Wednesday, January 26, 2022

The Fastest Hot Wheels Gold Hot Ones That are Great for Racing

 In 1981 Mattel introduced a new line of Hot Wheels called the Hot Ones. It was a line of cars that had new wheels and a thinner axle. The claim was that these cars were going to be faster, and it turns out they were right. Several of the Hot Ones cars turned out to be truly legendary on the track. That being said, they do also have a reputation for being a bit squirrelly on the track sometimes at high speeds. That thin axle can also add a bit of suspension to the hot ones cars and if there are some inconsistencies in the track or the car’s wheels are not balanced very well they can sometimes get a bit out of control. But find a good one and race it on a good track and you will definitely find yourself coming out on top more times than not. The cars were just known as Hot Ones for a time until Mattel released some with silver wheels and then they were differentiated as Silver or Gold Hot Ones. We are going to look at 5 very fast Gold Hot Ones (GHO). 

The Frontrunnin’ Fairmont 

The Frontrunnin’ Fairmont can be an absolute beast on the track. The 1983 Red one with the metalflake paint is the one you want. This legend has a metal body and chassis and weighs in at 51 grams, which is decent when it comes to weight. It is 3 inches long, which is pretty average for a Hot Wheels car. It has good balance and its weight is distributed well. As with any casting, there are fliers and duds, but if you find a flier of this casting it will be elite! 


 Mirada Stocker 

The Mirada Stocker is the only gold Hot Ones car that I have seen even try to keep up with the Fairmonts. The yellow one from 1982 and the gold metalflake one from 1983 seem to be a little quicker than the earlier red ones. With a metal body and metal chassis this car comes in at a solid 51 grams. It is just a hair longer than the Ford Fairmont at 3 and 1/8 inches long. Find a fast one and you will definitely be competitive in every race and find yourself coming out on top in many of them. 


 Flat Out 442 

The Flat Out 442 is generally a step down in speed from the Fairmonts and the Miradas due to its slightly lighter weight, but again, if you happen to find a good one it has the potential to be an absolute flier. Stick with the Yellow 1982 version or the Gold Metalflake 1983 version. At 49 grams it is a bit lighter than our first two GHO cars, but that weight is well distributed over a slightly wider car. The 442 has a pretty average length coming in at 3 inches. Good luck in your 442 hunt because a good one can “Flat Out” fly! 


 Blown Camaro 

The Blown Camaro is pretty light but definitely fast enough to blow out anything Mattel is putting out these days. The black Blown Camaro from 1984 weighs in at 41 grams. It has a metal base and body but is still a bit light. It’s a typical 3 inches long and pretty aerodynamic. While it might not be keeping up with the Fairmonts or Miradas, I’ve seen some that are very fast, and in a lighter weight class or matched up against some newer castings should do very well.





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Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Hot Wheels Car Culture - Modern Classics

 

When it comes to premium Hot Wheels, the car culture series rarely disappoints. The Modern Classics set is no exception. 


In this article we are going to take a look at the Modern Classics, a 2017 set in the Car Culture series. This is an absolutely beautiful set of cars. In general, Mattel has done a great job with the Car Culture sets, and the Modern Classics are no exception. With Real Rider tires, great paint, and metal bodies and chassis, you can see and feel the quality in these cars. The Modern Classics set features the ‘92 BMW M3, the ‘85 Honda CR-X, the Porsche 964, the Renault 5 Turbo, and the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 EVO II. 

Before we start talking about the cars themselves, we have to talk about the card art. The card art on the Car Culture sets is generally very good, but the Modern Classics art takes it to the next level. The card art on these is fantastic. If you didn’t know better, you’d easily think that these are photographs. The detail is phenomenal. Each card has an action shot of the featured car on it, along with the Modern Classics title across it. Of the card art, my favorite is the Mercedes, but all of them are super nice and it definitely makes it a bit tougher to rip into these to get the cars out. 











 ‘92 BMW M3 



The BMW M3 debuted in the 2012 Hot Wheels Racing Series. We’ve seen it a few times in the mainline series since then and it was also featured in another Car Culture set, the 2016 Euro Style set. This version is a solid blue with the BMW M stripes across it. It features the Real Rider Aero wheel which looks really sharp on this casting. One thing that this model is lacking is headlights and taillights. Some of the cars in this set have them, some don’t. However, starting in 2018, all the Car Culture cars are supposed to get the full treatment; headlights, taillights, and other front and back detail. 





 Did you know… M stripes refer to the three colored stripes used in the M logo on BMW cars. The three colors are red, purple and blue. The Red stripe represents Texaco, the American oil company. They partnered with BMW during the early days of M racing. The Blue stripe represents BMW and the Bavarian region. The Purple stripe which blends together Red and Blue represented the partnership between the companies as they worked together. 




‘85 Honda CR-X 



The Honda CR-X debuted in the 2012 Hot Ones series. There are actually two versions of this car, a premium version and the mainline version. The premium version is actually three pieces. The car was redesigned for the mainline series and has only two pieces. In the Modern Classics set we get the premium version with a metal base, black plastic middle piece, and orange metal upper piece. The CR-X feature a Real Rider 8-spoke wheel as well as taillights and headlights. The headlights are plastic and part of the windshield piece. 





 Porsche 964 



The Porsche 964 debuted in another Car Culture Series, the Track Day set. While the debut version was quite colorful, this version comes in all black with highlights of red. The Real Rider tires on the flat grey Aero style wheels are perfect for this version. The front detail includes the Porsche logo and headlights. In the rear, the plastic tail lights are part of the window piece. 








 Renault 5 Turbo 



We’ve seen two versions of the Renault 5 Turbo as a Hot Wheels car. The first was seen in 1991. In 2013 we got the Renault 5 Turbo wide body version. It was part of the Hot Wheels Boulevard series. The Modern Classic version is also the wide body version. The colors on this car are really sharp with its blue base and red and white deco. The Real Rider tires with the white 8 spoke wheels are perfect. What would have really finished this car off would have been headlight and taillight detail, but alas, the Renault does not feature that. Overall, though, a great car. 






Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 EVO II



The Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 EVO II makes its Hot Wheels debut in the Modern Classics set. Mattel did an awesome job with this car. The detail on this car is fantastic, with both head and tail lights as well as some grill detail on the front. The Aero wheels with Real Rider tires are perfect for this all black casting. It’s exciting to see that this kind of workmanship and detail is where the Car Culture series is headed.







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