It is surprising how small car models could cost more than a real and functioning one.
Introduced in 1968 by American toymaker Mattel, Hot Wheels in recent times has been a collector item to young adults.
Hot Wheels is a toy car brand, manufacturing a wide range of tiny cars. However, let’s not fool ourselves by the name toy. The older and rare ones are gems for antique collectors.
Most Valuable Hot Wheels (Source: court-st-etienne.be)
Did you know the most valuable Hot Wheels in the current market is Pink Rear-Loading Volkswagen Beach Bomb?
But the real question is who holds it and why is it so expensive.
Let’s Explore!
Quick Overview
Hot Wheels
Value
20. Custom Volkswagen
$1,500
19. Purple Olds 442
$2,000
18. White Enamel Camaro
$2,500
17. Brown Custom Camaro
$3,000
16. Red Baron
$3,000
15. White Z-Whiz
$3,000
14. Collector Number 271 Funny Car
$3,500
13. Pink Superfine Turbine
$3,500
12. Ed Shaver Custom AMX
$4,000
11. Green Open Fire
$4,000
10. Pink Beatnik Bandit
$5,000
9. Spectraflame Purple Bye Focal
$6,000
8. Blue Rodger Dodger
$6,000
7. Brown ’31 Woody
$8,000
6. Cheetah Base Python
$10,000
5. Brown Custom Charger
$13,000
4. Mad Maverick Base Mighty Maverick
$15,000
3. Over Chrome Camaro
$25,000
2. Over Chrome Mustang
$40,000
1. Pink Rear-Loading Volkswagen Beach Bomb
$150,000
20. Custom Volkswagen
Custom Volkswagen without sunroof made in 1968 has an estimated valuation of around $1,500.
The first model built in Hong Kong came with no sunroof.
They only sold these models in Europe, most of them going to Germany and the United Kingdom.
The majority of them are aqua or blue. However, orange, emerald, copper, red, and enamel green are more unique hues.
It has a blown V-8 engine in its front.
Yellow is the rarest color in custom Volkswagen.
19. Purple Olds 442
Purple Odds, produced in 1971, has an approximate value of $2,000. Unfortunately, the Hot Wheels Olds 442 was only produced in the United States in 1971.
The legendary Larry Wood created the car.
It is well-known for its unusual purple hue. It is, without a doubt, the rarest in the entire casting of all Redline vehicles (1968-1977).
The company also supplied a sticker sheet with the vehicle, but not all owners used it.
Purple Olds 442 (Source: antique trader)
It has an open hood that reveals a realistic engine. The glass might be entirely transparent or have a little pale blue tinge to it.
Purple is the rarest of all Hot Wheels from the Redline Era.
18. White Enamel Camaro
White Enamel Camaro manufactured in 1968 has a valuation of around $2,500.
Made in 1968, it is one of the original 16 models Mattel made, which adds to its exclusivity. White Enamel Camero is one of the most desirable Redline Hot Wheels.
Enamel Camaro (Source: Pinterest)
The enamel white version is a trial since manufacturers would cover all new cars in a white enamel finish to test for flaws.
This automobile is incredibly difficult to come across in any form, let alone in decent shape.
17. Brown Custom Camaro
Brown Custom Camaro, released in 1968, costs about $3,000 if you’re lucky to get one. It is one of the rare and most valuable hot wheels cars in history.
It was designed by Harry Bradley.
Brown Camaro (Source: Make Them Gold)
In the spring of 1968, the “Original 16” or “Sweet Sixteen” were produced.
Interiors come in various hues, with Blue on Blue and Antifreeze on Dark Green being the most fascinating.
16. Red Baron
The Red Barron concept features a white plastic inside, an empty metal base without an iron cross emblem on the helmets, and short rear fenders.
Red Baron (Source: Reddit)
China released a vintage range collection in 1993, including a variety of colors of Red Baron. It can cost over $3,000 currently.
15. White Z-Whiz
White Z-Whiz is a prized hot wheel car with an approximate value of $3,000. It is a rare addition to hot wheels collectors and is considered one of the most valuable hot wheels cars of all time.
