So is it Blackbird?
Well, no, because that was a 1987 Porsche 930 Turbo.
So was it inspired by Blackbird?
It seems that could be the case. It was in fact designed by Ryu Asada, who has already played his Japanese street racing card with the Honda Civic EF. Blackbird is a legend, and its driver as mysterious as a black Porsche racing through the night can be. Why wouldn’t Ryu pay homage with the second color of the 934?
When we first showed the black 934 here at Lamley, the Blackbird references rolled in. Now I can act cool and say I have known what the Midnight Club and Wangan Midnight and the Devil Z are for years, but I can’t. I had no idea, so the reading began. We suggest you do the same.
And while I am in no way an expert, I did learn enough to come prepared to ask Ryu if the black 934 was in fact a tribute to Blackbird. I saw Ryu at JCCS, and I asked. His answer? Ah, interesting, but no.
After all the research. I was prepared to be able to go with Ryu deep into his explanation that yes, it is Blackbird, and here is why it is important to me. I was ready to not give Ryu a blind nod, trying to act like I knew every reference he was making. I was ready to get it. Alas, the answer was no. I’ll file that back into the brain, and save it for when I need it again.
But Ryu did give me a reason why the latest color is black. To do that we have to go back to the orange model, which is in stores now:
It truly is a blissful model. Ryu’s attention to detail is all over it. All you have to do is look at the real thing:
Fantastic eh? Ryu’s strength has always been making a $1 model look so much better than a standard $1 model. Of course that dedication to detail can also drive him crazy.
Look at the two photos above again. What is the most prominent part of the real car that is missing from the Hot Wheels?
Black trim.
And I am sure after reading that, you are all saying, well duh! A $1 Hot Wheels could never carry that much deco. Tampo passes are limited, and that would require several. A premium model, maybe, but not a mainline.
Well, of course, but that doesn’t mean Ryu doesn’t want it there. It looked a little naked to him. So how to you remedy that? Make the model black:
Problem solved. Look at all the black trim! It is all there! Ryu can sleep now.
So is it Blackbird? Of course! If you want it be. Black trim and all…
Hot Wheels Porsche 934 Turbo RSR (2015 Hot Wheels Mainline):
Amazing.
Just picked up the orange 934 yesterday and it's another beautiful sculpt. Did he really push for the black model because it was missing the trim or is it another way to use the same mold? Either way ill be looking for the black 934.
Also just grabbed it last night. There were a few I may go back grab 1or 2 just so I can add the trim. I noticed on the real version it looks as though the back window stands just a little taller. Looks as if it slopes just a bit more than it should.
I've promised myself to snap-up almost every orange example I come across, and with this black beauty, I will continue the trend.
I love it! Its wonderful. Its one of the best Porsche castings Hot Wheels has done in recent years. Easily on par with the 993 GT2. I have not had any luck with the orange one yet although I'm still hunting. And now this just got added to the list. Hopefully I'll find these two without much trouble. The Porsche family is just getting bigger and bigger, isn't it?
Now, about the Blackbird part you had it all correct except for one thing. So let me clear it. Blackbird was not a standard 930 turbo. Its actually supposed to be a RUF CTR “Yellowbird”. Which is probably why the car got its nickname as 'Blackbird' (you tell me a better reason if you have it). But whatever the reason, I'm glad that we finally have a black 911 Turbo!
As beautiful as it is in black, think it would be a lot better in a solid black and not a metallic black.
I just scored an orange one at a Safeway yesterday and I love the casting. I will add the trim and lights to it and I will hunt for the black one. I hope Hotwheels will continue the Porsche trend.