HW Then & Now | Deora II

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!

HW Xtreme Sports | Surf's Up

Hot Wheels has constantly reinvented itself to keep ideas fresh while maintaining its core interest in die-cast cars as its primary identity. There have been several castings that don’t solely focus on the “usual stuff” that would try to appeal to the general public, to catch them putting something that won’t appeal to their regular collectors. It’s an ongoing experiment that other brands don’t have the courage to dive into. Speaking of diving, the Hot Wheels team has produced a non-vehicle type casting that’s human-powered. It’s not even a bicycle, but it was produced before the ill-fated 2020 Tokyo Olympics that commemorate the inclusion of surfing as a sport. This is the introduction of “Surf’s Up.” It’s certainly one of the radical things from Mattel.

HW Justice League | Bully Goat

Superman is a celebrated comic book hero who is now 87 years old. Today, the character is celebrated for his first appearance in Action Comics #1 in 1938. The comic book has been published by DC Comics way past its 1000th issue, and they did celebrate that back in 2018. Fan all over the world would post their appreciation as their favourite character, and then there are some even clutching their action figures. There has been A LOT of Superman merchandise out there, but in die-cast form, you can only count a few that Corgi would produce, as they were the first to be licensed to produce DC-related characters into their vehicles, and Superman is one of them. But Hot Wheels would expand beyond what everyone knew.

HW Celebration Racers | Twin Mill Gen-E

There are seasonal things that don’t appear every single day, it might be Christmas, Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, or even to celebrate a Birthday. But Hot Wheels, a die-cast toy brand, has discovered to celebrate these seasons through their mini collections that are part of their yearly mainline releases. It’s a fun way to get them if you are not narrowly collecting only licensed car brands. With the Chinese New Year, it has been a tradition with Hot Wheels to present this year’s car that would represent the animal sign. For 2025, it is the Year of the Snake, and what more appropriate car to represent that than the Twin Mill Gen-E! An electrified version of the Hot Wheels Original, the Twin Mill!

HW Metro | 5 Alarm

Fire Trucks or Fire Engines have been around going back to the sixteenth century. It evolved from men moving a device that has a pressured tank to horse-drawn engines that have steamed powered pistons to spray water. Of course, the advancement of technology has changed the way how to put fire out with the development of these machines that are modified trucks. Specially-designed trucks that have firefighting apparatus that also transports personnel and carry an amount of water, which also carry special equipment for rescue and other emergency use. I’ve been fascinated by fire trucks at a young age and seeing one in person sparked my curiosity about these firefighting machines.

HW Metro | Propper Chopper

Hot Wheels is not just about cars, but also produces otherworldly and weird vehicles that some might not comprehend the concept that only kids would understand. In those early days of the brand’s life, they were popular with bright colours that broke the traditional way diecast cars were made similar to their real-life counterparts. To expand and continue to be on top in keeping their relevance in the toy aisle they also have to make other types of vehicles, and in the early days, one of them was not even in four wheels, but has given kids the imagination to fly. In 1990 Hot Wheels introduced the Propper Chopper, a play on words designed by the great Larry Wood. It might not have the same popularity as a Corvette or a Mustang but it took flight and had a follwoing for longtime collectors.

HW Sweet Rides | Roller Toaster

Hot Wheels has some of the quirky out-of-the-leftfield concepts that have been part of the brand identity. In all honestly, some of the designers don’t take themselves too seriously and Mattel has given them the freedom to design something real-world car designers won’t be able to do. The ideas inspired by nothing or something hilariously funny can be turned into a Hot Wheels car. This same idea was the ingredient that late great Ryu Asada concocted back in 2016 thinking of ordinary objects that can be turned into a racing vehicle. This turns out to be the Roller Toaster, a sort of panel van inspired by a toaster with wheels turning up to compete in the 24-Hour Lemons from the imaginative mind of Asada.

HW Art Cars | Mad Manga

The Mad Manga is a Hot Wheels Original designed by Jun Imai, which debuted in the mainline back in 2012. Since then this casting has been produced in other themed series of cars as well as included in multipacks (3, 5, and 9 packs). It is considered one of the most popular unlicensed cars ever produced by Mattel due to its design.It has certainly have its charm that is straight out of a Japanese Anime or even in graphic novels also called a "Manga." It’s styled with the Japanese bōsōzoku (Japanese: 暴走族 meaning 'violent running gang') custom style, which features over-sized Fender fairings, slanted head, and tail lights, the "shark nose", huge air dam, and exaggerated exhaust pipes is definitely a hit among collectors and fans who are into anime that’s is worth taking a closer look.

HW Art Cars | Hiway Hauler 2

Panel Trucks are not as popular as cars because what makes Hot Wheels known are licensed vehicles. It is either a licensed panel truck or an unlicensed original it depends on how it would appeal to everyone. Mattel’s Hot Wheels design team has the freedom to conceptualize and create their version of what a vehicle would be without the limitation of designing a licensed branded vehicle. Hot Wheels has produced fantasy and sometimes unlicensed realistic vehicles that you might mistake for the real thing. The Hiway Hauler 2 is one such design with the aesthetics of a fantasy truck, but with a future concept that could be real with its short-nosed design slope angling down looks fast yet appears to be a reliable truck.

HW Art Cars | Bread Box

Hot Wheels is a diecast toy brand produced by Mattel that is heavily featured licensed cars, but not all are based on the real world as the designers have been given free rein to create their own concepts of how it would become a real car. There have been absurdity and wildness to the designs, and that’s one of Hot Wheels’ signature identities that separates itself from the competition. The ideas and designs stand out to also distinguish itself from its sibling brand and former rival Matchbox to be brighter, splashy, and look fast even though the vehicle is unlike you never ever seen on the road. Sometimes it is the absurdity of the design that turns off adult collectors and attracts younger kids. But sometimes there’s a casting that would catch both demographic and say this could work too.

HW Experimotors | Emoticar

07.17.2018 – Just in time for ‘World Emoji Day,” here’s is Hot Wheels version of that expressive character that you use on your mobile phones or when you’re chatting with someone. Mattel’s iconic brand in Hot Wheels has been producing obscure and sometimes interesting cars to keep up with the times. There have probably thousands or even millions of variations of diecast cars that they produced. For 2017, Hot Wheels has introduced the Emoticar similar to the Emoji, which is an expressive at the same time interesting diecast car. Just like its expressive Emoji, the Emoticar has expression on its own. But you’ll be surprised further why this car needs your affection for anyone who casually find this car interesting. You’ll probably get an idea this is why its named the Emoticar.

HW City: Rescue | Propper Chopper

05.14.2018 – Hot Wheels brand has been around for sixty-five years and is still going strong for Mattel. It's one of the two iconic brands from which they’ve built their name as a diecast brand. The other, of course, was Barbie, which continues to evolve through modern times. With Hot Wheels, it's all about die-cast cars, but over the years, we've seen aircraft vehicles incorporated into their mainline to expand the variety for collectors to choose from. So far, there are selected fictionalized aircraft to make it to the mainline that have been around for decades, and one of them is the Propper Chopper.