Motorsport Heritage at the Nuremberg Toy Fair 2026

January 27, 2026

From icons to curiosities, historic motorsport continues to find new life in product

Each February, the toy industry gathers in Nuremberg. For manufacturers, collectors, and retailers, Spielwarenmesse remains one of the clearest indicators of where enthusiasm is building and where product categories still have room to grow.

Within that picture, motorsport continues to hold a distinctive place.

At the 2026 fair, Formula 1 remained one of the strongest and most recognisable themes across the model and collectibles space. The category’s appeal was visible not only in the number of products on display, but in the breadth of interest around both current and historic subjects.

For Apex, the event offered a useful moment to reconnect with much of our existing licensee network, while also exploring conversations around new partners and future opportunities. We were hosted by Minimax, whose long standing reputation in the model sector made them a fitting lens through which to view the category’s current direction.

What stood out was the renewed energy around historic models.

There was clear appetite for new products, renewed discussion around licensing, and growing confidence that historic motorsport remains a commercially relevant space within the wider collectibles market. That interest was not limited to the obvious names, although the icons still carry enormous weight.

Subjects linked to Ayrton Senna and Lotus continued to attract attention, which is hardly surprising. Both sit at the centre of Formula 1’s cultural memory. Senna remains one of the sport’s most powerful and enduring figures, while Lotus still represents one of its richest combinations of innovation, style, and historic success. For model makers and collectors alike, these are properties with immediate recognition and deep emotional value.

But what made this year’s fair particularly interesting was the enthusiasm beyond the headline names.

Alongside the icons, there was genuine interest in the more unusual and characterful corners of motorsport history. The Tyrrell Mk1 Transit van is a good example. It is not a grand prix car, nor a conventional hero product, yet it captures something important about why historic motorsport translates so well into collectibles. It reflects the texture of the era, the operational reality of racing, and the sort of detail that knowledgeable enthusiasts genuinely enjoy. These are the subjects that deepen a brand world, moving it beyond the predictable and into something richer.

That matters from a licensing perspective.

The strength of historic motorsport lies not only in famous drivers and championship winning cars, but in the wider ecosystem around them. Transporters, support vehicles, engineering oddities, workshop tools, archive graphics, and lesser known machines all contribute to a more complete and more interesting product universe. For the right licensees, this opens up a broader set of possibilities.

It also reflects the maturity of the collector market.

Today’s audience is highly informed. Accuracy matters, but so does originality. Collectors still want the iconic cars, but they also respond to subjects that feel unexpected, well observed, and true to the spirit of the sport. That is where heritage brands often have an advantage. Their archives are not just filled with famous moments, but with distinctive details that can inspire more considered products.

Seen in that context, Nuremberg offered a clear reminder that Formula 1’s strength in licensing is not simply a function of current popularity. It is also rooted in the depth of the archive.

The icons will always matter. They bring visibility, emotion, and immediate connection.

But the unusual subjects matter too. They are often what turn interest into obsession, and a product range into a true collector proposition.

For heritage motorsport brands, that balance is important. The opportunity is not just to revisit the best known stories, but to build product programmes that reflect the full character of the archive.

That was one of the clearest messages from Nuremberg this year.

Historic motorsport is not a niche footnote within the model world. It remains one of its most compelling and expandable categories.