The Z-Whiz is a Hot Wheel model that debuted in 1977, the final year of the “Redline Era.” Larry Wood created the car.
White Z-Whiz (Source: wikia.nocookie.net)
Its name is a wordplay on the terms ‘Z Car’ and ‘Gee Whiz,’ related to Datsun’s line of automobiles with the ending ‘Z.’ Three foreign versions are also available for the Z-Whiz, from Italy, France, and Mexico.
In Hot Wheels chronology, the Z-Whiz is the very first Japanese export to be turned into a casting.
14. Collector Number 271 Funny Car
Collector Number 271 Funny Car made in 1995 has a value of approximately $3,500 in a blister pack. It is among the most valuable hot wheels car of all time.
Only 144 to 288 such cars are said to have been packed and distributed on the blue card with white collector number 271.
Collector Number 271 Funny Car (S0urce: amazonaws)
The automobile is identical to the 1995 Race Team Funny Car, seen in almost any Hot Wheels collector’s collection.
It’s estimated that the company made anywhere from 12 to 288 of these models.
13. Pink Superfine Turbine
Pink Superfine Turbine costs approximately $3,500. The Superfine Turbine, created by Larry Wood, was one of three new fittings introduced in 1973. It was reissued in 2010.
It has a huge jet engine in the front and a plastic doorway that reveals a two-tiered shelf in the back.
The interiors of all domestic production versions are black, with through-hole redline wheels in front and ‘Capped’ redline wheels in the back.
Pink Superfine Turbine (Source: skypoint)
Pink Superfine Turbines are exceedingly rare, as are all Superfine Turbines. CIPSA (Compaa Industrial de Plásticos, SA) built the Superfine Turbine in Mexico as well.
The inside of all CIPSA Superfine Turbines is white, and all four wheels are covered.
12. Ed Shaver Custom AMX
Ed Shaver Custom AMX, made in 1970, has an estimated pricing of $4,000.
The extremely rare Ed Shaver Custom AMX was only available in blue, the color of the original Ed Shaver AMX race car.
Ed Shaver Custom AMX (Source: picclickimg)
Currently, there are just a handful of these original vehicles left.
11. Green Open Fire
Green Open Fire is a rare hot wheels car costing up to $4,000.
The Open Fire, created by Paul Tam, is modeled on a stretched AMC Gremlin. Open Fire was only available in the 1972 Hot Wheels series and came in five different spectra flame shades.
The Gremlin was supercharged as AMC’s response to the “muscle car,” despite looking rather modest in the budget form.
Green Open Fire (Source: Car and Driver)
An additional set of wheels had to be fitted to weigh out the toy due to the huge V12 engine put at the front.
But, with this one, Paul Tam, the Open Fire’s quirky designer, really let his imagination go wild.
10. Pink Beatnik Bandit
Pink Beatnik Bandit has an estimated valuation of $5,000.
The 1968 Beatnik Bandit was one of the first Sweet Sixteen Hot Wheels released. It is based on the automobile of the same name built by the renowned Ed “Big Daddy” Roth of Rat Fink fame.
The Beatnik Bandit is manufactured in about 18 hues, with this ultra-rare pink being the most prized.
The original ‘Redline Era’ Beatnik Bandit was produced in the United States and Hong Kong between 1968 and 1971.
There are numerous distinctions between automobiles made in the United States and those made in Hong Kong.
For example, those made in the United States have a transparent glass dome and a ‘control stick’ interior, but those made in Hong Kong have blue-tinted glass and a black steering wheel.
9. Spectraflame Purple Bye Focal
Spectraflame Purple Bye Focal is valued at approximately $6,000.
The Bye-Focal is a Larry Wood-designed Hot Wheels car launched in 1971. It was inspired by a 1970 Dodge Challenger.
Two Injected V-8 engines are mounted beneath the glass on an extended frontal clip, with a short, truncated tail.
Manufacturers colored it in various Spectraflame hues, the most difficult to find is Purple, which is considered one of the rarest of all Redline Hot Wheels from the Spectraflame Era.
