2014 Hot Wheels Super Treasure Hunt Collection Started With the Chevrolet SS

If you can't put a finger on 2014, here are some facts and figures to help you remember. Barack Obama was still President of the United States of America, Pharrell Williams went viral and topped the charts with his hit song "Happy," and Ford started production for the sixth-generation Mustang. But in today's story, we're more interested in Mattel's approach to the Super Treasure Hunt series of collectibles. And at first glance, we can say that 2014 was pretty much a Chevy year!

Chevrolet SS

The Chevrolet SS that came up in Case A was the first of nine scale model cars to wear the bowtie logo that year. So a total of 60% of all Super Treasure Hunts that year were replicas of cars originating from Detroit. The Spectraflame Blue body featured black, blue, and silver stripes on its sides, which was just enough to make it stand out from the crowd. The Real Riders Steelie rims do a great job of taking us back to a bygone era, and we couldn't imagine this car using any other wheels. And if you can't tell the car apart from the standard model judging by the paint job alone, you now have a major hint to look for when browsing around online or at flea markets.

Prices for the first STH item of 2014 vary between $30 to $75, which isn't all that much considering what we've seen in previews retrospectives. One additional interesting fact about this casting is that Mattel only used it between 2012 and 2017, so if you've only been at it for a few years now, it's probably missing from your collection. To top things off, a group of Hot Wheels enthusiasts voted for their favorite STH items of 2014, and the Chevrolet SS was the third most popular one in that poll!

Sandblaster

The Sandblaster was the first of two fantasy cars to be featured in the STH line back in 2104. But it's not that bad, considering that it's based on the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. Jun Imai designed the casting for its 2010 release, and the latest iteration made an appearance in the Spider-Man series earlier this year. You need a keen eye to tell the standard model apart from the STH, but most seasoned collectors will be able to spot the differences right away.

Still, the color combo wasn't all that impressive, and it's no wonder that this was one of the least popular collectibles released in 2014. This is reflected in its market value, too, as most eBay users are willing to sell you one for less than $30. If you like the casting, we'd suggest you have a look at the 2012 Hot Wheels Racing: Offroad Premium variation, which rolled around on BF Goodrich tires!

Chevy Camaro Special Edition

The third Super Treasure Hunt item introduced in 2014 was the Chevy Camaro Special Edition in Spectraflame Red. Felix Holst designed this casting for its introduction in 2012, which means that the STH is one of the early variations around. Pricing for this model varies between $35 to $65 these days.

And we can't help but feel that if Mattel had used a different color on the wheels, the result would have been better. Still, the Super Treasure Hunt Camaro is one step above the TH version that came out in 2020. Nevertheless, the best was yet to come for the 2014 season of diecast hunting.

1971 Mustang Mach 1

The 1971 Mustang Mach 1 was up next, and it managed to get a few more votes in the popularity polls than the aforementioned Camaro did. The Spectraflame Gold collectible used the same wheels as the Chevy before it, which just goes to show how big of a difference the right color combo can make. By the time Mattel introduced this STH, there had been eight different variations of the Larry Wood-designed casting.

Aside from the wheels and paint job, you could notice that the standard Mach 1 didn't have a black hood and stripes on the roof. These collectibles aren't all that expensive, as most are listed for less than $50. If you want our advice, we'd also pick up the 2022 Hot Wheels: Boulevard variation, as it's more refined than any of the previous models.

07 Ford Mustang

Most people were probably surprised to see that Mattel opted to use another Ford Mustang for the next STH item in Case E. This time collectors were on the hunt for a slightly more modern '07 Mustang. This casting has been around since 2008, and you can thank Jun Imai for designing it. It's interesting to note that it first achieved STH status back in 2013 when it was finished in Spectraflame Green and was rolling around on 5-spoke Mag-style Real Riders wheels.

The 2014 model appeared in Spectraflame Red instead and with twice as many spokes per wheel. One eBay seller is offering both items for $100, which sounds like a good deal to us. As you would expect, this casting ranked lower than the Mach 1 Mustang, albeit just by a total of five votes. But it was still slightly more popular than the Chevy Camaro, which had three fewer people voting for it.

And if you were wondering what happened to the '07 Mustang casting, it seems like Hot Wheels hasn't used it since 2019 for some reason. After all, most collectors were probably more interested in the '07 Shelby GT500, which continued to arrive in stores up until 2021. Question is, when will the seventh-generation S650 Mustang make its 1/64th scale debut?