The Tyco U-Turn Chase is a slot car set manufactured by Tyco Toys, and released into the US, UK, and other markets worldwide in 1983. Not to be confused with the refreshed 1988 Tyco U-Turn which we'll cover separately.
advertising the U-Turn Chase to retailers
Concept
Potentially the first ever Tyco U-Turn (the oldest I'm aware of so far), the 1983 U-Turn Chase sets the theme for all other U-Turn based sets - Cops Vs Robbers, Good Guys vs Bad Guys, and while this set was simple, they would build upon the concept on later track sets.
Features
The U-Turn mechanic was the star of the show here, with the ability to not just outrun your opponent, but "chuck a you-ey" (as we say in Australia, or to make a U-Turn) and drive right past them in the opposite direction!
This worked due to a special design in the car, which we'll discuss later.
Beyond that, there was a cut-off lane where (if you were side-by-side) you could push your opponent off the track if you were just a little bit ahead of them while passing through the cut-off.
Track Layout
With 10 feet of track, the U-Turn Chase wasn't particularly long, as an elongated figure-8, however it was better than other more simpler pure-figure 8 tracks, allowing for a longer straight to gain speed.
The set included:
- 6 x 9" Radius Curve (1/4 Circle)
- 2 x 9" Straight Track
- 1 x 9" Straight Terminal Track
- 1 x 6" Straight Track
- 1 x 15" Squeeze Track
- 6 x Curve Shoulder Sets
- 6 x Straight Shoulder Sets
- 4 x Pier Supports
The shoulder sets ensured there was enough track edge for the cars rear end to go wide as it took the corner, and eventually spin around into a U-Turn.
Vehicles
Included in the set is a pretty decent looking 70's style Police Car, and a Red Camaro.
In order for the U-Turn mechanic to work, the two front wheels are a 'fake' hard plastic wheel that doesn't spin. This causes the front end to be very easy to lose control of, causing the rear of the car to easily drift outwards, so much that any sudden acceleration will cause the car to flip around and begin driving in the other direction.
This immediately causes a change in polarity to the motor, so any other car would continue to drive in the direction it had been (driving backwards), and so to prevent this all U-Turn cars have a rectifier chip that ensure the polarity to the motor is always the same, no matter what way the wires are crossed.
For more detail, see my A-Team Action Racing page for more detail and photos.
Availability and Collectability
The U-Turn Chase isn't too common, but you can pick it up if you have a little patience. Also keep a look out for the 1988 version which is slightly different, though even less prevalent.
As for collectability, if this were the first U-Turn as it seems to be, I'd imagine that would increase its collectability in the eyes of many. Do you know of any earlier U-Turn set released by Tyco? Let us know in the comments below!
