Vintage Hot Wheels Model Cars

When Mattel launched Hot Wheels in 1968, its biggest diecast-metal-car competitor was Matchbox, whose Models of Yesteryear line featured a 1911 Model T Ford and 1906 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. Matchbox’s antiquated cars were a bit quaint compared to the original 16 Hot Wheels cars, which focused on American muscle cars of the day (Camaros, Mustangs, T-Birds, etc.) as well as hot rods, the most famous of which was the Beatnik Bandit by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. In addition to being contemporary, Hot Wheels cars were also fast, thanks to their tiny torsion-bar suspensions and low-friction wheel bearings, allowing the 1:64 scale vehicles to speed along plastic tracks. Hot Wheels also had candy-colored Spectraflame paint jobs (colors ranged from Aqua to Purple to Hot Pink) and “redline” wheels, so named for the red stripe painted on the tires. (From 1977 onward, most Hot Wheels were so-called “blackwalls,” meaning the tires were all black.) The first Hot Wheels car was a Chevy Camaro, which was manufactured in the United States like many other models from 1968. The brand’s initial “Sweet 16” included a Custom Cougar, a VW Bug with an engine poking through the hood, and a surfboard-toting Dodge Deora concept pickup, a car whose design was once described by “Motor Trend” as resembling “the world’s coolest skateboard.” It’s rare to find Sweet 16 models in mint condition, as the painted tires tended to wear quickly and the cars’ wire axles often buckled from repeated use. Even rarer is finding an original model in its blister pack, the paperboard package with a clear-plastic enclosure displaying the vehicle. Some of the company’s early models were also produced in Hong Kong: Unlike the clear plastic windows on the American-made cars, these were made with blue-tinted windshields, as seen on the Custom Barracuda and Custom Eldorado. Both of these vintage vehicles included a hood that opened to reveal a detailed engine. In 1969, Ira Gilford joined the Hot Wheels design team and designed two of the company's most famous original cars: the Twinmill, which featured an exposed engine behind each front wheel, and the Splittin’ Image, which resembled two single-passenger pods with an engine and exhaust pipes running between them. Another collectible car from 1969 is the Beach Bomb, which was a VW Bus with exterior compartments on each side for carrying surfboards. Early prototypes of the beach bomb had surfboards loading in from the rear of the van—an example of this highly collectible vintage Hot Wheel, of which only 22 are known to exist, can be found in the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The next two years saw almost 100 new cars released, including the Light My Firebird, whose name was a play on the popular Doors song from 1967. Mattel also added two important product lines, the Heavyweights and the Sizzlers. Heavyweights, as its name implied, featured cement mixers, fire trucks, and other large vehicles. The Sizzlers featured a custom-made General Electric Ni-Cad battery that could be charged in 90 seconds at a Juice Machine or Power Pit. By 1972, all Hot Wheels vehicles were made in Hong Kong to keep prices low and meet the high demand. The company launched its Chopcycles line of three-wheeled motorcycles with battery-powered motors, though the series would be discontinued the following year. Snake and Mongoose rear-engine dragsters were also issued in an otherwise lean, inflationary year, and Spectraflame was dumped for a less shiny, and less expensive, type of paint. A portable recharger known as the Goose Pump was introduced in 1972, as was a front bumper called the Mouse’s Mustache. The following year, production levels and model introductions were back up and Sizzlers tires were retooled as Fat Daddy racing slicks. Because new Sizzlers were not offered again until 1976, these Hot Wheels from 1973 are particularly collectible. Models and colors to look for include the green Fire Works and Hiway Hauler, as well as the yellow or red Ram Rocket. One of the most sought-after vintage Hot Wheels spinoffs from 1973 was the Revvers line, which lasted for just one year. Designed for off-track use, the 10 Revvers models were powered by a rubber band. Among the most prized models and colors are the lemon yellow Burnin’ Box, any color of Jettin’ Vette (although dark blue is the Holy Grail), and the Revvers camper set, which included a station wagon and camper trailer. The Flying Colors line dominated 1974 and 1975, and the Super Streets and Super Chromes were popular in 1975 and ’76. But Mattel dropped the trademark redline wheel from all Hot Wheels in 1977, bringing an end to the vintage era of this most popular of all toy cars. Mattel moved all Hot Wheels production to Malaysia in 1982. During the mid-1980s, Hot Wheels launched its line of Crack-Ups, cars with spring-loaded panels that would flip around on impact to reveal a dent. Not long after, the company debuted its Flip-Out series, which would flip themselves over upon impact. In more recent years, Mattel has continued to release Hot Wheels cars modeled after both new sports cars and vintage hot rods, all with much finer finishing that the brand’s older collectibles.