It appears the speculation is true. This news came out a few days ago from Bburago:
It says exclusive, right? That is what Mattel had with Ferrari, and that is now what Maisto/Bburago has. That means starting in January, Ferrari will no longer be found in the blue blister. It really is hard to think of Hot Wheels without Ferrari. Maybe Mattel doesn’t see the value in an agreement like this, especially with their attention moving to tie-ins with entertainment brands like Star Wars. Or maybe Ferrari ended it. One way or the other, we can’t speak for them. We just know we are pretty bummed out about it.
We could always be wrong, and maybe there is some provision allowing Hot Wheels to continue to produce Ferraris in 1:64. We would be thrilled if that were true, but it doesn’t appear to be.
We don’t know if this means there will be a few stragglers in the coming months, but it could be the Ferrari 599XX Super TH is the send-off model. And we thought the frenzy behind the Bugatti Veyron license ending was crazy. Just what will happen with Ferrari entirely gone? Yikes?
We will try to get more info, and we will definitely post more on this in the coming days. We will also look forward to what is coming from Bburago, if anything in 1:64.
Truly the end of an era.
Share your thoughts below. We would love to hear them.
Sad day indeed. Love these horses…
Hopefully the frenzy like the bugatti wont happen since there are so many, but who knows.
The final $TH will probably retain value and climb though if what is said is true.
So, NO Ferrari, I would assume that includes Maserati, and they are a Ferrari Sub Brand, NO Mercedes, and their sub brands, Smart, really, what is the point, Ferrari were the jewel in a rather drab range, it will be interesting to see whta happens with both brands now, at least Matchbox dont have the hassle of losing and models.
I also wonder what will become of other Fiat brands, as it does not just stop at Ferrari and Maserati, there is Jeep, RAM, Abarth, Dodge, Chrysler, MOPAR, SRT, I wonder if they will go the same way.
Or could it be that the rise of BMW in the ranks was orchestrated because they knew they were losing the Prancing Horse. It would also be nioce to have some other European kit, like Jag, Land Rover,
Hot Wheels was probably “too American” for Ferrari right now.
I liked very few of Ferrari's cars and even less of their model counterparts. I hated the way the company was ran and how they treated their customers, so I'm not too shaken up by this.
The Enzo though, that was my Countach. The poster I have of it is still up in my bedroom.
please elaborate on your strange corporate comments
Farewell, Ferrari. 🙁
I always see Ferraris on the pegs. Mayve the 599x is the last model n would be hard to find
If it's true that they really won't produce any more Ferrari's I'll be sad. I'm really excited that someone just gave me a yellow 250 GTO though! It may be my last Hot Wheels Ferrari acquisition.
Maisto/Burago distribution is even flakier than Hot Wheels, so bad news for Ferrari collectors as well as HW fans.
I think we will still see Ferraris on the blue blister because I think the agreement only ended for the exclusive HW Elites series (1:18). Maisto do have a 1:64 scale line but they mainly focus on the larger scale die-casts and Burago doesn't have a 1:64 line at all.
Bburago DOES have a 1:54 line just look here
http://modelmadnessuk.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/BBurago
they are great models too, well, some of them
Wouldn't worry too much about Maserati & Chrysler. Fiat and Ferrari are parting ways soon.
If they are parting ways why did Mattel go to the trouble of re-designing the F40 without the opening parts. Shame if it happens but if you look to the right, not many Ferrari's in the model of the year poll…
Maybe we'll see a Maybach or something new. I know MB is doing the Tesla. Hate to them go way of the Mercedes though. You know I expect Mattel to let these things happen to MB but HW? I have to say I have been passing on a few more FEs of late cause they are more plastic and just plain Rediculious castings aimed more at children and I get it. HW is usually geared towards the car enthusiasts. Could they be trying to kill the hobby?
Not a great marketing direction for sure…
All of those models are Maisto models form the All Star and Elite series. They are several year old models just released under the Bburago name. They are also a bit bigger than 1/64 and have most have some customization to them.
Maybe we will see some new castings. One can hope.
Jeff
It irrelevant who makes them, we dont call Hot Wheels or Matchbox, Mattel, and if you look at the Bburago 2014 catalogue, there is a whole section on 1/64 models, including the 2014 Citroen DS3 and 2014 Corvette Stingray, two versions of the current Renualt Clio and the Peugeot RCZ.
Oops, I didn't realize it because I'm in the U.S and we don't get any Burago products. However Jeff is right about the size, they say it's 1/64, but it really isn't because they are significantly bigger than HW.
SAD, SAD, SAD! Ferrari is making a grave mistake!
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2014/12/09/no-more-ferraris-from-hot-wheels-maisto-and-bburago-bbag-exclusive-licensing-agreement/
I really Thanks to you.
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