Trying to name the best Hot Wheels cars of the past 50-plus years is an almost impossible task. There are just so many great cars to choose from. In putting together this list I looked at rarity, monetary value, and want.
Yes, there are cars that didn’t make the list that is reported to have more monetary value than some I have here, but as far as I’m concerned, these are priceless pieces of Hot Wheels history.
- Pink Rear-Loading Volkswagen Beach Bomb (1969)
This Pink rear-loading Beach Bomb is a pre-production piece built in 1969 as the Volkswagen Beach Bomb with surfboards loaded into the vehicle through the open rear window rather than the production version we know of today where the boards slide into a side pod. This prototype car was too narrow to fit and function properly with the Hot Wheels Super Charger. Thus the narrow body style was never produced for the public. Those that were produced were given to Mattel employees’ children for “Play Testing” and that is where they have been found – in the collections of past employees.
For years it was believed that only one Pink rear-loading Beach Bomb existed and that it sold for $72,000 to collector Bruce Pascal. Today it could fetch well over $150,000.
- “Cheetah” Base Python (1968)
The first release of Python in 1968 had “Cheetah” for its name on its Hong Kong base. The problem is, that the Cheetah name belonged to GM executive Bill Thomas and his Corvette-powered “Cobra Killer” race car. Once that was discovered the name on the metal base was filled in and the car’s name was changed to Python. There are only six cars known to have the Cheetah name on the base, including one raw casting never assembled or painted. One is Gold with a U.S. base; the others are red with a Hong Kong base. Some early-release Hot Wheels packages have the Cheetah name listed on the back and are in great demand by collectors.
- “Mad Maverick” base Mighty Maverick (1970)
A late name change makes this car a rarity. The casting, designed by Howard Rees, was originally released as Mad Maverick. The Topper Co., which made Johnny Lightning Cars, a major competitor of Hot Wheels cars, had come out with its own “Mad Maverick” car. So Mattel quickly changed the name of the car to Mighty Maverick. Before the crossover was noticed, some early Mavericks already had “Mad Maverick” cast into the bare metal case. As for the car’s rarity, I only know of two blue, one purple, and one unassembled, unpainted piece
- Red Baron (with white interior, 1970)
The Red Baron, a hot rod T-bucket creation inspired by the World War I flying ace of the same name, was initially offered in 1970. In addition to the German helmet serving as the roof, the car was outfitted with twin machine guns mounted on the cowl of the design, which first appeared as a best-selling monogram plastic model kit. The Red Barron prototype – of which fewer than 10 are known to exist – has a white plastic interior, a blank metal base, no iron cross decal on the helmet, and shorter rear fenders than the public-released car.