Alright, first thing out of the way: I now know how to say “Renault”. It is pronounced “Ree-Nalt”. Just kidding. It is not pronounced in the same way as a famous French painter, nor does it rhyme with “Hey Now!”. It is “reh-no”, and I am sending my thanks to the many of you that helped me after I tried to pronounce it on my Lamley G Case Unboxing video.
It happened this time, and I promise you it will happen again. When you do case unboxings, you have no idea what is coming, and there is a very good chance you will mispronounce or misread something. So I honestly appreciate the corrections. I will just say this. The majority of you are still pronouncing “hakosuka” wrong. Look it up.
Alright, moving on. What a surprise this model is! When the 2016 Hot Wheels lineup was announced, this was one of the first models I earmarked to beware of. European race cars have seemed to be common targets for the upsloped-chin syndrome, and the Renault seemed to be another prime candidate. The philosophy at Hot Wheels lately has seemed to be that anything race-related had to be completely designed for the orange track, which meant distorted bodies and a track loop-friendly front chin.
Well, I am sure as I pronounced my warnings, the designers at Hot Wheels were snickering a bit, looking forward to me getting a little pie in the face, because this model is a wonderfully realistic looking race car, and it is easily one of the best new models of 2016.
The first you notice, fortunately or unfortunately, is the front. No upsloped chin. Hallelujah. Next, no large rear wheel. Those are the things we are glad are not there. Now for the things that are. That spoiler, with the embossed “Renault” in the wing. The stance. The details.
Of course it is expected that on a $1 car there won’t be more detail on the front and rear, but there are details in the casting. Maybe one day we see a premium version with Real Riders, and won’t that be a treat.
I won’t do too much more writing, and let the photos show the rest. Who knows what prompted the idea to make this car more realistic and less track-friendly, whether it was an in-house decision or pushed by Renault. Whatever prompted it, it is a most welcome decision. The Renault has some tough competition for Best New Model of 2016, but it is easily one of the most surprising. This was not what I expected, and I am thrilled about it…
The last two Renaults from Hot Wheels:
Fantastic model! With a little detailing it could be truly stunning. So glad to see HW mix in some lesser know euro models in the mix with muscle cars and JDM stuff. I'd love to see more Alfas, vintaage rally Fiats and Lancias too.
Also see: HW (Renault) Megane Trophy and the Road Trippin' Megane Trophy in white (my fav ver)… beautiful car which was the predecessor to the RS01 – fantastic Renaults
Nice model but you missed one in terms of the “last two Renaults” the Mégane Trophy Renault Sport came after the Renault 5 Turbo and before the current Sport R.S. 01
He means as far as HW Renaults go. The Megane Trophy debuted in 2011. This 5 Turbo casting debuted in 2013, in Boulevard.
Yes, there was a 5 Turbo casting from the early 1990s, but this one is a COMPLETELY different casting. It's quite a bit larger than the original blue-card era one.
Original 5 Turbo from around 1990: http://hotwheels.wikia.com/wiki/Renault_5_Turbo
A “true” 5 turbo from 2013: http://hotwheels.wikia.com/wiki/Renault_5_Turbo_%28Wide_Body%29
Absolutely brilliant! So well done! Castings like this will put Hotwheels back into favor with the 10 year old set…as long as we 50 year olds leave enougg behind for them!!!
I ordered this die cast vehicle on eBay a week ago and when I last checked the status of this item on eBay it did arrive to Canada (the country where I reside) where I'm hoping that it will successfully arrive to my residence or my mailbox.
There used to be commenters back when the 2016 lineup was announced that thought this model was gonna get the detestable front and wrote off the model immediately. I wonder what they think of the final product now.
Also… Now the Porsche 991 GT3 RS and Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo will have a pretty high bar to clear. One of them can go the SEMA Mustang's direction and get that chin hinge.
The Porsche is a road car so I can't imagine it getting the “loop” treatment, at least I hope it won't.
Nice article. Good to see French cars here 😀
Actually it isn't properly “reh-no” but “Reu-nô”. I drive a Renault. A Bose Megane edition !
I always wondered about the correct pronunciation of hakosuka…Glad to finally have it right.
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I have it in 2 colors…. grey as well as yellow….love it!