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5 Best Hot Wheels Treasure Hunt Cars From 2013

The Hot Wheels Treasure Hunt series will be celebrating its 30th anniversary just a couple of years from now. Looking back on it all, this was a brilliant move by Mattel. It motivates collectors to frequently visit retail stores. Finding a TH collectible can be quite a strong incentive, regardless if you're going to keep it or sell it for a profit.
5 Best Hot Wheels Treasure Hunt Cars From 2013 38 photos
Photo: Lamley Group
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In recent stories, we have looked at some of the Treasure Hunt models that have come out in previous years. And by now, you're probably aware that unlicensed vehicles are often the least desirable ones. Looking through the Hot Wheels "archives" you might stumble across some interesting information. As we noticed with our 2018 review, all 15 TH models released that year were fantasy vehicles. But some of them weren't half bad.

Normally, we were planning to continue with a review of the 2017 TH series. We couldn't find a single interesting collectible there, unfortunately. Some of you might like the tooned version of the '69 Camaro Z28, or perhaps the Ford Transit Connect. But we all know that Mattel can do much better than that. Moving on to 2016, the only Treasure Hunt worth mentioning is the '11 Corvette Grand Sport. Seeing that we've already had a look at this casting during Corvette month, we decided to go further back in time.

Except for the Jeep CJ-7 which had an unfortunate livery and choice of colors, 2015 didn't have much to offer to TH collectors. 2014 came along with two decent choices to offer, and we're going to talk about one of those in a minute or so. A brief look at the cars that came out in 2013 will make you wonder about the choices Mattel was about to make for the next few years. Out of a total of 15 Treasure Hunt items, seven were licensed vehicles. And three more were closely connected to other life-sized machines.

We acknowledge the fact that ranking the 5 best Hot Wheels Treasure Hunt cars from 2013 will render different results for different people. Seeing that this is our take on the whole thing, we will still provide you with some details about the items that didn't make it to our list. Had the Ford Mustang GT Concept been part of the 2017 TH series it might have stood a chance, but its different-sized wheels and poor choice of livery dragged it down for this one.

Fantasy vehicles like the Fast Fish, the Carbonator, the Sting Rod II, the Prototype H-24, and the Bad to the Blade provided no real arguments in the fight for the Top 5 list. We've seen considerably better-designed Fire Trucks than the Fire Eater, and the Police '10 Camaro SS is just unappealing, to say the least. We're big fans of the Custom '77 Dodge Van, but it all looks so wrong with yellow tires and those Open Hole 5-spoke wheels. If there's one item we were reluctant about not including on the list, it's the Bread Box. Be sure to look out for the "Milky Way" premium version of it!

5. Circle Trucker

5 Best Hot Wheels Treasure Hunt Cars From 2013
Photo: eBay/User mac-ke4
"But Dragos, the Circle Trucker isn't exactly what you'd call a licensed casting." And you're right. Still, it's not like you're going to see one of these driving down the road on any given day. You don't even have to be a NASCAR fan to recognize where Mattel drew inspiration for this vehicle. This Jun Imai-designed casting was also featured in the 2020 Treasure Hunt series, but the older green variation feels a bit more realistic overall.

The car is painted green and features Kilpin decals and a race number among other logos. And that's just what you'd expect from a race car, regardless if it feels slightly too crowded. You will rarely see the 2013 Circle Trucker TH selling for more than $10, while the cheapest ones will only cost you about $2.

4. ’64 Lincoln Continental Convertible

5 Best Hot Wheels Treasure Hunt Cars From 2013
Photo: eBay/User evantru36
Licensed, convertible vehicles are a rare occurrence in the world of Hot Wheels Treasure Hunt collectibles. So we knew the '64 Lincoln Continental Convertible would make it on this list from the moment we first saw it. Michael Kollins designed this casting, and it has been around since the year 2000.

Mattel came up with 17 variations of it before introducing the special TH model in 2013. So it's quite strange to note that over the past 10 years, we've only seen two more iterations of this convertible, both of which came out a few years ago. The 2013 model was part of the HW City: Graffiti Rides just like the Custom '77 Dodge Van we mentioned earlier. The blue, magenta, and yellow flame design is not something you'll see every day and it doesn't look half bad with the Metallic Green paint.

And even though blue was mixed in the equation, the Gold Chrome Wire spoke wheels are perfect for the task at hand. It's no wonder Mattel teamed up with Trae Tha Truth for a special edition of this casting later on. As for the 2013 variation, you can count on finding one for less than $10 as you would expect.

3. ’12 Ford Fiesta

5 Best Hot Wheels Treasure Hunt Cars From 2013
Photo: eBay/User erniealaniz
The battle for third place was quite intense, but ultimately we felt that the '12 Ford Fiesta should take the spot. Looking at this casting, you can't help but think about the late Ken Block. There are no DC Shoes or Monster Energy decals on the 2013 Treasure Hunt. But the First Edition of this casting has "Gymkhana" written all over it in a way of speaking.

Mattel asked Mark Jones to design this tiny replica of Block's machine, back when the world was still starting to take notice of his endeavors. This Ford Fiesta race car has reached Treasure Hunt status twice so far, first in 2013 and then in 2014 as well. Both used the same 10-spoke wheel design, but with different colors and liveries.

Buying both of them will cost about $20, which is quite cheap compared to the First Edition model. One seller has listed an error take for over $4,000 on eBay. There are 20 variations of this Hot Wheels casting to collect today. The most recent one was released in 2021, so we can only hope that another variation will come out within the next 12 months.

2. Mazda RX-7

5 Best Hot Wheels Treasure Hunt Cars From 2013
Photo: Lamley Group
The first-generation Mazda RX-7 has been around for more than 40 years now. But Mattel's IMSA GTU-inspired replica was introduced in 2012. It's one of the most popular rotary-powered castings in the Hot Wheels line-up, with 20 variations released within a decade of its debut. Somehow, we haven't seen a premium version of it just yet.

But we can at least be thankful for the 2020 Super Treasure Hunt and the 2013 Treasure Hunt. The 2013 TH was part of the HW City: Night Burnerz series and featured a Silver finish with black and blue stripes. This was the first time the RX-7 was rolling around on PR5 wheels, which is still a rather rare occurrence for this casting after all these years.

Prices for this item tend to be higher than what we've seen with previously mentioned models, with some being listed for as much as $80 today. Take our advice on this and don't spend more than $15 for one, as that's a fair price all things considered.

1. Dodge Challenger Drift Car

5 Best Hot Wheels Treasure Hunt Cars From 2013
Photo: eBay/User tanjaco42
The "winner" of our 2013 Hot Wheels Treasure Hunt review is the Dodge Challenger Drift Car. Any hardcore Formula Drift fan will instantly tell you that this is a replica of Samuel Hubinette's championship-fighting machine from way back in the day. The casting came out in 2011, after a joint effort from Phil Riehlman and Eric Tscherne.

There are almost 20 different variations of it around, but the 2013 model is the only one to have reached Treasure Hunt status so far. It comes as no surprise that this car uses PR5 wheels, which is the case for several other iterations as well. You don't get to see Challengers drifting too often these days.

So it's great that Mattel created this replica car to remind us of the early stages of the sport. Given its status, you might have a hard time finding one for less than $15, but that's still not as much as you would pay for any given Super Treasure Hunt collectible.

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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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