With the Holidays coming up around the corner, a Hot Wheels Movie in the works, and the collectors market continuing to rise, there has never been a better time to get your hands on some rare Hot Wheels as a gift!
Rare Hot Wheels Throughout The Ages
Throughout this article, you will find many of the rarest Hot Wheels that have increased with value over the years, from the Original Sweet Sixteen, Redlines and the Treasure Hunt eras, whether due to discontinuation, limited number of models, or special occasions that create some bizarre cars, you'll find all types collectable hot wheels right here!
From the beginning of Hot Wheels starting out with the original 16, to the addition of new car models and various collaborations with franchises, we will cover many types of rare Hot Wheels cars for you to get your hands on and show you some Hot Wheels favourites at Toptoys2u!
Prices are estimated based on sale prices on various online marketplaces and will only cover rare Hot Wheels that were available for general consumer purchasing, as there are many limited edition models that are display-only or custom made which can fluctuate depending on the history, material and number of models available, such as the 2008 Diamond Encrusted Hot Wheels!
Hot Wheels Monster Trucks
Check out these brand new Hot Wheels Monster Trucks, officially licensed premium toys made by Mattel.
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Original 16 Hot Wheels
Coming in at the beginning, the most expensive commercial Hot Wheels are no doubt the Original 16, every great thing had to start somewhere! Released on May 18 1968, these cars sold for $0.59 when they first hit the shelves, and sold a whopping 16 million units on their debut!
Coming in a variety of popping-hot colours, some of the models featured in the original 16 were a Custom Camaro in brilliant bronze, a Custom Corvette in a shining gold and a Custom Mustang in hot pink! These original 16 models are undoubtedly the most expensive Hot Wheels from retail yet!
Estimated Collector Price of an Original 16 Model in September 2023: Up To $150,000 Per Model (around £120,000)
Hot Wheels Flying Customs
Purple 1971 OldsMobile 442
Another insanely cool car is the 1971 OldsMobile 442, which is one of the rarest production cars, although the specific design that demands the heavy price tag comes in a spectacular purple. With less than twelve known around the world, this model from the Redline era is one of the most rare hot wheels ever!
Estimated Collector Price of 1971 OldsMobile 442 in September 2023: $12,000 (around £9,600)
Hot Wheels Olds 442 Restyled!
Check out these cool versions of Classic Hot Wheels with an Off-Road flair, including the OldsMobile 442!
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1969 Custom AMX
The 1969 Custom AMX was initially released in 1969 and only available in the United States. Featuring a white interior and packaged with a metal “Collectors Button”, this design would be superseded in rarity by the 1970 Ed Shaver Custom AMX, which was a miniature, sponsored version of the original model based on the drag racing car.
Sold only in the UK, these rare Hot Wheels are backed up with authenticity, from stickers that came from the original Hot Wheels car on purchase. Stickers that were purchased afterward may reduce the value of this awesome model.
Estimated Collector Price of 1969 Custom AMX in September 2023: $10,000 (around £8,000)
Hot Wheels Stars & Stripes with a New AMX Model
Hot Wheels Racing: Formula 1 Edition
With Formula 1 increasing in viewership year on year, Hot Wheels were keen to capture one of the most competitive eras in the history of the sport! Back in 2000, a Formula 1 edition Hot Wheels was released, containing models of the famous Formula 1 models with their drivers in the seat, featuring racing greats such as Jenson Button, Ralf Schumacher, Mika Häkkinen and more!
These Formula 1 Hot Wheels come in a 1:24 scale and are larger than the typical Hot Wheels car. This unique die-cast range of cars is surely an amazing line for the average Hot Wheels collector and an even more avid Formula 1 fan!
Estimated Collector Price of Formula 1 Edition Hot Wheels in September 2023: $100 (around £80)
Rare Hot Wheels Formula 1 Model
Rare Character Cars
A fan-favourite of collectable Hot Wheels comes from the series of character cars, which focuses on creating representations of characters in car form! Making its debut in 2010, this series of Hot Wheels has created cars from all types of franchises like Marvel, DC, Nintendo, Looney Tunes and more!
While the series is relatively new compared to the vintage models, some great cars have been made with unique styles, with some made for certain parts of the world, making those certain cars rarer than others.
A great example of this is the Hot Wheels Mario Kart Princess Peach in Pink Gold! Officially sold as a Creations Exclusive collectable vehicle, this is one of the rare hot wheels 2022 and comes in an amazing Pink Box for collectors to store the car in!
Sold at £20 from the Mattel Creations website in 2022, this car has already seen over a 200% increase in price on some marketplaces. Talk about stock value!
Estimated Collector Price of Pink Gold Princess Peach Hot Wheels in September 2023: $40 - $90 (around £32 - £72)
Rare Hot Wheels Character Cars
There can never be enough iconic and cool characters in your life. Add some of these rare Hot Wheels to your collection!
