I'm back on a dry spell again. After several days of going through dozens of stores, I haven't found a single Hot Wheels car I wanted for my collection. Meanwhile, several friends have been lucky with the Super Treasure Hunt line.
You win some, and you lose some, right? That's part of the game for Hot Wheels collectors. Not finding anything you want for a few hunts will only make the successful ones more exciting. In recent months, I have shown you several sneak previews of what's coming up across several Hot Wheels series for 2025. But after this past weekend, I can also give you a glimpse further into the future.
That's because the 2024 Hot Wheels Legends Tour has concluded, and we now have the seventh winner since it all started in 2018. You've already seen the car's photo on this story's cover, but I'll get into more details about it in a few minutes, so bear with me. The 2JetZ won the inaugural Legends Tour all those years ago, but I still haven't added one to my collection yet. The casting has already had seven variations until 2022, including a special NFT Garage premium version.
The Nash came next, winning the 2019 edition of the Legends Tour, but I'm not entirely sure about its success as a Hot Wheels collectible. But I was fairly excited about the winner of the 2020 event: the 1970 Pontiac Firebird. At that time, I genuinely took an interest in the Legends Tour, as this car wasn't just another fantasy vehicle. Lee Johnstone's Volvo P1800 Gasser took things to a whole new level the following year, and Ain't No Saint has had three more variations since, including the Super Treasure Hunt version.
The Texas Toot Autozam/Mazda Monster Truck won the Legends Tour in 2022, and it's a brilliant blend between tiny and huge. Not long ago, we started seeing Mainline cases for 2025 rolling out, and the Mazda "Chimera" MX-5 will be coming up sooner rather than later. I wouldn't call it my favorite Legends Tour winner, but I'm sure Miata fans worldwide will flock to stores to buy one.
Photo: Mattel
But let's move on to what went down in 2024. It was once again an International event, with most events still in the United States. In August, I wrote a story about the winner of the UK leg: the 1983 Classic Mini "Mentley" with a TVR engine inside. And soon after, I gave you a look at the first 10 Semifinalists for 2024. I enjoyed the 1927 Ford Model T that won in Philadelphia, the 1985 Chevy Monte Carlo SS from Detroit, and the Porsche 944 from Germany. Only the latter made it into the finals, but I didn't think it would stand a chance of winning the event.
It's a fantastic-looking vehicle, but perhaps not as original and unique to join the 1/64th-scale world of Hot Wheels cars. After all, Mattel already has a Porsche 944 casting in its portfolio, and it could make some small adjustments to make it look like the one from Germany. But let me walk you through the other nine finalists next.
I think Mikey Brown's 1957 BMW Isetta was one of the main contenders for this year's crown. When was the last time you saw an Isetta-based RV? Knowing that the Houston, Texas, fellow built this thing in 80 days is all the more exciting. The concept is reminiscent of Mattel's RV There Yet casting, and I think it would have been a future classic if the people in El Segundo decided to go forward with it. But after all, they had a panel of judges in charge of that decision.
Interestingly, another man from Texas was also part of the finalists. Regan McLaughlin brought his 1988 Ford Mustang "Timefox" to the Legends Tour leg in Dallas, and this car isn't cool just because of its looks. It rocks a turbocharged Barra 4.0-liter straight-six engine, which is not your typical engine swap. We already have a few Hot Wheels Mustang castings to choose from, but most collectors would have jumped at the opportunity to add this model to their collection.
Photo: Mattel
Phoenix, Arizona, was also part of the final battle, thanks to Robert Zoller's 1960 Chevrolet Apache. It's a pretty sweet truck, but perhaps not as exciting as Scott Robertson's 1934 Ford Pickup from El Segundo, California. Given the high level of car culture in those countries, I think the events in Italy, UAE, and France could have had much more fascinating cars. Still, if I had to vote for one of the three, I would go with Francesco Besana's 1976 Lancia Beta HPE HF Turbo.
But I wasn't on the panel for this event, and I'm sure some of you would have voted differently. Mattel invited Jay Leno, automotive designer Dalal Elsheikh, photographer Larry Chen, comedian Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias, NASCAR driver Mexican Toni Breidinger, automotive influencer Juca Viapri, and several members of the Hot Wheels design team to choose a winner. The deciding factors were authenticity, creativity, and garage spirit.
It's crazy to think that 5,000 people worldwide registered their cars for the 2024 Hot Wheels Legends Tour, and it all came down to one live event this past Saturday. And the trophy goes to South America, where Giuseppe Casagrande has built a race car like you might have never seen before. He called it "La Liebre," Spanish for "hare." That's a fitting name for a car that's potentially quite fast. This 1968 Baufer-Ford Falcon uses a tubular frame chassis and weighs only 1,984 lbs (900 kg).
The Chevy 350 ci (5.7-liters) V8 inside produces 600 hp, so the power-to-weight ratio is fantastic. I have yet to see a video of this vehicle in action, but it must be exciting and terrifying at the same time. We will have to wait until 2026 to see it inside a Hot Wheels blister package, and I can already imagine all the colors Mattel will use for future releases. Who else is excited about the Hot Wheels Legends Tour in 2025?
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
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