| The Hot Wheels original Deora II has been significantly and contrasting from the original version. It’s consistently been released in multiple variations for the last twenty-five years, and it is still being produced and sold in the mainline range. Just like the original, there was an actual, real-life car version of this popular vehicle made from custom-made parts that resemble the actual toy.
It’s the DNA of the original concept vehicle, and how Hot Wheels make their die-cast cars stands out among the other brands that keep them ahead of the pack. Of course, over the years, there will be significant changes to the casting due to cost-cutting and other changes to keep its production costs just like this 2024 edition of the Deora II, which is considered a fan-favourite despite the changes in the last five years! |
For this year, Hot Wheels is also celebrating the 20th anniversary of their sub-series, which spawned a TV series and the kids who have watched the cartoons and collected the cars that appeared in the show. This is the year of the AcceleRacers, marking its anniversary of the launch the franchise launch.
There were McDonald’s Happy Meal toys that featured the car, and Mattel also has produced a range of cars based on its appearance in the TV series. After the series had ended, Hot Wheels continued to produce some of the cars with varying paint jobs unrelated to the show to keep the castings alive until some of them were discontinued or retired. It was some of the popular toy lines that raised a generation.
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Accelerating TEKU
This version of the Deora II was the first in recent castings in a long time to be sold again in the basic mainline. The last one was when the current retool was updated in 2021. Gone now are the removable surfboards, by molding them permanently to the body of the Deora II, which, in my opinion, should have just kept the clean look of the rear part of the vehicle rather than having a faux pair of surfboards.
It’s an unconventional way to make it more appealing that there were a pair of surfboards rather than just opening that back section so that it can be a pickup truck, since they can save more metal from using a ‘covered’ part of the vehicle. But Hot Wheels still wants to keep the original Deora design queues.
This is part of the “Then & Now” mini collection for 2024, and its counterpart is the Deora III with the same “TEKU” graphic, which means “Technology” in Japanese, as the original AcceleRacers version that appears in the show has the same deco/livery.
Futuristic Beach Bum
For a futuristic truck, the Deora II is what everyone thought of vehicles from the year 2000, as this was a contrast to the original version that had sharp lines and angles. When it was released, there were design flaws in the rounded windows that were corrected in the first retool in 2011, and they improved the look of the vehicle.
Its low-rider appearance is not for the rough terrain, but rather, a vehicle that drives along the coastal roads with a very powerful engine. Mattel should still release a version where the molded surfboards are not there. It’s the way it looks that differentiates it from the original Dodge Deora.
Overall, the Deora II with the TEKU livery is a throwback to the kids who have grown up watching the AcceleRacers animated series, and brings a modern look to the Hot Wheels original that most have fond memories of owning as a child. But the recent changes to the casting, making the pair of surfboards molded to the body, weren’t the best way to honour how it was first introduced.
They should have kept a plain look on the back part of the vehicle, as that makes it a more stylish vehicle that looks futuristic, and less of just another casting trying to evoke what it was in the past than embracing its intended vision of the future.
The Deora II is part of the 2024 mainline release under the HW Then & Now mini collection, which was acquired late in September at the Mr. D.I.Y. in Baganga, Davao Oriental, for only ₱ 125.00 Pesos ($ 3.31 AUD | $ 2.14 USD**), and it is distributed in the Philippines by Richwell/Richprime.
** - Currency Converter via Google.com
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