Thanks to its broad recognition, consistent quality, and wide variety of designs, Hot Wheels by Mattel is widely regarded as the top brand for die-cast toy vehicles, favored by both kids and collectors. Furthermore, Hot Wheels stands as the world’s best-selling toy car brand.

“La Liebre” Races to Hot Wheels Legends Victory

Recently, the custom-built Chilean race car ‘La Liebre’ won the championship of the 2024 global Legends Tour and will be transformed into a 1:64 scale Hot Wheels die-cast car to be sold to enthusiasts worldwide.

Mattel announced the winner of the 2024 Hot Wheels Legends Tour during the virtual Global Grand Finale held on November 16th. After winning the 2024 Chile tour stop, the custom-built race car nicknamed ‘La Liebre’ secured the global championship title and will enter the Hot Wheels Legends Garage. The Hot Wheels design team will now transform the real car into a 1:64 scale die-cast vehicle for collectors and fans to enjoy.

In 2013, Giuseppe Casagrande and Maurizio Moschini co-founded a non-profit organization called ‘Chile Autos y Café’ aimed at developing Chile’s automotive community and culture. The ‘La Liebre’ project initially began as a way to promote the organization and attract local car enthusiasts. ‘La Liebre’ weighs just over 900 kilograms, thanks to a tubular chassis and a custom fiberglass body developed to maximize aerodynamics. A fusion of classic style and modern performance, designed for pure speed, ‘La Liebre’ deeply impressed and inspired the judges.

“This year’s Hot Wheels Legends Tour brought so many incredible creations, however, the mission behind the ‘La Liebre’ built by Chile Autos y Café embodies what this tour is all about,” said Ted Wu, SVP and Global Head of Design for Vehicles and Building Sets, Mattel. “It’s not just an impressive build, but one created to help develop Chile’s automotive community and inspire others to get involved. That is why this car and the team behind it deserve to win the competition and enter the Hot Wheels Legends Garage.”

Celebrating car builders and enthusiasts around the world, the 2024 Hot Wheels Legends Tour traveled through 13 countries, featuring 11 regional stops in the United States. New stops for the 2024 tour included visits to Colombia and the United Arab Emirates. Over 5,000 entered vehicles were evaluated by the Hot Wheels team and local automotive personalities, with millions participating globally in the events. The UK finalist, ‘Menterly’ – a modified Mini – was selected for the Global Grand Finale, marking the fourth consecutive year a UK entrant has reached the final stage.

About Hot Wheels

Hot Wheels is an American brand of scale model cars and media franchise, invented by Elliot Handler and introduced by his company Mattel on May 18, 1968. It was the primary competitor to Matchbox until 1997, when Mattel acquired Tyco Toys, the owner of Matchbox.

Trend of Mattel’s Hot Wheels brand global gross sales from 2016 to 2023 (in millions of US dollars).

Many automobile manufacturers have licensed Hot Wheels to make scale models of their cars, allowing the use of original design blueprints and detailing. Although Hot Wheels were originally intended as toys for children, they have become popular with adult collectors, for whom limited edition models are now made available.

Hot Wheels are so popular because they are affordable, feature a wide variety of cool car designs ideal for imaginative play, and evoke nostalgia for many adults who played with them as children. The vast variety of models and the potential to find rare or valuable variations often inspire a collecting habit. Additionally, their innovative design featuring low-friction wheels allows for fast, smooth rolling action, which was a major selling point.

Mattel continuously introduces new Hot Wheels models, including licensed vehicles from popular movies and real-world car brands, catering to diverse interests. Today, many adults grew up playing with Hot Wheels, leading them to collect the cars as a way to reminisce about their childhood. Some rare or limited-edition Hot Wheels can be highly sought after by collectors, with their collectible value adding another layer of appeal.

Hot Wheels is one of Mattel’s most stable businesses, maintaining enduring appeal even as traditional toys may fall out of favor with children. The toys are very popular among adult collectors, and Mattel sells 22.5 Hot Wheels toys every second, totaling approximately 709 million Hot Wheels die-cast cars annually.

JMBricklayer Model Car 50001

We also hold high standards for model cars. Model 50001, for example, is a vintage car brick set of our own exclusive development. You can check the product here.

Features:

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More than just a build, this vintage car is an interactive adventure and a timeless piece of automotive art. A true showstopper and an absolute must-have for collectors and enthusiasts seeking hands-on fun and retro charm!