Hot Wheels Grand Prix Series Cars Don't Get No Respect

Hot Wheels Grand Prix Series cars don't get the respect they deserve.  With few exceptions the majority of Hot Wheels redline collectors prefer street cars, especially muscle cars.  But the redline era coincided with the golden age of automobile racing and over the course of three years Mattel introduced 11 racers into their lineup. 

Lola, Shelby, Brabham repco F1 and Chaparral 2G

The Chaparral above is missing its wing- a very common sight.  Jim Hall's most distinctive and game-changing aircraft wing was recreated as a removable plastic piece that was often lost over the years.  The toy wing had flexible supports that allowed it to pivot emulating the action of the real one.

One of my favorites is seen below.  The Lotus is the amazing wedge design.  Also available was the Shelby Turbine which had the turbine engine side by side with the driver.  Surprisingly, the Lotus's did not come in the iconic STP racing red.  These two cars are mine from childhood.  As you can see they were well-loved.  

Grand Prix cars came with either water-slide decals or stickers to apply to make them look like the real deal.  The Lotus came from the factory with a single Hot Wheels sticker and I applied the decals.  I also painted the tires with flat black paint.  The Ford was one of the original 16 Hot Wheels that debuted in 1968.  The real car raced at LeMans in 1966.

Ford J-Car and Lotus Turbine

Another open-wheeled racer the Indy eagle raced in the 1967 Indianapolis 500.  A broken fuel shaft forced the one (of three) that was leading the raced to retire with only nine laps remaining. 

Indy Eagle

McLaren M6A and Lola GT70

 The 60s saw the dawn of the Can-Am racing series  Bruce McLaren began his rise to the top with the sleek McLaren M6A.  The M8 series would later cars sported wings and state of the art aerodynamics and dominate the series until Porsche entered the arena.  The Hot Wheels below shows the cool feature of opening engine bonnet.  Note the detailed engine.  This model came in McLaren racing enamel orange as well as a rainbow of Spectraflame colors like the metallic orange on this example.

McLaren M6A

Shelby Turbine in original series blister pack. The real car was never competitive but deserves an "A" for creativity.

Shelby Turbine mint on card

Then there was the Race Team Series introduced in 1970 to complete your race day fun but that's a subject for a future blog.

For more about the Grand Prix Series check out Redline Grand Prix.