Hornby Apparently Derailed by Olympics Setback

Shares in Hornby lost more than a third of their value on Tuesday after the maker of model train sets issued its third profit warning of the year.

The owner of the Scalextric, Airfix and Corgi brands warned that an expected sales boost from the Olympic Games ran out of steam, as cash-strapped consumers shunned its London 2012 scale models of black taxis and double-decker buses.

Hornby, whose Olympics-related products included a £20 Team GB cycling velodrome Scalextric racing set, said: “Faced with lower-than-expected sales, major retailers resorted to deep price discounting. [read more here]

Audi A4 Slot Car Demos a Wild Ride in Toronto

Audi Canada has come up with a unique outdoor “test drive” track with Toronto agency Zulu Alpha Kilo, using a handcrafted 20-foot-long custom slot car setup, an iPad controller and a scaled-down Audi A4 Quattro slot car.

The track is located in in downtown Toronto’s financial district; the installation allows participants take the A4 slot car for a wild ride through hairpin turns, down long highway straightaways and through icy mountain passes.  Each car also includes custom in-car cameras that tie into an iPad app to allow the user to experience the view from the driver’s seat. The “race cam” footage can be shared on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. [read more here]