Hot Wheels Legends Competition Returns to Find UK Vehicle Worthy of Becoming a Toy Car Legend

21.06.2022: • Hot Wheels™ brand wants to make your car into a die-cast legend • Hot Wheels™ Legends Tour returns to the UK to find the ultimate fan-built car to recreate for toy car fans and collectors around the world

•    Hot Wheels™ brand wants to make your car into a die-cast legend

•    Hot Wheels™ Legends Tour returns to the UK to find the ultimate fan-built car to recreate for toy car fans and collectors around the world

•    Last year’s global winner was a Volvo drag race car from Somerset

•    Entries open now at www.hotwheelsuklegendstour.co.uk

•    Competition closes 31 August 2022, with the UK winner announced in early October

•    Global competition spans 14 countries and five continents, with one global winner’s entry set to be made into a Hot Wheels die-cast car to be sold around the world. New this year, a regional Fan Favourite will also be made into a 1:64 die-cast
 

2021 Hot Wheels Legends Tour global winner – 1969 Volvo P1800 Gasser and owner Lee Johnstone

The world’s #1-selling toy in the world and the leading vehicle franchise that unites and represents all segments of car culture, Hot Wheels, is renewing its UK search for a car that could become a Hot Wheels die-cast model. The 2022 Hot Wheels Legends Tour invites car enthusiasts to put forward their life-size vehicle for the chance to become part of the Hot Wheels line-up.

With a rich and diverse car community, the UK proved it is home to vehicles worthy of ‘Legend’ status after last year’s UK finalist beat global contenders to be immortalised as a die-cast model. The Hot Wheels brand is now eager to find another vehicle that could ultimately become one of the 16 Hot Wheels cars that are sold every second, joining 25,000 other unique Hot Wheels designs that have made car culture accessible to generations of fans of all ages since 1968.
 

The Hot Wheels design team’s quest will be adjudicated by a new UK judging panel featuring presenters and avid car modifiers Helen Stanley (Goblin Works Garage, Motor Pickers) and Jonny Smith (The Late Brake Show).

They will be joined by highly influential car designer Ian Callum CBE, design director at CALLUM and the creative behind the Aston Martin Vanquish and DB9, the Jaguar F-PACE and I-PACE, to name just a few. The winner will be announced on Car Throttle’s YouTube Channel in early October, with Car Throttle presenter Alex Kersten hosting the judging process.

The panel will be looking for the vehicle in the UK that best embodies Hot Wheels performance, authenticity and ‘garage spirit’. To mark five years of the competition that has seen fans enter around the world, the judges will pick both an overall winner and one of the regional finalists for a chance to be produced as die-cast models, doubling the chance of a UK entrant being successful.

“As the Hot Wheels Legends Tour expands around the globe, we have been blown away by the passion, enthusiasm and effort that goes into creating these spectacular cars that fuel popular culture and deserve to be Hot Wheels models,” said Ted Wu, Global Head of Vehicle Design at Mattel. “Having seen how fans loved our first winner outside the US, we decided to immortalise a regional winner alongside the overall victor. Two Legends are better than one!”

Entry is quick and easy: simply upload a short video and brief information at www.hotwheelsuklegendstour.co.uk before 31 August 2022.

 

Ten finalists will be selected from the UK entries and gathered together in front of a live audience for the judging process in early October. Car Throttle followers will vote for their favourite, while the judges will select the UK winner that will face winners from 13 other countries. The Grand Final will take place in the US in November.

Last year, the UK’s judges picked Lee Johnstone and his three daughters’ Volvo P1800 Gasser, which went on to win the overall competition. Now, having been fully tested on Hot Wheels’ iconic orange track, 1:64 scale models of the classic dragster are destined to find their way into toy boxes and collections in over 150 countries before the end of the year.

“I never imagined that we would win but it’s been amazing to be part of the design process and meet the team that is responsible for creating the toy cars that fans of any age love,” says 2021 winner Lee Johnstone. “You just can’t beat that thrill of seeing your car scaled down in the Hot Wheels pack. I’d urge anyone to enter just to share that moment. It’s unforgettable!”

The Hot Wheels brand is an automotive legend, and for generations, many auto enthusiast’s love for cars has begun with Hot Wheels. Since the casting of the brand’s Original 16® vehicles in 1968, Hot Wheels has continued to define itself by creating some of the most iconic cars in the world, both influencing and being influenced by car culture. Beyond the automotive world, Hot Wheels has expanded into pop culture through segments such as gaming, fashion, luxury and film, but always remaining true to its car culture heritage. Hot Wheels has established itself as an iconic automotive-lifestyle brand, and is now also a major player in the global custom car builder community.

To learn more about the Hot Wheels Legends Tour in the UK visit www.hotwheelsuklegendstour.co.uk and follow #HotWheelsLegendsTour.

 

Hot Wheels Facts

•    Hot Wheels is the leading die-cast brand in the UK, available at Smyths Toys, The Entertainer, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Tesco and independent toy shops.

•    Founded in 1968, Hot Wheels is the number one selling toy worldwide with over 16 cars sold every second.

 

•    Hot Wheels continues to be a key influencer on car culture, inspiring full-scale designers, car builders and tuners.

•    Hot Wheels’ original design team included a car designer and a rocket scientist. They had a brief to create a toy car that was cooler and performed better than the competition.

•    The inaugural set was called ‘Sweet 16’ and today is highly coveted. It featured a mix of custom cars and ‘rods.

•    To date, over eight billion have been sold.

•    The most valuable Hot Wheels car is said to be the ‘Beach Bomb’ VW bus in pink. Never released to the public, its value has been estimated at $150,000.

•    In 2022, Hot Wheels announced it is working on a new live-action movie.
* Per NPD 2021

 

Nick Bailey – photos Hot Wheels
 

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