'73 Plymouth Duster Joins '65 Dodge Coronet and Three More Cars in New Hot Wheels Set

The Car Culture series of adult collector-focused, premium diecast cars has been around since 2016. That first Japan Historics set of five vehicles is quite expensive to buy these days, with some eBay sellers charging as much as $400 for one. So a good rule of thumb is: always buy those premium Hot Wheels cars you like as soon as they arrive in stores. That way you'll get them at retail price, as their value is bound to increase over time.

In 2022, Mattel released a total of eight Car Culture sets, starting with the American Scene mix. It wasn't long ago that we had a look at the all-Japanese Ronin Run collection, but there was one more left in the 2022 lineup. And that happens to be the 1/4-mile-special Dragstrip Demons. This is the 44th Car Culture set since the start of the series, and it will be interesting to see if Mattel is going to release more than eight of them in 2023. As you would expect, there are five cars inside. But if you're lucky enough, you might find the sixth one too. More about that at the end of this story.

'65 Dodge Coronet

The '65 Dodge Coronet is the first car to leave its "plastic" jail, and we can't help but once again notice how good the diecast manufacturer has become with designing the blister cards. We're at a point where even if you do take the car out, you should at least hold on to the card for display purposes too. One thing we'd like to point out is that the concept of Dragstrip Demons is not entirely new to Mattel.

You might remember seeing a Car Culture version of it back in 2018, but it doesn't stop there. The '65 Dodge Coronet has been around since 2009, and it's a Dragstrip Demons-exclusive casting! Designed by Rob Matthes, there are six variations of it around, including the newest one. With any luck, you should be able to get them all for under $200.

Just like the First Edition model, the 2022 variation features a white body. But instead of the Dave Strickler Racing Enterprise graphics, this one was finished with Original Ramcharger decals and red stripes. You'll also notice the mismatched wheels, with the Real Riders Drag Dish model on the rear and the Preferred Series Real Riders up front. From our perspective, this is one of the best-looking cars in the set and all it needs now is a dragstrip diorama to achieve perfection.

Volkswagen "Classic Bug"

Mattel called on Mark Jones to design the Volkswagen "Classic Bug" casting for its 2019 release. This is another Premium-only model for Hot Wheels, with appearances in Car Culture, Replica Entertainment, and Boulevard. You'll find only four other variations of it on the market, besides the one that you can see here.

And they're not that hard to get, seeing that each one has a market value of about $30 or less. Still, the new Slug Bug is probably the most exciting one so far. The purple tones look great in contrast with the white body.

And that visual impact is strong enough to make you forget that this is the third time Mattel is using the Classic 4-Spoke Real Rider for this casting. Some collectors will tell you that there are more exciting Beetle castings to look for. But then again, someone who's a big enthusiast of this classic car will probably be excited about all of them equally.

'64 Chevy Nova Gasser

The '64 Chevy Nova Gasser is up next, and this Brendon Vetuskey-designed casting hasn't been around for too long either. As opposed to the previous two vehicles, this made its debut in the Mainline series back in 2019. It was elevated to Super Treasure Hunt status in 2021, but STH models are still using a plastic base.

So the current variation is the first one to be made out of metal, which also means it's the first premium 1/64th scale Nova Wagon Gasser on the market. While prices for the STH range between $25 to $80, the Dragstrip Demons version is going to be a lot cheaper than that for now.

The eighth iteration of the casting features "Mother's little helper" decals on the side, which may or may not sound strange to you. The typical Gasser stance is accompanied by a set of RRPrf wheels with particularly bulky tires on the back. After all, this is supposed to be a replica of a 1/4-mile warrior. Or in this case, it may be more along the lines of a 1/256-mile warrior.

'73 Plymouth Duster

From our perspective, the '73 Plymouth Duster is the best casting in the new Dragstrip Demons mix. And it's this one that we expected Mattel would select to be the Chase Car, but that's not how things went down. This is the second-oldest casting on the list, as it was first released in 2011.

Its first appearance was meant to be a replica of Sox and Martin's '73 Plymouth Duster, and it was part of the Vintage Racing that was meant as a replacement for the Dragstrip Demons. In case you've never seen one of these before, there's a good explanation for that. Mattel only released three variations of the casting between 2011 and 2012, so there hasn't been a new model in almost 10 years now!

You will be able to get a complete collection of these for less than $200, which is not that bad given the context. The new "Last Stand" Duster features a purple paint job with red and yellow stripes, and several sponsor logos as well. The RRSteelie wheels are always a great addition, even though these were also used on the "Holy Moly" Duster from back in 2012.

'33 Willys

And it's time to see the last item in the set. The '33 Willys is the rarest casting here, as it's also the First Edition model to be released by Mattel. The company brought in Phil Riehlman to design this pickup, which fittingly has Rust Bucket written on both doors. This design could be quite popular among older Hot Wheels enthusiasts, but it's bound to be ignored by the new generation that's only avid for JDM vehicles.

You'll notice a mix of RRDragD and RRSteelie wheels, and you should also be aware of the fact that Mattel chose this as the Chase car for the Dragstrip Demons. But if you don't fancy paying a premium price to get your hands on it, the best way to go about the situation is to purchase a sealed case of 10 cars and hope for the best.

The Chase version isn't all black, as you'd expect, but still retains the rusty look of the original model. Some people are already asking as much as $80 for one of these, but you should try your luck first before making a move like that. And if you genuinely like the casting, you'll be happy to know that a new variation is coming out as a Team Transport model in 2023. Until then, you can get the whole Dragstrip Demons set of 10 collectibles for about $76. And if you don't care about the Chase, you'll only have to pay just under $45 for all five items.