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Sizzlers

Sizzlers was a line of motorized Hot Wheels cars produced from 1970 to 1978. The line was engineered by George Soulakis, who also recommended the TampoPrint process to apply tampos on Hot Wheels cars.

History[]

The Sizzlers were a 1970s Hot Wheels spin off with a built-in motor and a tiny rechargeable battery. They were introduced in 1970 and became an instant smash. Sizzlers run on the regular "orange" Hot Wheels track, and Mattel created special race sets with U-Turns, multi-level spirals and loops to take advantage of the cars' electric motor. Two lane race sets such as the California/8 race set were developed that allowed Sizzlers to race side-by side, until Mattel created the black Fat Track, which is three lanes wide, with steep banked curves, and designed to allow Sizzlers to run free. In action, Sizzlers display a unique, competitive "passing action" when running on the Fat Track, as if each car were piloted by an impatient driver trying to jockey ahead of the rest. The Fat Track sets included the "Big O", "California 500", and Super Circuit" race sets, and accessories such as the "Scramble Start" (a four-car starting gate), "Lap Computer" four car lap counter, and "Race-Timer" stop watch.

Six cars were made in 1970, 12 cars were made in 1971, and 4 cars were made in 1972. The "Fat Daddy" Sizzlers (oversized bodies with huge tires) were introduced in 1973. Mattel put the Sizzlers on a hiatus after that year, and in 1976 they created Sizzlers II. That next year, the Night Ridin' Sizzlers (which had headlights you could turn on or off) were created. Because of faded popularity (possibly due to poor marketing), Mattel permanently stopped Sizzlers production in 1978.

Sizzlers were (and are) charged with four or two D battery chargers called the Juice Machine and Goose Pump respectively. Later, the Power Pit was introduced—which was an electric charger that plugged into any household AC outlet and resembled a race track garage or pit stop. A 90-second charge of the tiny internal Ni-Cad battery gives up to five minutes of frenetic run time. It has been said that the 90-second charge time was "the longest minute and a half in a kid's life" as they waited impatiently for the car to charge sufficiently to get back into the race.

The Sizzler electric technology spun off into the Hot Line trains, which ran on track similar to regular Hot Wheels, and the Earthshakers construction vehicles. Both lines of vehicles were charged using the Juice Machine or Power Pit.

In the 1990s, toy company Playing Mantis re-released Sizzlers in NASCAR stock car models and reproduced the Fat Track as the "Stocker 400" and "Mach 500" track sets. The Juice machine was renamed the "Mega-Charger" and incorporated a more efficient "trickle charge" rather than the "dump charge" of the original machines. Interest in the Sizzlers line began to increase once again. They were taken off the market after Mattel filed a lawsuit against Playing Mantis. However, Sizzlers returned again in 2007, when Mattel struck an exclusive deal with Target stores to re-release Sizzlers cars, the "Big O" Fat track, Juice Machine and car carrying case—all in the original packaging from the 1970s. As of January 2009, the Sizzlers line has been discontinued by Target.

Sizzlers Mustang Sealed


1970 Single Packs[]

Each 1970 Sizzlers single pack was released in a clear plastic case, and came with a single sticker sheet of Racing Decals. Each model came in multiple Spectraflame color variations.

Name Toy # Country Notes Photo (Loose) Photo (Sealed)
Ford Mk IV 6500 Mexico Mark iv sizzler Image Not Available
Angeleno M70 6501 Mexico Sizzler angelo Image Not Available
Mustang Boss 302 6502 Mexico Sizzlers Pink Mustang Sizzlers Mustang Sealed
Firebird Trans-Am 6503 Mexico 20220423 224227a Image Not Available
Revvin' Heaven 6504 Mexico Red Revvin Heaven Image Not Available
Hot Head 6505 Mexico Hot Head hot-pink Image Not Available

Track Sets[]

Name Toy # Country Notes Photo
Juice Machine 6511 JuiceM1

JuiceM2

Laguna Oval Set 6512 LOS1

LOS2

1971 Single Packs[]

Name Year Toy # Country Notes Photo (Loose) Photo (Sealed)
Side-Burn 1971 6519 Mexico Wheels Wings 71 catalog Side Burn Image Not Available
Spoil Sport 1971 6520 Mexico Sizzler spoil sport in red Image Not Available
Back Fire 1971 6526 Mexico 1971SIZ-Backfire (2) (Large) Image Not Available
Anteater 1971 6527 Mexico Anteater Green Image Not Available
'Cuda Trans-Am 1971 6528 Mexico Newsletter Cuda Trans Am Image Not Available
Camaro Trans-Am 1971 6529 Mexico Newsletter Camaro Trans Am Image Not Available
Indy Eagle (Sizzlers) 1971 6532 Mexico 20220424 104625a Image Not Available
March Formula 1 1971 6535 Mexico 1972SIZ-MarchF1 (Large) Image Not Available
Ferrari Can-Am 1971 6538 Mexico 20220424 104222a Image Not Available
Live Wire (Sizzlers) 1971 6550 Mexico Live wire sizzler Image Not Available
Straight Scoop 1971 6551 Mexico Straight scoop sizzler Image Not Available
Hot Wings 1971 6552 Mexico Newsletter Hot Wings Image Not Available

