Happy 510 Day!
May 10th means celebrating the little Datsun that could, and if you are on Instagram, you can’t escape the celebration. 510’s, real and replica are littering our feeds. And it is awesome.
Well allow Matchbox to jump into the fray. Matchbox Designer Abe Lugo gave me permission to show Lamley readers how the Datsun 510 Rally is coming along. They allowed me to photograph the prototype and pass along the images to you.
We will get more into this model when we see the final product (I promise you are going to like it), but for now you can see what the casting will look like. Obviously it won’t be that aqua color, nor will it have a blue grill and interior, and obviously it won’t use Hot Wheels 5-spokes. Test models like these use what paint and wheels are lying around, and this is what was lying around.
But it will be pretty awesome. I won’t divulge the color and details, but look for front and rear detailing on the first release. Usually Matchbox does stock and Hot Wheels does some sort of race version, but here the roles are reversed. The 510 Rally is going to be a major highlight of 2017 when it is released this fall.
Happy 510 Day!
With the upcoming Nissan Junior:
Great ! Thank you for the sneak preview !
I'd say red and black for the paint, whith black wheels and interior.
hopefully it will be appeared at the 2017 jccs just like last year's hakosuka
Now this is pretty cool and if the detail is what it has been with MBX, this will be one cool model. Also always love p/u trucks. That said hope American cars aren't going to get left out. 67 Galaxie would be awesome or Cutless or fastback Impala! Come on where is American made master pieces?
Wow, love those Japanese beauties! One question though (and it's not about Japanese and or even car): what is to be know about the Volvo (or any kind of new) fire truck until now? I'd be happy to have any info regarding it. Thanks!
These make a beautiful pair. Can't wait to see them in person!
Very cool car. I will buy it if I can find one. However, this has been bugging me. Why is there a roof rack? I can't find a single picture of a rally Datsun 510 with a roof rack (The Speedhunters Rally doesn't count). And I've sure as hell never seen any stage rally car with a roof rack of any kind in person. It's too bad the rack is cast in with the roof, making it very difficult to remove.
Anyway, I will buy the thing. I just wish it were more accurate in equipment specs. Hopefully some Group B stuff will be coming up next. I think it's high time an Audi Quattro S1 or Lancia 037 makes it to the shelves!
I think it's just Matchbox taking the theme in their own direction, even if there's no exact rally car that had a roof rack. Kind of like the new Chevy Van with the motorcycle on the back…it's something that you COULD do in real life, even if it wasn't done with some real vehicle in mind. Also I think maybe it was a little touch to differentiate it more from the Hot Wheels 510..kind of accentuate the off-road nature of the vehicle.
Amazing model, although I think they're taking it too far by calling it a 510 Rally. It just looks like someone's personal car that is modified for off-road use. I'm not saying its a bad thing at all, it has its own personality. And yeah, this is one of the few times when Matchbox has done a modified casting vs the stock Hot Wheels. I like it when they do that!
I like the Datsun 510 well enough, but I’m not so sure about this one. I’ll have to reserve my final judgement for when the production model is revealed.
It’s not unusual for some of the dusty stage rallies for cars to have these parts. In Forza, the 240Z has such parts available, maybe the designer was influenced by that?