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.

Today I Opened a Hot Wheels Fast Cash

2011 Fast Cash

With a dollar-sign grille, vault doors, combination lock on rear, and metal body this armored hot rod makes a great money clip or business card holder. (According to the package!)



The wing top will indeed hold a dollar bill or business card but not securely as it easily rises and flaps around loose, I suspect so young kids don't hurt their fingers.  Working features add another dimension to Hot Wheels (last year we were introduced to a bottle opener, Carbonator, and a nut wrench, Tooligan. 

The car's design works at two levels: with the top on it looks like a swoopy fastback with spoiler at the rear.  With with the wing-top removed it takes on a cool chop-top hot rod look; the hole for the clip looking like a sunroof.  So if you (or your kids) lose the top no one will know!

I like the metallic green fender's color, though plastic, and chunky diecast engine/grille.  The studded metallic silver body is diecast but looks plastic.  There are numerous currency symbols hidden in the chassis details which is a nice touch. 

This car was influenced by one of my favorite Tom Daniel designs the Jinx Express model kit from the 70s.  The model is a working piggy bank and has a slot for depositing coins in the gun turret and a rear "vault" door that opens with a working combination lock! The door is a large round dial on the back and the Fast Cash has a similar, though non-working, feature. A bit of black paint would bring out the dollar sign in the Fast Cash's grille, another Tom Daniel feature. 

1971 Jinx Express

 A few years later Tom created this variation, the Fast Buck.  Fast Buck, Fast Cash, get it?!  And then there's the Hot Wheels Funny Money also influenced by Tom and covered previously in my blog.

1973 Fast Buck

All in all the Fast Cash is a nice casting that should appeal to the kids as well as adults.  And you're not taking much of a cash risk for a buck and it's only money anyway.
 

 

I have no idea why Amazon suggested this CD by Mumford & Sons but these guys were incredible performing with Bob Dylan on this year's Grammy Awards and Sigh No More has some great songs.



Victory Vintage Signs - Jinx Armor Truck Sign - Tom Daniels Hot Rod Metal Sign

Hot Wheels Silhouette

The Silhouette, one of the original sixteen models from 1968, is perhaps the most recognized Hot Wheels cars of all-time.  Many people think of this iconic car when they think of Hot Wheels.  But the Silhouette was not an original Hot Wheels design.

The Silhouette, "designed" by Harry Bradley for Mattel, was based on the 1963 show car built by Bill Cushenbery in 1962.   It's most prominent feature was the bubble top, a popular item for show cars at the time. 

Cushenbery's original was purchased by the Ford Motor Company in 1963 and included in their Ford Custom Car Caravan road show.  It was apparently stolen in recent years and gone missing.

AMT made a popular scale plastic model kit and added a similarly styled custom trailer.

There is a YouTube clip from the 1967 television special, The Wonderful World Of Wheels.   The show yielded another kit release.

In 1964 Cushenbery started to work on the Corvair-powered Silhouette II but did not complete it.

 

In the '90s Mattel created their own Silhouette II a less radical departure from the original. For a drive down memory line try WONDERFUL WORLD OF WHEELS DVD host Lloyd Bridges.

 

Hot Wheels Splittin Image and TwinMill

Two of my childhood Hot Wheels: the aptly named TwinMill and Splittin Image.  As kids we loved these original design cars.  Sure, hot rodded Custom Camaros and Mustangs were cool but these were amazing.  Somewhat ironically, most adult collectors favor the real cars to the fantasy vehicles and today's values reflect those preferences.

Snake vs. Mongoose and The Rapid Transit System

This snapshot was taken in 1971 at a Plymouth Dealership in South Florida.  It is a replica of Don "The Snake" Prudhomme's Funny Car that toured as part of the Rapid Transit System (RTS).  RTS featured custom performance versions of the Road Runner, 'Cuda GTX, Duster 340 and Sport Fury GT.  The Snake remains one of my favorite Hot Wheels, produced by Mattel in 1970, along with its racing rival Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen's red Duster.  The Snake vs. Mongoose rivalry is one of drag racing's greatest.

Note that there are spoilers on the roofs of the toy cars.  Apparently, this was not good for the real cars' aerodynamics so they were moved to the trunk.

For a really awesome accounting of the fabulous Snake vs. Mongoose match races this is THE book to own (just click on the pic to link to Amazon).  It is simply a gorgeous book.



If you're "just" into toys then this Hot Wheels set is the way to go.