Hot Wheels was invented by Elliot Handler and introduced by his company, Mattel, on May 18, 1968. What inspired them to be? Inventor Elliot Handler discovered his son Kenneth playing with Matchbox cars and decided to create his own line of cars to compete with Matchbox, which was the primary competitor of Hot Wheels until Mattel bought Matchbox owner Tyco Toys in 1997.
What was the difference between the two? Hot Wheels were created to be more like “hot rod” cars. They would be customized/modified, have flame paint jobs, big wheels, etc. He originally produced the cars with assistance from engineer Jack Ryan and the famous flame logo was designed by artist Rick Irons, who was an art director working at Mattel. Even though Hot Wheels were originally intended to be toys for children, they have become popular with adult collectors. So much so that limited edition models are now made available for them.
The first line of Hot Wheels cars is known as The Original Sweet 16. There were sixteen released and eleven of them were designed by Harry Bentley Bradley, Handler and Ryan. They were manufactured in 1967, released in 1968 and they were the first of the Red Line Series.
Why were they called Red Lines? Well, because of the tires, which had a red pinstripe on their sides. The original 12 were: Beatnik Bandit, Custom Barracuda, Custom Camaro, Custom Corvette, Custom Cougar, Custom Eldorado, Custom Firebird, Custom Fleetside, Custom Mustang, Custom T-Bird, Custom Volkswagen, Deora, Ford J-Car, Hot Heap, Python, and Silhouette.
Currently, the company makes 519 million Hot Wheels each year, and in total, Mattel has produced more than six billion Hot Wheels cars. Also, they have remained about $1.00, the same price they have been for the past 50 years.
What is the most valuable Hot Wheels car?
The 1969 Prototype Rear-Loading Volkswagen Beach Bomb in Spectraflame is the most valuable and rarest Hot Wheels toy. Only two prototypes of this toy exist, and it is worth an estimated $150,000. This toy was originally a failed experiment. In 1969, the designers wanted to include a California-style model of the famous Volkswagen bus. But unfortunately, the bus had handling issues. Meaning that when it took off, the bus flipped over and the point of Hot Wheels wasn’t that they were just supposed to look cool, they were supposed to go fast and be played with.
To fix this, some prototypes were made with heavier bottoms. Why? To overcome the toy’s tipping issue. Around 144 prototypes of this model were made, but only around 50 are known to survive today. After all of that, the designers at Hot Wheels completely redesigned the model. The version that was sold in 1969 had surfboards on the side and was wider.
Gary Miceli has loved film from a very early age, from the silent masterpieces of Charlie Chaplin to recent blockbuster hits. His love for cinema from all eras of history inspired him to go to film school and graduate with his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He continues to work hard in this wonderful field and always explores new avenues of expressing his love for movie/TV history.