We are about half a decade away from Hot Wheels celebrating its 60th anniversary. As part of the Mattel group, it's one of the most popular car-related brands in the world. If you're reading this, chances are that you've owned at least a few of their products or still do. The sheer diversity and number of items they've released over the years have been a contributing factor to their success. And they're not about to stop now.
Back in 1968, Hot Wheels released the first collection of scale model cars. They called it "The Sweet 16" and this was also the first appearance of the Red Line Series - cars with tires that had red pinstripes on their sides.
As the name points out, there were 16 items in this collection some of which were fictional vehicles. Some of the cars that were introduced that year are custom versions of the Barracuda, Corvette, Cougar, Eldorado, Firebird, Fleetside, Mustang, Camaro, and the Deora.
Most of these have been redesigned over the years, and you might still find variations of them in stores. If you're keen on adding all 16 items to your collection, that's not going to be an easy thing to do.
A complete set of loose items that look tired and old can go for as much as $1,000. But if you're dead serious about collecting Hot Wheels, then there's an even more exciting alternative. The best way to preserve the value of a scale model car is to never remove it from its blister.
Photo: Hot Wheels/Mattel
Furthermore, the card should be well kept, without any signs of damage. And that requires quite a bit of attention, especially if you're going to preserve it for more than half a century.
It just so happens that we came across such a set of 16 cars, but it's not cheap at all. Sitting at $19,969, that's about what you'd have to pay for a brand-new, base model Ford Maverick. Fast forward to 2002, Mattel introduced the Red Line Club for hardcore Hot Wheels enthusiasts.
Each year, members of the Red Line Club would get access to special, limited edition items. And it just so happens that one of the first RLC cars was the 1967 Camaro. Decades after the release of The Sweet 16, there were three variations of this vehicle.
All three had a chrome body and Red Line tires. There's one seller on eBay asking for $183.99 for all three items, which sounds like a great way to start a new collection. The 1967 Camaro is one of the Top 5 most popular Hot Wheels castings of all time. There are over 150 variations of the 1983-retool alone!
Photo: Hot Wheels/Mattel
Add to that the fact that you can get over 40 different versions of the 1968 model, and an additional 11 items after the 2003 updates. Sounds like starting a Camaro-only collection might take up a lot of time and a big chunk of your monthly paycheck!
A few years ago, the Red Line Club members received news of a new iteration of the Custom Camaro. That was a pretty cool way of celebrating the brand's 50th anniversary indeed. And now, the celebrations continue.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Red Line Club. And it was only fitting for Mattel to bring back the Custom Camaro with Red Line wheels. The new iteration launches on the 20th of September, at 9 AM PT.
As we've seen with several RLC items this year, this too features an opening hood with a V8 engine underneath. Meanwhile, the ZAMAC body is finished in Spectraflame Shadowchrome. Contrast is provided by the matte black roof and stripes with red outlines all around. The Neo-Classics deep-dish wheels might not be the coolest ones in the company's arsenal, but they're here to pay homage to the early days of the company.
Photo: Hot Wheels/Mattel
The cost of this RLC item is, as expected, $25. You can only purchase one car or a maximum of five per household. Looking back at the RLC cars for 2022, a total of 30,000 units is to be expected from the Custom Camaro as well.
Either way, there's a good chance that it will be sold out within the first 10 minutes. That has happened several times in 2022, so your best chance of getting it at this price is to be online the moment it goes live. Alternatively, there are some listings for it on eBay already, but they're three times as expensive.
You also need to be aware that even if you do put an order in, it will take several months before the package will arrive at your door. We've included a short video of the 2019 RLC Custom Camaro, so you can get a better view of the casting.
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. Full profile
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