Hot Wheels broke the internet last week. It’s a dumb phrase, usually reserved for the antics of a Kardashian, but it happened in our world last week.
The Hot Wheels Design Team, dubbed the Dream Team on Instagram, dropped the first image of the upcoming Bugatti Chiron. Crack. The corner of the internet occupied by us nerds broke.
The reactions were swift, strong, and thankfully for the most part positive. Of course there are some detractors, but buzzy buzz buzz it created. It is great to see Hot Wheels doing a Bugatti again, and it is great to see it done so beautifully.
I always wonder what it is like to be a Hot Wheels designer, and to watch the reactions from collectors when something you have worked on for so long has been unleashed to the public. There is so much put into the execution of each model, and watching us react has to be exciting and terribly nerve-racking. It is why leaked images bother the designers so much. It just isn’t cool to see something unveiled in an incomplete or incorrect form, after all that work.
So it is awesome to see the Chiron unveiled this way, by the right people, not only complete, but shot beautifully by Designer Ryu Asada for the Dream Team account. I’m a sucker for a good toy car photo, so of course I asked him for more images, and he provided, and is letting me share them here.
I wanted to see how the back was done (it’s part of the window piece, which helps create the mesh look), as well as a profile shot, and Ryu obliged. They are below. It’s stellar.
I also asked Ryu for a little background on the model. He said it took a long time to finally get it to a point they were happy with, as it wasn’t easy to shrink to 1/64. They experimented with ways to make it two-tone, but that couldn’t be done in basic, but maybe we will see a two-tone version in premium some day. He also pointed out that that unique arch that runs from the back to front in the interior of the Chiron is there. They kept it low to the ground like the real Chiron as well. I also asked if he wanted to say anything about it to collectors:
We’re so excited to have Bugatti as our significant partner as their cars represent our brand philosophy well – Speed, Performance, and Style. The real Chiron has super wide body even with stock form so we made sure to get the feel right in our scale. If you look inside closer you can see the arch that runs across from the center console to the ceiling. We do hope a lot of fans will enjoy this little Bugatti.
Ryu Asada
We will Ryu. We most certainly will.
cool. When is their Koenigsegg coming out?
That new Bugatti chiron coming out is definitely awesome. 👍This is one of the best cars that hotwheels has made in along time. I will definitely be on the hunt for this one and I can’t wait to add this one to my hotwheels collection. 👍
Stunning! They did an incredible job on this one. For a 1:64 model that costs a dollar, this is close to perfection. My biggest worry was the proportions would be messed up (like the Veyron) but I’m happy to see that is not the case. Even the large rear wheels look fine (they’re like that on the real car).
My only point of complaint would be the lack of side mirrors. It’s a tiny detail but important and any car without them looks incomplete. But apart from that, this is an amazing model. Probably in the top 3 new models for 2019. Up there with the 300ZX and 993.
LOL, thats funny, a Dollar – try $4 in the UK, and Mattel wonder why people dont buy them – I have dumped Hot Wheels after years and 4,000 models, Matchbox will be going the same way, the prices, availability and general lack of interest from Mattel shows how little they really care for the collector.
Sadly I couldn’t agree more Jon. Mattel seem to be ignoring the UK market big time in 2019 especially since the demise of Matchbox. It’s getting harder to find new cases of Hot Wheels and prices are increasing all the time!
I echo your thoughts Jon and Craig. I don’t quite get what is going on as a whole. Then again they do majorette 5 packs at £7 in Morrisons. With opening features. Hotwheels old 5 packs at £8.75. Urm?!…… Also majorette pack of 3 glow in the dark at £5!!!. As for matchbox a good mate has just returned from USA with various mbx item’s . On the back of the cards “Lesney™”….! This I didn’t realize that Mattel owned this. What a sorry state of affairs when the products ain’t even available in the UK…… Also in B&M they do their own range of play garages and etc. If you we’re a lover of the Hero city range??!!!😷 …. The old castings are in these packs, also a couple of current mbx line up!…?…! Other than that ,my UK summary over,……………….,……………………………………………………yawn!……Happy 50th mbx superfast!!!!….🎈….🎆!
Rather amusingly it seems someone has already beaten Hot Wheels on introducing their own budget 1:64 Chiron to the market.
The Works chain of book shops are currently selling a small range of unbranded and unlicensed Chinese castings, most of which appear to be Hot Wheels knock offs. And the star of this line up…..yep, a Bugatti Chiron which looks remarkably similar to this. Not quite as well detailed but accurately cast and virtually half the price!!!
There must be a leak at the Mattel design department ;-p
Wow !!!! You guys at HOTWHEELS can keep a secret. Reminds me of a group of Ladies and Gents that are secret keepers in our leaky world. Even the first 46 BRE DATSUNS in 2013 that were autographed was another big secret. Anyway I know I want find this BAD BOY at Wally’s,but I will look at my other hotspots. Okay HW DREAM TEAM ,how about the BUGATTI as a RLC MEMBERSHIP CAR ? Cannot wait years,will like to see it next year in 2020. 😎 article.
Well, I called it. If the headlights weren’t detailed the taillights wouldn’t be either. I was right. Hey, don’t get me wrong, it’s still a fantastic piece but could be even more fantastic with a little more detailing. There’s really no side detailing so it could’ve worked, at least for the front. Learning that the rear is molded to the window piece makes sense they can’t detail over plastic but the headlights are molded to the body. So those could’ve been done to compliment the signature grille. But that won’t stop me from buying one, maybe two. Can’t wait for it!
Hey Conner I am not trying to rain on your parade. But for &.94 I will take the Bugatti any day. Remember the one showing will be a Mainline issue.To have more detail the Bugatti will have to move on up to Premium. From there to the RLC for the moving parts & the RLC makeover HAPPY HUNTING .
👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾 👍🏾
The proportions and stance are spot on. Amazing for a $1 model car.
Nice silhouette. Will I buy? Sure but I wish it cost a little more and had some more detail. Headlights especially. The back wheel is (in classic hot wheels style) too big. Why? Very unnecessary. Overall cool but not close to the Audi from last years. Or some of last years skylines.
Looks absolutely amazing. Really pumped for this and excited to see what’s to come from this Hot Wheels and Bugatti partnership. Hopefully we get some premium versions of this (come on Car Culture Exotics!!) and would love to see the Divo next!
Always felt Bugattis were a bit over rated but I can dig this. It’s got a lot of potential for a great premium model. This thing had to be a pain to cast. Even the plastic looks like molds would have been tough to design. I’m sure by next year we’ll see a mainline with some detailed head and tail lights.
Sure, two-tone would have been nice, as would headlights and tail lights, but this is a basic model and we all know what that means. As it sits, it looks spectacular! So glad they were able to do the chrome trim encircling the doors. That really sets this model off, not to mention the iconic Bugatti horse collar grill.
This casting of the chiron looks great in pictures but better in person. Finally found one in Ontario this September but it was on a short card, not a long card. Also picked up a Audi RS 5. That is a nice casting as well.