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2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series

Keeping up with every new diecast release from all the manufacturers is close to impossible. The safest approach to collecting for both your sanity and your wallet is to just stick to one or two brands at most. Just recently I decided to start getting more Tomica castings, but Matchbox cars are more and more tempting with every new series that comes out of the factory.
2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series 18 photos
Photo: Ministry of Diecast
2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series
Just like with Hot Wheels, Mattel is experimenting with different formats and series when it comes to Matchbox. And given how the automotive culture has evolved over the past 20 years, Japanese cars are always bound to take center stage from time to time. We've already seen some Japan Series collectibles before in 2022, but there's a good chance more of these will be coming out in 2023, too.

For today's story, we're getting a view of six more tiny cars that are representative of different eras in automotive history. The 1994 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV is up first, and you won't be seeing this one over in Mattel's other diecast brand lineup. With Hot Wheels, you can only get the 2008 Lancer Evolution, the Evo VI, and the Evolution 7 right now. But we've heard rumors that the Evo IX will make its debut in 2023.

The Evo IV is a new casting for Matchbox, and it instantly reminded us of Initial D's Team Emperor. As you would expect, this is a replica of an all-original vehicle with no flashy upgrades to interfere with the factory design. For once, we don't mind the gray paint job as the car's sitting on gold wheels with nicely detailed headlights and taillights. But the most exciting feature of the Evo IV is that it has an opening hood, which provides a nice view of the iconic 4G63T engine.

The second item inside this series takes us back to 1982 with the Datsun 280 ZX. Perhaps not as popular as its predecessor, this car still managed to take the Z family further into the future, paving the way for four more decades of upgrades and changes. Matchbox has been using this casting since 2019, so there are five more previous iterations to look for if you plan on having the complete collection. This item features opening doors, which forces us to imagine the existence of a tiny L28ET under the hood.

2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series
Photo: Ministry of Diecast
The 2023 Nissan Z is up next, and it feels rather fitting to mix both past and present into the set. Once again, you can opt to open the doors, but at least the paint job on this car is a lot more exciting. You'll find the same color scheme over at Hot Wheels, but you'd probably have to place them side by side to determine a winner. But there's a good chance that the Matchbox version will come out on top, albeit at a higher cost.

We didn't expect to see the 1963 Honda T360 here, and even though this isn't a sports car, it's just as exciting, nevertheless. This casting has only been in use since 2021, so there are just two other variations of it on the market. One is part of the Moving Parts Series while the other was used in the Collectors Series.

The T360 is Honda's first production automobile and used a small 356 cc engine to get around. While Hot Wheels doesn't have an equivalent casting for this, the Mighty K will give off similar vibes but at a lower quality of production.

It's rather strange that Mattel fitted an opening hood on this vehicle instead of doing so with the previous two sports cars, and it might have been interesting to see an opening tailgate instead. Up next it's the 1975 Mitsubishi Lancer Celeste, a vehicle that sparked enthusiasm years and years before the introduction of the first Lancer Evolution.

2023 Nissan Z Joins Five Other Japanese Cars in Exciting Matchbox Series
Photo: Ministry of Diecast
In case you haven't seen this diecast vehicle on the market before, it's because it's a brand-new casting for Matchbox, and it has only been around for less than a year. The yellow paint job helps it stand out of the crowd, but not as much as the next item on the list.

Hot Wheels collectors might look at the Matchbox version of the 2004 Honda S2000 and think it's rather odd. And there's a good reason for that. Look beyond the flashy paint job and there is no wide body kit to speak of, no huge wing on the back, and no racing livery to make it "hot."

This casting has been around since 2019, but there are only a few variations of it around. And it was built for a different audience, which some people might even label as a "more mature" one at that. Anyone who has ever driven or ridden shotgun in an S2000 knows how exhilarating these cars can be even in factory spec, thanks to the high-revving, VTEC-equipped engine and sporty chassis.

While tuning these cars will make them feel amazing, it might be wiser to get a bone-stock one these days if you look at it as an investment. This time Mattel made the right decision, and you can pop the hood anytime you want to show off that marvelous Japanese engine. If you want to get all six cars you'll have to pay just under $60 for all of them, so it's slightly more expensive than a Hot Wheels Premium set which doesn't feature opening parts, though.

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About the author: Dragos Chitulescu
Dragos Chitulescu profile photo

The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S.
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