Hot Race

Hot Race, manufactured by AMI s.p.a. of Italy in 1976, is a four-player electro-mechanical pinball machine with an auto racing theme. Its backglass artwork was created by Michele "Mike" Martinelli, though sections of it were copied from Gottlieb's 1975 'Spin Out'; the playfield layout is shared with AMI's own 1976 release 'Sprint Girl'.

The machine features an end-of-ball bonus, two flippers, three pop bumpers, two slingshots, and four 4-bank drop targets, offering a challenging and dynamic experience across 3- or 5-ball play. Each player's score display includes two dummy zeroes, a common quirk of EM scoring reels of the period.

As one of a small number of known AMI s.p.a. pinball machines, Hot Race offers a glimpse into Italian pinball manufacturing during the mid-1970s, a period when Italian companies were experimenting with themes and mechanics borrowed from — and sometimes directly copied from — their better-known American counterparts.