Start your engines — Gottlieb’s Auto Race is an electromechanical single-player that captures the roar of the racetrack, and it comes from the legendary team of designer Wayne Neyens and artist Roy Parker, one of the most beloved creative partnerships of pinball’s golden woodrail age. With light-based scoring and a confirmed run of 1,500, it’s a handsome early Gottlieb celebrating the thrill of auto racing.
The layout is a lively, engaging spread with a classic period feature: two flippers, four pop bumpers, a pair of passive bumpers, two slingshots, three standup targets, and two gobble holes. Those two gobble holes are a hallmark of the era’s bold design philosophy — the daring, high-risk features that swallow the ball for an award — while the combination of pop and passive bumpers promises a bouncy, unpredictable ball and the three standups give clear objectives to work through. It’s a clean, well-balanced design in the classic Gottlieb mold, all in service of the exciting racing theme, rewarding a player willing to brave the gobble holes for their prizes.
Auto Race is a lovely showcase of the celebrated Neyens-and-Parker team’s craft, pairing an exciting racing theme with a satisfying, gobble-hole-driven layout and Parker’s warm artwork. The auto-racing motif was a natural fit for pinball’s blend of speed and skill, evoking the thunder of the track. For the collector who loves the golden age of EM pinball and its greatest creative teams, it’s a rewarding find. Brave those gobble holes, ride the bumpers, and race for the finish. Some machines capture the thrill of the track, and this Gottlieb racing classic drops the green flag in fine style. Rev it up and drop a coin.