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Bolingbrook, IL (July 8, 2003)-RC2 Corporation (NASDAQ: RCRC) announced today that it has begun shipping the first The Fast and The Furious toy race sets by Racing Champions to retailers nationwide. Based on Universal Pictures' recently released box office sensation 2 Fast 2 Furious, which opened number one at the box office with $52.5 million in ticket sales, The Fast and The Furious race sets bring the fun and action of the tuner car market to the toy aisle with innovative designs and a speed theme.

The Fast and The Furious has established itself as one of the strongest automotive properties since it became a box office sensation in Summer 2001 as the first film ever to depict the super-charged world of import tuner car racing. The newly introduced toy race sets are a logical product extension, tying perfectly into the theme of the movies in a proven boy play pattern of miniature car racing. Each of the sets features authentic reproductions of cars from the hit films in three thematic executions, including The Fast and The Furious Power Raceway double figure 8 race set for side-by-side racing and special "nitrous power burst" controllers to add to the excitement; The Fast and The Furious Dragstrip Race Set in a nitrous tank storage case with built-in car launcher for side-by-side drag racing action; and The Fast and the Furious Flip 'N Fire Launcher that puts kids into the high-speed action of tuner car racing with a unique nitrous tank shaped, spring loaded case that launches an official The Fast and The Furious car at the push of a button.

Peter Henseler, President of RC2 Corporation states, "The launch of The Fast and The Furious race sets fulfills the second part of our strategy to build 'The Fast and The Furious by Racing Champions' brand into a stand-alone category that will include a full line of toy, collectible, and hobby products. These sets offer the speed and excitement associated with The Fast and The Furious in a fun and action-packed way. We have been successful in expanding our sales and promotional opportunities not only in our existing toy, hobby and mass-retailer channels, but also in new specialty retail outlets such as automotive, music and video retail chains."

Henseler continues, "The fact that the movie sequel opened #1 at the box office demonstrates the longevity and broad target market appeal The Fast and The Furious property has with today's teens and young adults. As the official toys and collectibles that carry The Fast and The Furious license, our Racing Champions products are ideally positioned to reach the diverse audience with items that are natural extensions of the movie and the lifestyle."

About the Film
2 Fast 2 Furious is the highly-anticipated follow-up to the Summer 2001 box office sensation about the super-charged world of street racing. Paul Walker returns as former cop Brian O'Conner, who teams up with his ex-con pal Roman Pearce (Tyrese) to transport a shipment of "dirty" money for shady Miami-based import-export dealer Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), while actually working with undercover agent Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes) to bring Verone down. Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, James Remar and Devon Aoki are also in the cast of this new high-adrenaline adventure directed by John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood, Baby Boy) and produced by Neal H. Moritz (The Fast and the Furious, Sweet Home Alabama), with a whole new line-up of dazzling high-performance vehicles ready to burn up the screen.

Universal Pictures' The Fast and the Furious grossed $206 million at the worldwide box-office. In addition to its box office success, the DVD release was the number one best-selling DVD in the U.S. for the first six months of 2002, and remains one of the Top 10 best-selling DVDs of all time domestically (*per AC Nielson/Video Scan).

The car and motorcycle action sequences depicted in The Fast and the Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious films are dangerous. All stunts were performed in carefully-controlled environments using professionally trained stunt crews on closed roads. No attempts should be made to duplicate any action, driving or car play scenes portrayed therein. Universal Studios neither condones nor endorses the use of any licensed products in any manner whatsoever other than in strict accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws and speed limits.

The MPAA has given 2 Fast 2 Furious a rating of PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned - Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13) for street racing, violence, language and some sensuality. The Fast and the Furious is also rated PG-13. Consult www.filmratings.com for further information.

The Fast and the Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious are licensed by Universal Studios Consumer Products Group (USCPG), which is responsible for global licensing and retail strategies as well as building brand recognition. USCPG is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Vivendi UNIVERSAL Entertainment (VUE) (www.universalstudios.com), the U.S.-based film, television and recreation entity of Vivendi Universal, a global media and communications company.

About RC2 Corporation
RC2 (www.rc2corp.com) is a leading producer and marketer of high quality collectibles, toys and hobby products targeted at adult collectors, parents and children. The company's diverse product offerings include: traditional children's toys; agricultural, construction and outdoor sports vehicle replicas; automotive, high performance and racing vehicle replicas; sports trading cards, racing apparel and souvenirs; and collectible figures. These products are sold under the Company's market-focused brand names, including Racing Champions®, Ertl®, Ertl Collectibles®, Learning CurveSM, American Muscle™, AMT®, W. Britain®, Press Pass®, Eden®, Feltkids® and JoyRide Studios™. RC2 builds consumer loyalty by fulfilling the passions of targeted consumers with its branded products that encourage repeat purchases and are fun to own and use. The Company's goal is to achieve leadership in targeted markets worldwide by acting on significant consumer trends, continuously applying innovation and developing consumer preferred brands and products distributed through multiple channels. These channels include chain retailers, specialty and hobby wholesalers and retailers, OEM dealers, corporate accounts for promotional purposes and direct to consumers. The Company sells through more than 20,000 retail outlets located primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

Certain statements contained in this release contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as "anticipate,'' "believe,'' "could,'' "expect,'' "intend,'' "may,'' "planned,'' "potential,'' "should,'' "will'' and RC2 Corporation-First The Fast and The Furious Toy Race Sets Ship "would.'' Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Such uncertainties and other operational matters are discussed further in the Company's quarterly and annual filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company's actual results and future developments could differ materially from the results or developments expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to make any revisions to the forward-looking statements contained in this release or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release.

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