 |
Automobile Manufacturers' Take On The Toys
11-01-07
What would you do if you had a chance to design a Hot Wheels® car? For our 40th anniversary, we offered the Hot Wheels® Designer’s Challenge™ to several manufacturers of real cars and gave them just that opportunity – and did they ever respond!
Six different auto manufacturers accepted our invitation to participate: Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Lotus and Mitsubishi. Oh, and there was one “dark horse” – our own Hot Wheels® design team, represented by Jun Imai! Each participant was asked to submit three different designs. A panel of automotive experts would then choose one of the three designs from each participant, and those winning designs would be produced as Hot Wheels® cars!
While real cars are designed and engineered with an emphasis on things like safety, comfort and reliability, Hot Wheels® cars give designers a chance to “go wild” and focus on speed, power, performance and attitude. And at 1:64 scale, that translates into a lot of fun!
The designs were all unveiled at this week’s SEMA show in Las Vegas. On display with the designs was a 1:5 scale model of each winning design made by the company that submitted it. We’ll Sneak you some images of those 1:5 scale versions this week, but for now, here’s a look at the concepts designed by the participants.
Chevrolet: Chevroletor
Based on a combination of the ’57 Corvette® and some 1930s speed record cars made by General Motors, the Chevroletor was designed by Amaury Diaz-Serrano.
 |
Dodge: Dodge XP-07
The Dodge XP-07 is designer Marc Reisen’s concept of a Dodge edition of the Batmobile™. Like the experimental cars made by Chrysler in the 1960s, it would be turbine powered.
 |
Ford: Gangster Grin™
If the XP-07 is a Batmobile™, this could well be the Joker™'s ride. Designed by Steve Gilmore, who was a Hot Wheels® intern while in college, the Gangster Grin™ was inspired by the popular customized ’50s Mercs, with a little influence in the grille from a 1949 Ford.
 |
Honda: Honda Racer
Designer Guillermo Gonzalez based the Honda Racer on the Honda “H” emblem and the Formula 1 race cars made by Honda in the ’60s, including the V10 engine – though the exhaust pipes are exaggerated.
 |
Lotus: Lotus Concept
Lotus designer Steven Crijns took the modern look of Lotus cars and maxed out this mighty concept car.
 |
Mitsubishi: Mitsubishi Double Shotz
Another former Hot Wheels® intern, designer Gary Ragle patterned the dual engines on the Double Shotz – one in front and one in back – after the Mitsubishi Eclipse and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.
 |
Mattel: HW-40™
Hot Wheels® designer Jun Imai’s HW-40™ was inspired by the Twin Mill® (his favorite Hot Wheels® original design) and the Nerve Hammer®, which he designed for the 2006 line. “The overall design theme is a little bit of everything,” Jun says. “American, Italian, classic, modern, etc. I wanted the body to ooze muscle; tight, strong and ready to attack.”
 |
Powered by four turbines, the “powerplant” electric motor is exposed without being raised – the hood and windows are a single piece, which allows the engine to be visible through the hood while maintaining aerodynamics and not compromising design. There are four exhausts for the four turbines: one on each side behind the front wheels, and two out the back.
One of the more interesting design cues is the mohawk on the roof. According to Jun, “This emphasizes the HW40’s rock star status.” The body itself is a solid structure with no doors to compromise strength and rigidity -- the driver enters via sliding hood/window glass. “I wanted to capture the essence of Hot Wheels in a modern way, playing up what we’re known for: huge engines, innovative styling, and things normal automakers can’t do.”
The Hot Wheels® editions of each of these cars should be available by mid 2008.