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Hot Wheels ID: Newly Discontinued Models!
While there are many Hot Wheels video games, only some manage to really pop. With the recent news of the mobile game being discontinued on December 31 2023, the cars from Hot Wheels ID series are sure to become a rare sight and increase in value as the years go by!
Featuring a classic die-cast model, what makes these Hot Wheels unique is the NFC microchip contained in each car, which is then scanned to be used in the virtual world on the mobile game of the same name!
This allows collectors to become players online and race against others down some wild tracks, as well as storing their collection of Hot Wheels ID cars in an online environment as well as a real life one!
While the cars are still early into their life span, their prices are still affordable for many collectors, however this could all change within a few months of discontinuation!
Estimated Collector Price of Hot Wheels ID Cars in September 2023: $19 - $35 (around £15 - £28)
Upcoming Rare Hot Wheels ID cars!
Get ahead of the curve with these newly discontinued models from the Hot Wheels ID multiplayer mobile game!
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Honourable Mentions - Prototypes and Unique Hot Wheels Models!
The 4 Billionth Hot Wheels Model - Diamond Encrusted
Starting off with the Diamond Encrusted Hot Wheels Model, this crazy car was created to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Hot Wheels at the 105th American International Toy Fair! This wild ride was cast in 18k white gold and includes more than 2700 diamonds that weigh nearly 23 Carats in total!
A hot car deserves a high price, and this one is no slouch! While the price of this car on creation was $140,000, the value was determined by an auction sale for charity after the toy fair ended!
Estimated Collector Price of Diamond Encrusted Hot Wheels in September 2023: $60,000 (around £48,000)
Rare Gold Plated Aston Martin Vanquish - James Bond 40th Anniversary!
From the old sister company of Mattel, Corgi follows the Hot Wheels recipe and produces some great cars! If bling is your thing, pick up this rare car here!
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The rarest Hot Wheels in the world - Volkswagen Pink Beach Bomb
Last but certainly not least, the 1969 Pink Volkswagen Beach Bomb Prototype takes the cake of the most expensive Hot Wheels AND the rarest in one bout!
While there were multiple colours and models of the Rear Loading Volkswagen Beach Bomb, the Pink is by far the rarest ever discovered. With only TWO prototype models in this colour designed, there are other factors that make it super rare!
For one, this Volkswagen Beach Bomb is so unbalanced (due to the surfboards in the back and uneven weight), that the car couldn’t stay upright while moving.
Another factor is that pink was a rarely used colour for Hot Wheels, as it was traditionally thought that it wouldn't appeal to their primarily-male audience, hence why there were only two models designed in pink!
This Redline-Era car is also one of the first Hot Wheels to come with accessories and a sticker pack, making it all the more rare that this is untouched and only displaying its original paint!
Owned by the collector with over 4000 different models, the “King of Hot Wheels”, Bruce Pascal, says that this is his most prized possession of his collection, and won’t disclose how much he paid for it, but we can assume it was a hefty penny!
Estimated Collector Price of 1969 Pink Volkswagen Beach Bomb in September 2023: $175,000 (around £140,000)
Dominate The Tracks with a Volkswagen Monster Truck Model
This new Volkswagen Monster Truck Hot Wheels model is a super cool and re-designed version of the classic and iconic 1950s vehicle! It also won't cost you £140,000!
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Five Flaming Hot Wheels Facts!
1: Lots of Hot Wheels cars are created by professional car designers! Before working at Mattel, one of the most prevalent designers for Hot Wheels, Larry Wood was a major designer at the Ford Motor Company!
2: There are over 4 billion Hot Wheels Models produced since 1968, more than the amount of real cars to this day!
3: Elliot Handler, the creator of Hot Wheels, is the husband of the woman who created Barbie, Ruth Handler!
4: All of the Original 16 Hot Wheels are designed off real-life custom cars!
5: In 2011, Hot Wheels was inducted into the U.S. National Hall of Fame!
See more of the Hot Wheels Deals at Toptoys2u!
We hope this list has sparked your interest in Hot Wheels and got your foot in the garage-door of the collectors market!
To get started on your Hot Wheels collections, check out some of our rare cars here!
Check out all of the cool Hot Wheels we have in store here!
From rare and vintage to new and modern! All types of Hot Wheels can be found at Toptoys2u!
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References:
https://thehustle.co/the-collectors-who-spend-thousands-on-rare-hot-wheels/
https://www.thegamer.com/hot-wheels-cars-worth-money-value-rare-cars
https://onlineredlineguide.com/
https://luxurylaunches.com/other_stuff/diamondstudded_hot_wheels_for_140000.php
https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/Hot_Wheels
https://www.antiquetrader.com/collectibles/hot-wheels-perfect-10