Nope, not that ’68 Mercury Cougar.
This is a new one, but my guess is most of you know that. Take the old casting, which is pretty nice, but bland like the real ’68 Cougar. (Oops, did I say that out loud?) Lower it, add some bolt-ons and a spoiler, and you have a winner. This happened last year. Hot Wheels took the Chevelle and added just enough to add a fresh addition to an already badly overused muscle car. And they did just about the same thing. Lowered, bolt-ons, a chin-strap, etc.
Is this based on a real car? My heavily scientific research (Google images) produced no obvious inspirations. But that is the fun of Hot Wheels. Make it up. Like the Chevelle, this has a bit of a Japanese feel to it, hence the comparison photos below.
One other very interesting thing. This is the FIRST classic muscle car to be introduced by Hot Wheels this year. Surely more are coming, but how interesting is it that we have seen Civics, Datsun Trucks, Aston Martins, Alfa Romeos, and a Porsche all before we see a new muscle car (and we know of a cute little Italian coming as well. A certain Brazilian site might break that news soon.). Kudos Hot Wheels team.
This is a fun time of year. Half the fun of collecting is NOT knowing and one-by-one learning what is coming. There are new models we can predict (2015 Mustang?) will come, but as for the rest it is wide open. So we will keep learning, unveiling, and showing off. This is fun.
If you told me a Cougar was coming as a New Model, the only response would be frustration that we are getting another. But this one wins. A very pleasant surprise.
By the way, we are happy to be starting a new year. Moving into the holiday season, we found the time off refreshing, and Lamley took a bit of a back seat. But we are back and have many things coming. The Lamley Award winners will be showcased, we have a heap of customs to share, and Lamley is set to expand a bit slowly and surely. Thanks everyone for all the support…
(Find this Cougar and the rest of Batch E at Wheel Collectors…)
Hot Wheels ’68 Mercury Cougar (2014 New Models):
Man, this is beautiful! Thanks!
Love it!! Hope to find it soon!!
I never knew this was a new model! I thought it came out in 2012! And yes it's also a nice car. Love it in its racing livery.
And has anyone known this model is part of the HW racing series? Because I already know and some of you might already know too.
And, thanks for the post John.
The Celica Racing Deco they introduced looks good with it. I think.
Now I need that skyline so I can race it against the celica's new deco :l
Different casting. This one is indeed a whole new model/design. Vintage series.was the normal '68 Cougar casting with an opening hood I believe.
-doomus
This is a pretty great dirt track racer casting. At least to me it looks like it belongs on a dirt track. This will likely be towards the top of my best-of 2014 list for sure. I still prefer the '69 Eliminator casting between all the Cougars, but this one is a close second.
-doomus
Very nice!
Let me guess, the “cute little Italian” car is the Fiat 500
Fiat 500? I'll take it! But what color will it debut as and will it be a Turbo edition?
Granito Lucente, Verde Azzurro or Rame? Those should be some cool colors to start with.
Nop. Not the Fiat 500. Well you two are ALMOST correct, because my dad told me the Fiat 500 is an European, but the spoty version of the Fiat 500 is…
THE FIAT ARBARTH!!!
Now do you get. It is actually the Arbarth is the Fiat 500 but is the sporty version.
And yeah, the Arbarth is the ITALIAN car. Not the 500 version “stock”.
Why is it a new model?
It may be going a bit off topic but what I stumbled upon the internet was a Hot Wheel brand 1978 or '79 Dodge Magnum that I wish to purchase but the thing is that it appears that a customer could only purchase this car with paypal and the trouble is I don't have a paypal and it may not be so easy to apply for one and furthermore one model that I saw on ebay can't or may not get shipped over to Canada (my country) so having mentioned that things could be a heck a lot easier if a '78 or '79 Dodge Magnum die cast model were to make a comeback for the 2014 line up.Not to sound pessimistic but what are the chances of that occurrence?
I think it would look better with a front spoiler like the chevelle.
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