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Kicking Off the Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary Tour

James MaxwellMay 3, 2018

3 minute read

Unveiled at the 2001 SEMA Show( to commemorate the "Twin Mill' double engined-Hot Wheels original toy car).

Unveiled at the 2001 SEMA Show( to commemorate the "Twin Mill' double engined-Hot Wheels original toy car)

Hot Wheels General Manager and VP Chris Down presented Jay some gifts, as it was his birthday the day of this event.

Jay just walked around and hung out, car-talked with people and car owners, this guy is a sincere car fanatic.

Shown here at the life-size Hot Wheels blister pack backdrop, the winning vehicle from this first event was the 1948 Ford F5 dually rat rod-inspired truck belonging to Mitch Allread. It packs a 400-hp PowerStroke diesel engine and started off as a dump truck. It, along with 15 others, will be sent to SEMA 2018 for final selection for a chance of being the entry that becomes a miniature Hot Wheels toy.

Inspired by the rat rod movement, it's called the "Boneshaker" and was built in 2011.

He started with Hot Wheels in 1969 and retired from the company in 2009 but still does consulting / appearances and enjoys cars.

Larry Wood (AKA Elwood because he always signs his art "LWood") was interviewed by local Los Angeles TV.

"NoNomad" is the name of this 1957 rear-engined Chevy wagon belonging to Bruce Schultz.

"NoNomad" is the name of this 1957 rear-engined Chevy wagon belonging to Bruce Schultz.

The new Mustang lends itself as a natural for modifying and the 5.0L Coyote V8 is a potent powerplant. With Euro styling and the addition of wide body wheel flares, this example has a look of a serious road race vehicle.

Taking some basic styling cues (including a German helmet themed roof) from the original "Red Baron" that Tom Daniel designed in 1968, this well-meaning but rather crude tribute is powered by an old-school straight 8 as opposed to the Red Baron's OHC Pontiac 6.

A 1965 Chevelle-based El Camino with clean lines, a lowered stance and classic 5-spoke aftermarket wheels. There were 34,724 of these produced that year and the top engine available was the 350-hp L79 327 small block. It's a car-based "truck" that was very similar to the 2-door wagons, less the long roof.

The street "Gasser" look is a growing segment of the scene and this 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente from Dale Snoke is jacked-up in the front with a period-correct straight axle with Econoline leaf springs for the right stance. Power comes from a ported small block Ford V8 (revs to 7500 rpm), connected to a modified C4 automatic transmission and 5.38:1 rear gears. It pulls wheelies and is actually modeled after the mid-1960s B/FX (Factory Experimental) class.

A Camaro was included in the Sweet 16 Hot Wheels selection back in 1968.

A Camaro was included in the Sweet 16 Hot Wheels selection back in 1968.

There were some 1966 Shelby Mustangs built especially for the Hertz car rental fleet, an alliance between Shelby and the car rental company through the production of 1,001 special black with Bronze Powder Gold stripe cars, called G.T. 350 H models. $17 a day, and 17 cents per mile, 306-high-revving horsepower at your disposal. No word on if this resto-modded Mustang is an authentic "H" car, however it looks fantastic with the modern larger diameter wheels and fuel-injected engine upgrades.

You don't see 1964 Chevelle Malibu models all that much and especially done up as a C/Altered drag machine! Denny Bolf is the builder of this "Wile E. Coyote" version, named from the Road Runner cartoon series.

A "1 of 69" 2018 COPO Camaro supercharged drag car, came from the factory with the wheelie bars and parachute.

The 1970 Mustang belonging to actor Robert Downey, Jr., was displayed by Speedkore. Painted PPG Khaki Yellow and with loads of carbon fiber body panels, the car is modeled after the Boss 302 but with a modern twist, namely the Ford Performance Aluminator 5.0L crake engine with Stage 2 Ford/Roush supercharger, Bowler T56 transmission, Detroit Speed aluminum front subframe, Quadralink rear and custom HRE Minilite-themed wheels (like what Parnelli Jones' Boss 302 mustangs raced on in the SCCA Trans-Am series). Vintage Air A/C and custom interior by Gabe's is included in the mods.

A "1 of 69" 2018 COPO Camaro supercharged drag car, came from the factory with the wheelie bars and parachute.

"Deora II" is a re-make (with a modern twist) of the famous Harry Bentley Bradley-built Dodge Deora built in 1965.

Inspired by the rat rod movement, it's called the "Boneshaker" and was built in 2011.

Jason Griffin's from Escondido,CA, brought his "Shoe This" hot rod which has some 1949 Ford styling cues and a supercharged Buick V6 powerplant, definitely not something you see at every rod run.

A futuristic Indy Car known as "Bad to the Blade" is part of the Hot Wheels full-size fleet.

