Full-size Hot Wheels at SEMA 2019

The Hot Wheels booth at the 2019 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show featured a huge display of wild custom cars but of most interest where two Hot Wheels cars come to life.

The “Python” was one of the sixteen cars released in the original 1968 Hot Wheels series, based on the "Dream Car" show car built in 1963 by Bill Cushenbery for show promoter Bob Larivee.  The “Dream Car” first appeared as a drawing in Car Craft magazine in October 1961, and later it was restyled as the “Tiger Shark.”

This modern roadster version of the “Python” started with a custom frame fitted with 1996 Corvette front suspension and Jaguar independent rear suspension. The little roadster is powered by a modular 4.6-liter (280-cubic inch) aluminum V-8 engine sourced from a Lincoln Town Car fitted with a custom intake and valve covers.  

Paul Jurewicz built the body using parts from 28 different cars, which included an Audi Quattro, 1953 Studebaker Hawk, 1960 Pontiac Catalina, 1963 Chevrolet Corvair and a 1959 Ford Thunderbird.

Designed by Ira Gilford the “Twin Mill” first introduced in 1969 is one of the most popular of all the Hot Wheels cars, and there have been four additional versions built – the “Twin Mill II,” “Twin Mill III,” the “Twin Mill Hardnoze” and the “Twin Mill Gen-E.”

This full-size version debuted at the SEMA show in 2001 features a fiberglass body over a custom frame powered by two supercharged 502-cubic inch Chevrolet engines said to develop a total of 1,400 horsepower. The cockpit of the “Twin Mill,” built by Action Vehicle Engineering in Chatsworth California, is accessed by raising the top with hydraulic rams.

Photos of the full-size replicas by the author

  

      

Graham model 96 hot rod

Hot Wheels™ displayed several custom cars at the outdoor booth at the 2018 SEMA show, which included this radical Graham Model 96 “Sharknose” coupe converted to a two-door phaeton by builder and owner Steve Howard.

 

The Graham model 96 was a mid-market car priced  that for 1939 featured cutting edge “Art Deco” streamlined styling, which the builder of the hot rod expanded on the design with four-wheel fender skirts and suicide doors atop a custom frame with air suspension which drops the Graham low to the ground.

Instead of the Graham 218 cubic-inch 6-cylinder engine that developed 93 horsepower, this car is now powered by a fuel-injected Ford 302-cubic inch engine.

Life sized
Hot Wheels™ 
at SEMA 2018

Mattel had several of its full-size Hot Wheels™ cars on display at the 2018 SEMA show in Las Vegas as art of their promotion of the Hot Wheels™ line of car care products.

 

Deora II


The original Deora was a real custom built by the Alexander Brothers from a Harry Bradley design that  used a Dodge D-100 pickup and the back hatch of a 1960 Ford station wagon. The 1/64th scale Hot Wheels™ Deora was one of the original 16 cars in the 1968 Hot Wheels™ collection   

The Deora II was first produced as a Hot Wheels™ die-cast in 2000 from a design by Nathan Proch which used styling cues from - continuing the concept of the original -  the rear window of the 1996 Ford Taurus station wagon. This full-size version of Deora II debuted at the 2003 SEMA show.

 

The Bone Shaker

The Bone Shaker which debuted as a Hot Wheels™ die-cast in 2006. The legendary Mattel  designer Larry Woods at first threw out his original drawing. Thank goodness, as the Bone Shaker is one of the most popular Hot Wheels™ cars.

All photos by the author

 

   

The 2018 Chevrolet Camaro Hot Wheels® editions at SEMA 2017

 

 

 

Every generation of the Chevrolet Camaro has been replicated as a 1/64 scale die-cast car by Mattel’s Hot Wheels®. To celebrate the 50-year anniversary of Hot Wheels die-cast cars, Chevrolet debuted the Hot Wheels® edition 2018 Camaro at the 2017 SEMA show (Specialty Equipment Market Association) which they call “a die-cast dream come true.”

 

 

 

The Hot Wheels® package which costs $4,995, and available as either the coupe of convertible features an exclusive “Crush” exterior color with “Satin Graphite” stripes with Silver Metallic accents, 20-inch Satin Graphite machine-faced wheels, “Satin Graphite” ground effects, a unique grille with Galvano chrome inserts and Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary fender badges.

 

 

The Hot Wheels® edition Camaro interior features Jet Black leather-appointed interior with orange inserts and orange accent stitching, a suede-wrapped steering wheel with orange accent stitching and Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary badge, orange knee bolsters and seat belts, and premium carpeted floor mats with Orange stitching and ghost stripes.

 

 

 

On the other side of the Chevrolet booth at SEMA 2017 was the wilder, COPO (Central Office Production Order) Hot Wheels® edition Camaro, of which only 69 will be built during the 2018 model year available only to randomly selected lottery winners.

 

 

The COPO Camaro is designed for NHRA Stock Eliminator competition with a solid rear axle, full Chromoloy NHRA-certified roll cage, Weld wheels, high-rise carbon fiber hood, a LSX 350-cubic inch supercharged engine and Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary fender badges in addition to many racing-only features such as wheelie bars. Chevrolet predicts eight-second elapsed times on the quarter-mile drag strip from the COPO Camaro.

 

 

 

Photos by the author

 

 

ANNOUNCING

HOT WHEELS

CAR CARE PRODUCTS

At the AAPEX 2017 show in Las Vegas, Americana Series Car Care Products unveiled their new line of Americana Pro™  HOT WHEELS™ car care products.   The new consumer automotive appearance line features professional-grade, made in U.S.A. car cleaning and finishing products that promise to “Clean. Enhance. Protect.”  The initial launch is focused on exterior detailing formulas for general auto washing, polishing and protecting our car’s finish, as well as wheel and tire cleaners and tire protectant.

HOT WHEELS™ Americana Series™ Car Care Products are professional grade from Americana Pro Detailing Products, LLC. A company with over 75 Years of auto appearance experience.  The proprietary product blends and formulas are designed for the auto enthusiast, auto collector, and easy and safe for the everyday driver.

The entire product line is also packaged in gallons, drums & totes for car washes, pro detailer’s, auto/truck dealerships & auctions. HOT WHEELS™ products clean, enhance, and protect vehicles surfaces while adding brilliance to its finishes on a molecular level and are VOC compliant, biodegradable and easy to use, providing truly professional results.

“If you’re like me, your love affair with cars began as a kid with Hot Wheels. I think car care is a natural next step,” said Americana Pro Detailing Products Founder and Executive Director Daniel Pikarsky. “We’ve developed proven formulas that have received approval from the most demanding auto enthusiasts, while being easy to use. In field tests, Hot Wheels Car Care Products have received rave reviews from both car enthusiasts and professional racing teams worldwide.”

HOT WHEELS and associated trademarks and logos are owned by, and used under license from, Mattel. ©2017 Mattel. All Rights Reserved.

Product details and graphics provided by Phil Sasso at the PRNewsBureau