4/26/20 2000 Sydney Olympics 5-pack

Over the years there has been Olympics promotional models in diecast, though none has been so large as this 5-pack that Matchbox made for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and since Matchbox created a few segment series specifically for the Australia line it was fitting to do so.  With the exception of one vehicle all others are based on models from General Motors with three from Chevrolet and one from Opel.  The Sea Rescue Helicopter is the only non-vehicle of the group in blue with yellow base and rotors.  Like I mentioned before this was a perfect vehicle to a civilian helicopter than using the military chopper that Matchbox has been using for other uses in years, and here it works to bring aerial coverage of the Olympic games.  Matching the blue is the 1997 Chevy Tahoe SUV that debut in 1998 and is the only vehicle here to serve duty with more passenger space and off-road capability.  Only one in a peachy orange color is the 1998 Chevy Camaro SS convertible with yellow interior and it would be a perfect parade vehicle as long as the driver is easy on the throttle (not the best color on this casting IMO).  On the yellow side is the new for 2000 Chevy Impala Police with blue waves along the side and blue windows.  This sedan works great as the police that patrol and protect the games as they are in action.  The last vehicle is the odd one of the group as it’s a race car, the Opel Calibra DTM.  Released in 1997 this Opel joins a few other DTM race cars that Matchbox released in 1996 and 1997 and the real civilian car is simple, if a bit plain on exterior styling.  With a lowered stance, flared wheels, front splitter, and separate rear wing the DTM look helps the appearance of the Calibra greatly, as does the simple yellow and blue paint job that is better than the orange Opel wallpaper of the 1997 release.  The interior is race car sparse with only a driver’s seat and a floating gauge cluster just behind the steering wheel, and a few unique features of this car include aerodynamic exterior mirrors and a single wiper blade in the center of the windshield.  The powertrain was a cosworth V6 that was mounted toward the rear wheels instead of front like the civilian version and sends power to all four wheels.  Overall this is a very nice set that flows nicely with the color selection and properly represents the Olympics in Sydney, Australia.  One last bit:  In an attempt to make 5-packs more fun Matchbox tried to change the packaging to a new tube-style that was released in late 2000’s.  The idea was that kids can connect them together and have some fun with the cars and the tubes, while being easy to store in storage.  The latter was not true as the 5-packs were larger than the standard rectangular version and the tubes had little effect on kid’s play, so after a year of experimenting the 5-packs reverted back to the tried-and-true rectangular setup.

Rating:

Sea Rescue Helicopter- 2 out of 5 stars

Opel Calibra DTM- 4 out of 5 stars

1997 Chevy Tahoe- 5 out of 5 stars

2000 Chevy Impala Police- 5 out of 5 stars

1998 Chevy Camaro SS Convertible- 4.8 out of 5 stars