1972 Single Packs[]

Name Toy # Country Notes Photo (Loose) Photo (Sealed)
Up-Roar 5884 Mexico Up Roar red SIZZLERS Image Not Available
Co-Motion 6553 Mexico 20220327 103057a Image Not Available

Track Sets[]

Name Toy # Country Notes Photo
Juice Machine JuiceM3
JuiceM4
Fat Track Super Circuit Race Set 6563 Wheels Wings 71 catalog (15) - Copy
Fat Track Big O Layout 6559 Wheels Wings 71 catalog Big O (2)
Fat Track Big O Set 6009 Wheels Wings 71 catalog Big O
Fat Track California 500 Layout 6560 Wheels Wings 71 catalog Cal (2)
Fat Track California 500 Race Set 6562 Wheels Wings 71 catalog Cal
High-Winder Set 6543 Wheels Wings 71 catalog High-Winder
National Champ Race Set 6510 Wheels Wings 71 catalog National Champ Race
Newport Pacer Set 6513 Wheels Wings 71 catalog Newport Pacer
Laguna Oval Set 6512 Wheels Wings 71 catalog Laguna Ova
California 8 Race Set 6514 Wheels Wings 71 catalog California 8 Race
Pacific 8 Race Set 6509 Wheels Wings 71 catalog Pacific 8 Race

Known Castings[]

2007[]

In 2007, the series was rebooted and exclusive to Target. All were made in China and had NCRL wheels. The series was discontinued by 2009.

Casting Color Tampo Toy # Notes / Variations Photo Loose Photo Boxed
'57 Chevy Yellow White flames on sides L2805 Image not available Sizzlers 2007 '57 Chevy Yellow China L2805
'67 Ford Mark IV Blue White & black stripes on top, hood, & trunk, "8" on hood and sides K4769 Image not available Sizzlers 2007 '67 Ford Mark IV Blue China K4769
'69 Pontiac Firebird T/A Orange White & black stripes on top, hood, & trunk, "5" on sides K4770 Image not available Sizzlers 2007 '69 Pontiac Firebird T-A Orange China K4770
'69 Pontiac Firebird T/A Red White & black stripes on hood & sides K4780 Firebird sizzler Sizzlers 2007 '69 Pontiac Firebird T-A Red China K4780
'70 Camaro T/A Silver Black & gold stripes on hood, top, trunk & sides, "70" on hood, top, & sides K4779 Camaro sizzler Sizzlers 2007 '70 Camaro T-A Silver China K4779
'70 Camaro T/A Yellow Wide black stripe on hood & top, chevy emblem on top & sides, "2" on hood, top, & sides K4773 Image not available Sizzlers 2007 '70 Camaro T-A Yellow China K4773
'70 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Apple green Black stripes on hood & sides K4777 Image not available Sizzlers 2007 '70 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Apple Green China K4777
'70 Ford Mustang Boss 302 White Blue stripes on hood & sides, "2" on sides K4771 20220423 224643a Sizzlers 2007 '70 Ford Mustang Boss 302 White China K4771
'70 Plymouth 'Cuda T/A Blue Black tampo on hood & sides, Hot Wheels logo on sides, "5" on hood K4778 20220423 225622a Sizzlers 2007 '70 Plymouth Cuda T-A Blue China K4778
'70 Plymouth 'Cuda T/A Yellow Black tampo on hood & sides, Hot Wheels logo on sides, "5" on hood K4772 Image not available Sizzlers 2007 '70 Plymouth Cuda T-A Yellow China K4772
Angeleno Dark Blue "7" on hood & sides K4776 20220415 202017a Sizzlers 2007 Angeleno Dark Blue China K4776
Heavy Chevy Olive Black stripes on top & trunk L2806 Image not available Sizzlers 2007 Heavy Chevy Olive China L2806
Live Wire Light Green None K4775 Livewiresizzler Sizzlers 2007 Live Wire Light Green China K4775
Olds 442 Green White stripes on hood & sides, "442" & "W-30" on sides L2807 20220723 002232a Sizzlers 2007 Olds 442 Green China L2807
Rodger Dodger Dark Red Yellow & orange flames on sides L2804 Image not available Sizzlers 2007 Rodger Dodger Dark Red China L2804
Spoil Sport Red None K4774 Image Not Available Image Not Available

Gallery[]

See Also[]

Other Motorized Series
Motorized 1:64 Scale Series:
SizzlersSizzlers IIFat Daddy SizzlersNight Ridin' SizzlersMotorized X-V RacersMotorized Kart ManiaxFerrari X-VTurbo GloPowerburstSpeed Chargers
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