Renowned for a raft of sweet custom cars, most Hot Wheels sets wouldn't be complete without flames, big-block motors and lashings of chrome detail. This is the company that gave the world the Twin Mill after all. The only problem until now is that the majority of these cars have only existed in miniature 1:64 form, in video games, or occasionally as non-running concepts. That all changed with the Hot Wheels Legends Tour.
Held annually, the competition sees people enter their custom-built cars for a chance to have the car forever immortalised as a model. To celebrate this year's entry, we've been sent some of the company's most iconic models as well as two of the previous Legend's Tour winners to look at.
Jet2Z
A play on the iconic 2JZ engine and the inaugural Hot Wheels Legends Tour winner, this aircraft-inspired car is an incredibly well thought out custom car. Obviously, it sports a mid-mounted 2JZ engine with some ECU trickery that's then mated to a Subaru gearbox. The chassis for this jet car is less obvious though, a Nissan 300ZX.
The bodywork is less JDM, more F-14 Tomcat with a lifting cockpit, tandem seating and exposed aluminium rivets dotted along the exterior of the car. The 1:64 model is decently detailed with the correct decals found on the car and a somewhat detailed engine. The yellow-tinted cockpit is an exercise in creative design but still looks fantastic.
The Nash
The 2019 winner of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour is this heavily modified Nash Metropolitan. Austin's ill-fated American car here featured an aftermarket five-litre V8, side exhausts and rattling-dice air cleaners. The standard casters are replaced with almost comically-oversized steel wheels while the car has an overall ratrod appearance.
The Hot Wheels model features the core modifications; the oversized wheels (without whitewalls), huge chrome-looking engine (with crudely detailed dice air filters) and the same rust patches as found on the real car. The Nash also has the distinction of being drivable in Forza Horizon 5. We gave it a go and found it to be atrocious to drive.
Pontiac Firebird
Not part of the Hot Wheels Legends Set, this Pontiac Firebird won the Legends Tour in 2020 and is available as a standalone 1:64 model.
You may notice it's lower and wider than a normal Firebird, sporting flared arches, pushrod suspension and a tubular chassis. All of these details are present on the model, as is the exposed 400 cubic-inch LS V8. It's probably the tamest legends Tour model but still retains the mechanical lunacy you'd expect from a Hot Wheels custom build.
What else do you get in the Hot Wheels Legends Set
Alongside the Legends winners are a selection of some of the most memorable Hot Wheels models of all time. There's the iconic Twin Mill, Dodge Deora II concept car, Bone Shaker and a rather tame looking 1967 Pontiac GTO. All are finished to the standard you'd expect of a Hot Wheels model and would make an excellent gift idea.
Wow, I'd love to get my car made into a Hot Wheels model
Well, you can. This year's competition is still open and there's still a bit of time left to get your entries in. Entry is simple, upload a video walking around your creation and fill out the application form found here. Last year's winner was a Volvo P1800 Gasser that resides here in the UK. I'd enter, but I'm not sure a stock Volvo is quite what they're after...