Ferrari who?
With all due respect to our favorite Japanese brands, it seems Hot Wheels favorite little darling right now is Porsche. And that is not a bad thing at all.
Of course Porsche has been a part of the Hot Wheels lineup since the beginning, but right now the relationship could not be better. It seems we see one or two new Porsche castings each year, and while there are some flubs, they seem to get better and better. And it has gotten better because of one simple thing:
Hot Wheels started going nostalgic.
The just-released 1976 Porsche 934 marks the fourth retro Porsche we have seen from Hot Wheels in the last few years, joining the 993 GT2, 914, and 935/78. That doesn’t count the older 917 casting, which we saw as an RLC model last year. These four retro Porsches count as our four favorite Porsche castings from Hot Wheels:
It is a stellar group of retro Porsches. Compare them to the mixed bag of “current” Porsche castings Hot Wheels has released in the same time period:
The Good (Carrera GT, 911 GT2, 911 GT3 RS):
The Ok (Panamera, 918 Spyder):
And the What-Went-Wrong? (Cayman S, Boxster):
Just not the powerhouse that the group of retros is.
And that Retro Porsches are getting another member, and it can’t get any more classic. Just today, Hot Wheels previewed to RLC members the brand new Porsche 356 Speedster in EP form. It will debut in the Retro line (they hinted either as a Top Gun or 48 Hrs model) later in 2015, and it looks fantastic.
We will adhere to Mattel’s request that the RLC-only images stay that way, but imagine this in Hot Wheels form:
Based on the details of the casting, this one will be a gem. We are curious what color it will be, and what real riders it will sport, but it looks like it will be a very popular model.
We love the retro Porsches, and we are thrilled that Hot Wheels does too…
Hot Wheels what have you done? I love you now! And I also hate you now. I like the fact that Mattel is looking at the older Porsche models and bringing them to the line-up, and that these chose the 356 to be one of them but I honestly think that Mattel should have given this model to Matchbox, not Hot Wheels. Now don't get me wrong, Hot Wheels done some really awesome Porsches but when it comes to proper classics, Matchbox do it better. Just look at the 914. The Matchbox model is gorgeous and very well executed (both the actual casting and the versions released so far) and look at the Hot Wheels. It looks so busy and messed up. No wonder it didn't sell well. Same is the case with the 997 GT3. The Matchbox version still stands ahead of the HW when it comes to accuracy and execution. HW nailed the recent 934 Turbo RSR and the 993 GT2 Evo, but I honestly think that the 356 should have went to Matchbox. 1) HW has done too many Porsches recently so MB should get a chance as well and 2) they simply do Porsche better. That is my opinion. But still, I am glad they decided to do a 356 at all!
Agreed, Mattel seems to be giving all the good ones to Hot Wheels whole hoping Matchbox will just… go away
I guess that speedster hasn't come out?