Yesterday in my less than stellar review of the new Hot Wheels Tesla Model S, I mentioned that its New Model counterpart in this batch could very well take the title of Model of the Year.
Most of you guessed that I was referring to the Cadillac Elmiraj, and you were right. Now that we have the Elmiraj in hand, we can honestly say that it is an astounding casting. It is strange to look at both the Tesla and the Cadillac knowing that both came from the same studio in the same company:
The Elmiraj is everything the Tesla is not. It has crisp lines, it sits with a perfect stance, it is well proportioned, and we don’t need to comment about its front grill area. All you have to do is look at the photos, or better, buy one and open it. Whether or not you like the actual Elmiraj Concept, this model is about as good as it gets technically speaking. It is darn near perfect.
So I guess we can safely say it was not meant for the track.
Is it the best new model of the year? Probably not. Technically sure, but there are models, like the Escort, that pack a little more punch and significance. One way or the other it is one of the best of 2015:
How nice is that?
Which leads to the Maserati Quattroporte. There is absolutely no link between these two other than the fact that when I look at the Elmiraj I think of the Quattroporte. I can’t tell you why. Maybe the wheels, maybe the realistic proportions, maybe the long hood. Whatever it is, it seems to make sense to put them together.
The Maserati is one of the more famous one-and-dones in the Hot Wheels lineup. It appeared as a New Model in 2004, and hasn’t been seen since. At the time Hot Wheels was obsessed with tooned cars, and almost everything licensed was a muscle car. The Maserati seemed to be drastically out of place, with its same-size wheels, deco-devoid paint, and front and rear tampos. And it didn’t interest most collectors either. That model hung and hung and hung. I was still finding them in stores as late as 2008.
Yeah, it would be popular today, and if it went the route of the Elmiraj as opposed to the Tesla, it would be a much more crisp model than the one it ended up being. One way or the other, I am very happy to have an example, and it looks great net to the Cadillac.
I managed to get one of the Mazzers a couple of years ago – typical, i was buying it on eBay and bidding against my brother who was buying it for me for a present – duh…. paid way over the odds, but it is a stunning model and would do really well now, especially as Maserati is now a well respected brand with some great new cars – The Caddy, i have not been a great fan of the light signatures on caddys, but this one looks OK, the new future look of the Cadillac will eventually do away with the slashed light treatment, and none too soon… I like the little model, and will, if i EVER manage to find one, have a couple for the collection, mind you if they are as hard to come by as the Escort – i wont be holding my breath.
I'm still completely amazed how they can get this casting so right and get the Tesla so wrong
Absolutely beautiful
The Mazzer is one of my fav castings. Probably because it is done right.
The Elmiraj….I can't wait. I remember Jay Leno discussing it with the director of design at GM when the car was at Pebble. Its beautiful. It returned Cadillac to pure indulgent luxury…not that I mind the sporty turn the brand has taken. But Caddilac was always grand…indulgent..the Gold Standard. Since they started gussying up GM rolling boxes as the luxury standard (Escalade) I haven't been a fan.
I myself like the light slash look. I can spot a caddy from a mile off. They are kind of a throw back to the stacked light look of the mid 60s…
I look forward to finding this at my store. I hope…as I said before…that MBX puts out a copy….
Message for John Mower. It seems the Escort has finally made it to the UK as I managed to get one from Morrisons supermarket yesterday.
It's nice to see the El getting some props. I grew up in Cadillac's so i'm partial. I'm glad they made a HW's version, but it would be just as awesome if they made an actual production model. Hot Wheels did a great job with it ~ the detail on the grill emblem is insane!
I like the Maserati and after looking at it in [John's] light, I really need to get it for sure, since I don't have a Maserati yet in the collection. Even though the Quattroporte is now about 11 yrs old, it looks way better than the brand new Telsa.
Check out the second photo down.. the Tesla looks like a cartoon compared to the illustrious Caddy.
Great to see the Quattroporte being featured, it's one of my favorite Hot Wheels. I was already a fan of the real car, but I think they did a great job on capturing its elegant lines. Nice details (portholes!) and tasteful paint color too. Surprising it wasn't more popular, maybe it was just too 'understated' compared to all the wild HWs in the lineup back then.
And while I usually don't collect concepts (only production models), I would certainly make an exception for that Elmiraj.
Check out that Tesla rabbit face!