8. Blue Rodger Dodger
Blue Rodger Dodger, made in 1974, is one of the most valuable Hot Wheels cars in the world with the current value of about $6,000.
Inspired by a ’73 Dodge Charger SE with a triple opera window feature, the Rodger Dodger is a Hot Wheels unique design.
Blue Rodge Dodger (Source: farm4.staticflickr)
Unfortunately, designers made only seven, and they were all sold to enthusiasts around the nation.
7. Brown ’31 Woody
The Brown ’31 Woody, which was released as part of the 1969 Hot Wheels series, is regarded exceedingly uncommon by redline specialists with a cost of $8,000.
Many people believe there are just a few dozen, which contain some prototypes.
Brown ’31 Woody (Source: lh3.googleusercontent)
It’s possible to find it with a wrinkled or smooth top.
In fact, “Woody” is a moniker common among West Coast surfers, and it alludes to the wooden bodywork that stretched from the cowl to the back of the car.
6. Cheetah Base Python
Cheetah Base Python is worth approximately $10,000. The Python’s first version in 1968 was called “Cheetah.”
However, only six are recorded to have the name Cheetah on the base.
Designers imprinted the Cheetah name on the base of a few earlier copies of the toy, usually on the red until they found that GM engineer-designer Bill Thomas had registered the moniker for his “Cobra Killer” race car.
Cheetah Base Python (Source: picclickimg)
As a result, the toy was given the name Python. Pythons were made in the United States and Hong Kong, whereas Cheetahs were only made in Hong Kong.
The Custom Charger was a popular vehicle that was produced between 1969 and 1971. It is now worth $13,000.
The brown variety, of which only a handful are proven to exist, is an exception.
Many collectors believe it is a test rather than a mass-produced design.
Charger Brown (Source: onlineredlineguide)
The Charger was a mid-’60s American muscle car that continued on the “fastback” craze that began with the Mustang and Barracuda.
The majority of “brown” Chargers either are orange with metal substrate tone or stripped and painted brown vehicles.
4. Over Chrome Camaro
Launched in 1968 Over Chrome Camaro currently costs about $25,000.
While numerous lime or “antifreeze” Hot Wheels exist, this is a unique antifreeze-over-chrome-finish Camaro utilized for marketing.
Over Chrome Camaro (Source: drivetribe.imgix.net)
Merely twenty Hot Wheels vehicles with this unique polish are reported to be present.
3. Mad Maverick Base Mighty Maverick
Howard Rees produced Mad Maverick in the years 1970, 1975, 1977.
During the experimental and pre-production phases, it was branded ‘Mad Maverick.’
Unfortunately, only a few models are available with the label “Mad Maverick” on the base, which is incredibly rare because the designers had altered the title.
Mad Maverick Base Mighty Maverick (Source: pictures.topspeed)
Only a few of the Hot Wheels “Mad” versions are reported to be present, with their menacing hood scoop and rear wings.
2. Over Chrome Mustang
Over Chrome Mustang manufactured in 1968 has an estimated value of $40,000. It is one of the most valuable Hot Wheels cars in the world.
It was part of a separate collection that stayed with its owner in a trailer park and was bought in an estate sale after its owner’s demise.
It’s one of just two models made, and like the Over Chrome Camaro, it was created only for commercial reasons, was never sold, and was only used internally.
Over Chrome Mustang (Source: i.ebayimg.com)
In 2005, a collector called Arthur Thomas paid a staggering $50,000 for one of the two units. The whereabouts of the other unit are unknown at this time.
1. Pink Rear-Loading Volkswagen Beach Bomb
The well-known Pink Beach Bomb with Rear-Loading Hot Wheels is the most coveted Hot Wheels ever made.
Its value continues to rise because only two of them remain. It is estimated to be worth about $150,000.
The Pink Rack-Loading Beach Bomb is a pre-production piece made in 1969.
These Pink, Rear-Loading Beach Bombs eventually ended up in the hands of Bruce Pascal, a Maryland-based collector with a 7000-piece Hot Wheels collection. Pascal gave one of them to a friend of his.
