as if they appeared to redefine that decade to those who look at that era with a certain disdain. We can say that automotively speaking, the ’70s were the prelude to the’ 80s in the sense of starting to experiment with technologies that would be applied later both in competition and in production in a much more extensive way (aerodynamics, supercharging, fuel injection systems … ).

Some time ago, I was talking about Revell’s Corvette Greenwood, a perfect example of unapologetic extravagance when it comes to muscle-building a stock sports car and preparing it for competition. Well, Sideways bet on the niche of the group 5, a family of race cars that we can consider, in a certain way, technical and spiritual heirs to that Greenwood Corvette -and of course, the BMW CSL-.

Rather, the ’70s were motoristically speaking: technologically advanced, spectacular, and untamed. They were an excellent showcase of what a brand was capable of, and visually it seemed that only one of thosse group 5 cars was capable of filling the entire width of the circuit… Imagine a starting grid filled with these beasts.

Let’s take a look at a list of Group 5 models Sideways has released to date, which will make any motorsport enthusiast drool:

• Porsche Moby Dick
• Porsche 935 K3
• Ferrari 512 BB LM
• Lancia Beta Montecarlo
• Toyota Celica LB Turbo
• Ford Capri Zakspeed Turbo
• BMW 32O Turbo
• BMW M1
• Nissan Skyline Turbo Gr.5
• Ford Mustang IMSA Turbo…..

Its refined components and successful track behavior right out of the box, further help more than one fan to «reconnect» with that decade. They are not clumsy showcase slot cars at all. They are a compendium of fidelity to the original, impeccable reproductive quality, rigor and winks to the enthusiast when selecting certain versions, and above all, they provide great fun.

These cars are an attractive proposition for both the newcomer to the hobby, and the demanding enthusiast. They meet the most demanding claims of those eager to beat the clock, as well as those for which a slot car is a piece of worship and contemplation.

If you like racing cars, and this video doesn’t give you goose bumps, I don’t know what could…

In the following articles we are going to reel off the real story of each and every one of these Group 5s, and we will see in what sense each of these versions of Sideways pay tribute to the original.

See you in the next blog entry. Greetings dear reader!