Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Auto

Hot Wheels Celebrates 50th Anniversary with U.S. Tour in Search of New Models

Miles Branman
By
hot wheels legends tour toy
Hot Wheels/Facebook

To millions of Americans, Hot Wheels are much more than toys. For the last 50 years, these highly accurate 1:64 scale diecast cars have created and nurtured automotive enthusiasts like few other brands in history.

When the company first hit the market in 1968, it debuted a line of 16 cars called the “Sweet 16,” including the Beatnick Bandit (a custom car by Big Daddy Roth), Barracuda, Camaro, Corvette, Cougar, Mustang, Eldorado, Firebird, Fleetside, T-Bird, VW Beetle, Deora (a Dodge concept truck), Ford J-Car, Hot Heap (a custom Ford Model T), Python, and Sihouette. Today, many of these models are worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars, depending on their condition.

Related Videos

Since these first cars went on sale, Hot Wheels has introduced a number of iconic vehicles based on production, concept, and one-off custom cars — a sum total of over 6 billion models. Now the company is looking for its next lineup of vehicles. To find the new “Sweet 16,” Hot Wheels is kicking off a cross-country tour that will visit 15 Walmart stores in cities with deep connections to car culture.

At each stop, members of the Hot Wheels design team, automotive influencers, Walmart employees, and local celebrities will cast their votes for the cars that will be immortalized as diecast replicas. Judges will pick cars based on performance, backstory, originality, build complexity, and authenticity to the Hot Wheels brand.

The first stop took place April 28 in El Segundo, California (at Mattel’s headquarters). From the hundreds of cars that showed up, Mitch Allread took the inaugural honors with his rat rod-inspired 1948 Ford F5 pickup. Legendary car collector and comedian Jay Leno hosted the first event and shared a little about his history with Hot Wheels.

hot wheels legends tour jay leno
Hot Wheels

“I was 18 when Hot Wheels first came out, and I thought they were cool, but I didn’t really start to appreciate them until much later,” Leno recalled. “In my 20s and 30s though, I started to collect them and put them near the real car in my garage.”

While we can’t all be so fortunate to have both the Hot Wheels cars and the true-life vehicles, Leno’s appreciation for the quality of Hot Wheels diecast replicas is something many kids and adults share.

“It’s really hard to take something an knock it down to 1:64 scale, but you can always tell the vehicle a Hot Wheels is modeled after right away,” remarked Leno.

To see where the tour is headed next, check out Hot Wheels Legends Tour site. Attendance is free to the public.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
How to clean headlights using 2 popular methods
Don't neglect your headlights? Here's how to clean them in a snap
Man cleaning front headlight on Toyota RAV4 using Meguiar's Quick Detailer.

Over time, headlights will pick up every day dirt and grim just like the rest of your car. It's important not to ignore the headlights when cleaning your car though. Just like the rest of your vehicle, headlights need some TLC. Dirty headlights won't shine properly at night or in the daytime. Before giving them a scrub though, take a few minutes to learn how to clean headlights the right way.

Read more
Lamborghini’s upcoming supercar will have a 1,001-hp plug-in hybrid V12 powertrain
Lamborghini news: Here’s a sneak peek at what engine will replace the outgoing naturally aspirated V12
Lamborghini LB744 PHEV Powertrain from overhead in the engine bay of a chassis.

Lamborghini is known for making world-class naturally aspirated engines. From the Huracan’s V10 to the Aventador’s V12, soulful engines are Lamborghini’s thing. Unfortunately, Lamborghini has discontinued the Aventador and its mighty V12 engine. While we don’t know what’s in store for the Aventador’s replacement, Lamborghini has given the world a look into its upcoming powertrain, which will include a plug-in hybrid component with three electric motors.
A PHEV from Lamborghini? It certainly sounds like the end times. But if you think Lamborghini is making something akin to the Toyota Prius Prime, that’s not what’s happening here. At the heart of the plug-in hybrid powertrain is a 6.5-liter V12 engine. The new L545 motor is a major upgrade of the Aventador’s 6.5-liter V12. The new engine weighs 37 pounds less, has more power, has a higher redline, and features a raised compression ratio of 12.6:1.

Getting into actual numbers, the new 6.5-liter V12 engine is good for 814 horsepower on its own. That’s a large upgrade over the Aventador, which made up to 769 horsepower in its most potent configurations. While peak horsepower comes at 9,250 rpm, the engine hits its redline at 9,500 rpm. If there’s one figure that hasn’t grown a lot, it’s torque. The new V12 is rated at 535 pound-feet, which is only 4 pound-feet more than the old 12-cylinder motor.
In addition to giving the engine a major overhaul, Lamborghini has also repositioned the way the gearbox and engine are packaged together. Unlike the Aventador, which had a single-clutch transmission that was positioned in front of the engine, Lamborghini has turned the new V12 180 degrees. Additionally, power is being routed through a new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission that Lamborghini designed that will sit behind the engine.
So far, these would be massive changes on their own, but the engine is getting a large helping hand from a plug-in hybrid component. Lamborghini will assist the V12 engine with three electric motors. Two axial-flux motors are located at the front – one on each wheel – and a third electric motor at the back that’s integrated into the transmission. The front electric motors allow for torque vectoring, while the rear electric motor can act as a starter motor, generator, or an extra source of power. On their own, each motor is capable of producing 148 horsepower – roughly the same amount of power as a compact car. Combined, Lamborghini claims the V12 engine and the electric motors are good for 1,001 horsepower.

Read more
BMW teases new 5 series, with an i5 EV model for the first time ever
BMW is rolling out its new 5 series later this year, and there will be an i5 version
BMW i5 electric sedan under a cover parked in a studio.

The current, seventh-gen BMW 5-Series has been around since 2017. Seven model years is practically forever for a luxury vehicle, especially one as storied as the midsize 5-Series. BMW has some large plans in store for the new, eighth-gen 5-Series that will be unveiled in October 2023 and shared a few details on the upcoming midsize sedan recently.
The sedan will be more multifaceted than ever and will be offered with gas engines with mild-hybrid 48-volt systems, a plug-in hybrid powertrain, and a new all-electric powertrain in the i5. The latter will mark the first time BMW has introduced an all-electric version of the 5-Series.

Before you get too excited, there’s not a lot of information to go off of here. But the big news for those of us in America is that the upcoming electric i5 sedan will be getting the same M treatment as the current i4 M50 that’s on sale. BMW refuses to call the performance-oriented i5 an electric M5, which leads to believe that it might use something like “M50” for the sporty i5.
“The all-electric BMW i4 M50 shows how BMW blends dynamic performance and electric mobility to perfection,” said BMW CEO Oliver Zipse at the BMW Group Annual Conference 2023. “It was the best-selling BMW M model worldwide in 2022. A fully electric Performance model from BMW M GmbH will also be included in the BMW 5-Series line-up.”
Clearly, BMW has seen that there’s space in its electric lineup for a new sedan that we assume would slot in above the compact i4 and below the large i7. While the U.S. will probably only get the sedan version of the i5, buyers in Europe will also be able to purchase a wagon, or Touring, model. That’s great news for European enthusiasts that were expecting to see wagons die in the electric revolution.

Read more