Rare Camaro Hot Wheels Prototype Worth $100K Found
Prototype Redline Enamel White Hong Kong Version Camaro from 1968 is only one known to still exist today.
Certain rare Hot Wheels toys are going for big bucks these days, prompting collectors to stalk the aisles of their local big box stores, panning for veritable gold. But if you really want to score something valuable, look no further than classic 1:64 scale rollers. That’s exactly what Joel Magee, otherwise known as America’s Toy Scout, does on a daily basis. Along with other rare and valuable toys, Magee has been seeking out the holy grail of Hot Wheels for years now. And it looks like he just found it in this obscure Chevy Camaro.
Magee picked up this Enamel White Camaro recently, but at the time, he didn’t quite realize how special it was. After a little bit of research, he discovered that it’s the only Redline Enamel White Hong Kong Version known to exist. He soon found out that the prototype toy could be worth as much as $100,000. And clearly, he’s still in shock. “It’s hard to imagine a little toy car is worth more than a real one,” Magee told Car & Driver. Heck, he can’t even remember exactly where it bought the thing.
Magee sought out Larry Wood, a longtime Hot Wheels designer from the era, to obtain more information on the Camaro. That’s when he learned that this particular prototype was one of the first to be produced in Hong Kong back in 1968. Mattel made the switch as they were having a hard time keeping up with demand at the time. Obviously, U.S. and Hong Kong models differed slightly. This Camaro has a blue windshield, as opposed to a clear plastic one, for example. Wood wasn’t sure, however, how this particular car made its way back to the U.S. Though he has his theories.
Wood’s best guess is that the car was sent back to Mattel headquarters in Hawthorne, California, then tested on the assembly line. Then, it was simply packaged up and sold. “Sometimes they did weird things at the factory,” he said. “There have been cars that have been found that have little bubble-top roofs, and they’ve been found with coins inside. Come to find out, the Mattel employees used to goof around. The cars would be coming down the assembly line and they’d put a penny inside before it was riveted closed. They thought that would be cool for some kid to find. That’s one of the things that makes the hobby what it is today.” The fact that this obscure Camaro is still around, well, that might be even more impressive.
Photos: The Toy Scout
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