Inside the 2023 Hot Wheels Case P: Behold the New Datsun Super Treasure Hunt

And Mattel's release schedule isn't helping, either. The newest mainline case is on its way to stores worldwide, even though my local stores need to catch up on deliveries. Case P is the 14th one for 2023, so we only need to get case Q before waiting for the 2024 collection. And that will happen within the next two or three weeks, judging by how things went last year.

With case P coming up, collectors should start hunting for the new Super Treasure Hunt item: the '71 Datsun Bluebird 510 Wagon. Jun Imai designed this casting for its 2013 Boulevard release, and a mix of 26 more variations followed suit. There are Premium and Mainline versions of this casting, and 2014 even brought another Super Treasure Hunt iteration.

That one can sell for as much as $400 today, so it's safe to assume that this new model will be one of the most popular STHs this year. The Spectraflame Watermelon paint job is adorned with lightning bolts and Datsun-specific decals. But you will surely appreciate the Classic 4-Spoke Real Riders wheels, which we first saw in the 2016 Japan Historics series.

The Treasure Hunt item for Case P is good, too: I'd prefer the 2020 Ram 1500 Rebel over any fantasy TH release this year. This Ryu Asada-designed casting has been around since 2020, and nothing is special about it. After five variations, it's good to see a TH finally, but Mattel could have opted for different wheels for a change. Let's see what other exciting cars are hiding inside Case P.

This should be helpful information the next time you go out diecast hunting. The Jeep Scrambler is back after a four-year-long hiatus! This is one of the oldest Hot Wheels castings, first appearing in 1983. A retooling occurred in 2009, and there are over 20 variations on the market for a complete collection. Several iterations of the initial design sported metal bodies and Real Riders wheels, but that's different here.

We can at least be thankful for a new paint job. I bought the Metalflake Navy Blue '80 El Camino earlier this year, and I was disappointed I couldn't get my hands on the Dollar General exclusive model in yellow. But this new green and white combo looks interesting enough to make you consider adding it to your collection. But it's no novelty. The black Mazda RX-7 FC3S is back for the second time in a row, but the same applies to other vehicles in Case P too.

So we will focus on new castings and designs instead. The new Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution variation is almost identical to the first one, but the colors have been reversed. There's a new color for the '82 Cadillac Seville, and it's slightly better than the Metalflake Gold Mattel used earlier this year.

Sonny Fisher designed the brand-new Ford F-150 Lightning Custom casting, and it's undoubtedly one of the most impressive machines we've seen all year. The blue body features black, grey, and white accents, and the electric truck rolls around on Aerodisc wheels, which are always cool to see on any vehicle. Plenty of Hot Wheels Vipers are on the market, but this '92 Dodge RT/10 is a brand-new casting for 2023.

A set of 3-spoke wheels complements the red finish, and I hope that a Premium or STH variation will follow for 2024. The Honda Super Cub Custom now has a second color variation after the first white and red model came out a few months ago. The GMC Hummer EV inside Case P is not to be mistaken for Ken's vehicle from the Barbie movie, albeit they are almost identical. This is the fourth iteration of a casting that first appeared in 2022, and green fits it quite well, given the powertrain inside.

Seeing a new version of the Land Rover Defender 90 is always lovely, as this casting has only been around since 2020. This is its first appearance for 2023, but it can't hold a candle to last year's Boulevard release. Case P contains the third release of the Plymouth GTX for 2023 and one of thirty iterations in the past 20+ years. But it's less exciting than seeing the '57 Jeep FC truck, a new casting designed by Phil Riehlman. The Forward Control vehicle is now part of the Baja Blazers series, and it is no surprise that Mattel chose Beadlock Off-road wheels.

It feels like this is more of a Matchbox casting, but I don't think anyone will complain about that anytime soon. The '69 Dodge Charger 500 is one of my favorite Hot Wheels castings, and this new purple release is more than welcome, despite the gold wheels. It's the 16th iteration since its debut in 2015, but we have yet to see a Premium variation.

The Tesla Roadster debuted in the Mainline series earlier this year, and it's only natural that Matel already came out with another color variation, as Metalflake Silver was a rather dull option. And that concludes our assessment of the 2023 Hot Wheels Case P: it's not the best this year, but there are still a few cars inside worth looking for in your nearby toy stores.