This one debuted at the San Diego Comic- event in 2014, the life-size Darth Vader Hot Wheels car.

Some cars don't need loud graphics and outrageous body mods, as evidenced by this classic 1963 Ford Thunderbird, which with just a set of five-spoke aftermarket wheels fit right in with the theme of the event.

Replicating what kids had been doing for years with the toy Hot Wheels on the orange plastic tracks.

Mattel is a brand that has world-wide recognition and besides the Hot Wheels brand, they also own the Matchbox brand which in the early days was the main competitor to Hot Wheels.

The Hot Wheels Legends Tour (16 stops in all) makes its way all across the country during 2018 with the final gathering taking place October 30-November 2 at the Las Vegas Convention Center for the SEMA Show.

*See photo essay above from the Hot Wheels event

Jay Leno hosted the kickoff party for the cross-country Hot Wheels tour last week. The first date of the Hot Wheels Legends 50^th Anniversary tour was assembled at toymaker Mattel’s El Segundo, California headquarters.

The toy company launched the 16-date tour to track down one special car to become its next 1:64-scale die-cast vehicle. One car will be selected at each tour stop with the ultimate car being chosen among the 16 at this year’s SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

Three things that the people at Hot Wheels are looking for in choosing its next die-cast vehicle: Authenticity (something that looks like a Hot Wheels), Originality (something with unique details that makes it stand out from the rest), Garage Spirit (built, not bought).

Each finalist from the 16 cities will have an all-expenses paid trip to the SEMA Show where one of them will be immortalized as the overall winner. The winning car will be made into a die-cast car for worldwide distribution.

Click to enter a vehicle into the Hot Wheels Legends competition.

Each Hot Wheels Legends tour date will be held at the following Walmarts:

May 5 in Gladstone, Missouri
May 19 in Teterboro, New Jersey
June 2 in Rogers, Arkansas
June 9 in Nashville, Tennessee
June 30 in Dawsonville, Georgia
July 14 in Bedford Park, Illinois
July 28 in Hunterville, North Carolina
Aug. 4 in Mount Vernon, Washington
Aug. 11 in Dearborn, Michigan
Aug. 25 in Garland, Texas
Sept. 8 in Doral, Florida
Sept. 22 in Scottsdale, Arizona
Oct. 6 in Dulles, Virginia
Oct. 20 in Pico Rivera, California

Legendary Toys

American inventor and businessman Elliot Handler (co-founder of Mattel Toys) in 1968 dreamed up an idea to market a line of miniature 1:64-scale die-cast cars done up in bright Spectraflame shiny metallic finishes. He recruited real auto designers from General Motors (Harry Bradley), Chrysler (Ira Gilford) and Ford Motor Co. (Howard Rees, Larry Wood) to do the actual design work for the individual cars (hot rods, muscle cars and unique show cars) all with a performance flavor.

“Designing Hot Wheels was one of the easiest design jobs I ever did in my life,” Handler said in an interview when he was 90 years old-he passed away at 95 in 2011.

“I was sitting at my desk one day and I had a Matchbox toy that I was trying to roll over my desk,” he said. “The wheels were almost molded onto the toy, just for appearance, and my chief engineer put some little plastic wheels on it. Just lightly flicked it, and the thing went all the way across the desk, and we named it at that time, ‘boy, those are Hot Wheels!'” The low-friction wheels were what made it an instant hit with kids.

The first years the Hot Wheels were marketed as Redlines because of the red line on the tires. They came in a Sweet 16 selection of California custom styled Hot Wheels. With the red striped feature on the tires and the five-spoke mag wheels, it gave the Hot Wheels cars a much cooler and distinctive appearance as compared to the Matchbox cars of the era.

Even though Hot Wheels were originally intended as a low-cost toy for children, over the years they have become popular with adult collectors. The early ones from the late 1960s are extremely valuable today-the record so far is $72,000 for a Beach Bomb VW Rear-Loading Bus pre-production prototype. Today, because of the collectability factor, the company produces special limited editions for serious collectors of all ages.

Fun Facts

There’s an average of 10 Hot Wheels sold each second of the day
There are more Hot Wheels toy cars than real cars in the world-3 million are built every week
In 1967 Hot Wheels released its 1968 Custom Corvette car (which was the completely new Mako Shark design) before the actual production Corvettes hit the Chevrolet dealerships, by a couple of weeks, which wasn’t exactly a welcomed move by General Motors. GM nearly took away Mattel’s licensing rights on the spot. The stunt did however help generate hype and excitement for the eventual launch of the car
Hot Wheels is among the most popular toy brands in the world, with more than 6 billion sold
The name Mattel is a portmanteau of Harold “Matt” Matson and Elliot Handler, the company’s original founders in January 1945.

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James MaxwellMay 3, 2018

3 minute read