Big Engines, Cool Customs & Darth Vader Hit Up Hot Wheels Event
We head to Pico Rivera to celebrate 50 years of Hot Wheels as iconic company scouts for country’s fastest, most innovative custom car.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Hot Wheels embarked on a cross-country trek called the Hot Wheels Legends Tour, visiting 15 cities and hosting public car shows at each stop. These gatherings also served as a stage to select 15 contenders for a competition to be made into a real Hot Wheels diecast car.
Life-sized Hot Wheels vehicles traveled as part of the tour’s “permanent exhibit,” but it’s the cars from the community that showed up in each city that really embodied the essence of Hot Wheels.
At the final tour stop in Pico Rivera, California, on Oct. 20, a 1938 custom Graham owned by Steve and Karla Howard won the hearts of judges, beating out over 300 cars in attendance. The ‘38 Graham will join the winners from the previous 14 tour stops inside Hot Wheels’ SEMA Show booth for the final round of judging. The winner will become a true Hot Wheels Legend, sold in stores all over the world.
As the show cars rolled out of the parking lot, marking the conclusion of the Legends Tour, we caught up with Bryan Benedict, Design Manager at Hot Wheels and the creative mind behind the Darth Vader car.
“It’s been so cool these past seven months [of the tour] to see just how many fans we have out there!” Benedict, pictured above, tells LS1Tech. “From adult collectors to hot-rodders to small children, the engagement between our fans and the brand has been fantastic, and everyone loves seeing the full-sized Hot Wheels cars.”
‘It was important to pick cars that have all of the iconic attributes of Hot Wheels: speed, attitude, performance & innovation. [And] it needs to have a “Hot Wheels story,” like a customizer that started with toy cars & finally built a full-sized one.’
Since the winning car is sure to influence the next generation of Hot Wheels enthusiasts, we were curious about what qualities Hot Wheels was looking for in the 15 finalists.
“We want to both celebrate our 50 years of history, and also look to the future,” says Benedict. “It was important to pick cars that have all of the iconic attributes of Hot Wheels: speed, attitude, performance and innovation. We’re really looking for a car that’s built, not bought, and is just a little over the top. It should make a statement, but also grab your attention when it’s at 1/64th scale. And most importantly, it needs to have a ‘Hot Wheels story,’ like a build by a parent and child, or a customizer that started with toy cars and finally built a full-sized one.”
“[Today’s winner, the 1938 Graham] is a beautiful build and a unique take on a rare car,” he continues. “It was really difficult to pick a winner–several cars were tied for first place–but as you approach the Graham, its overall stance and impression just jumps out at you. This means it will do the same as a diecast car. It’s got just the right amount of ‘Hot Wheels-ness!'”
Stay tuned to LS1Tech as these 15 finalist cars head to SEMA in Las Vegas, where one will be crowned the overall winner of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour and be immortalized as a 1/64th scale diecast car.
Check out more photos from the Pico Rivera stop on the 2018 Hot Wheels Legends Tour, below.
Photos for LS1Tech by Andrew Chen