First up, is the Ford RS 200. There is a bit of a back story as to why I wanted this car. If you're not new to the boulevard, then you may remember my new decade spending spree post. This post showcased my little Ebay spending spree. While I was looking for cars to buy, I came across a Ford RS 200 that was made by Matchbox. At the time, I didn't know the model I was looking at, was made in 1987. The year that it was made, combined with the fact that there wasn't very many for sell, made the one I was looking at a little pricey. As such, you could probably imagine how happy I was, when I found out that I would have a chance at getting a version of this car.
One of the things that I like about this release from Hot Wheels, is how it's design is similar to the Matchbox one that I wanted. This design, is of course based on the actual livery for this car. One minor difference between the two, has to do with the design of the casting itself. The Matchbox casting, was designed with side rear view mirrors, whereas this Hot Wheels one was not. At the end of the day though, this does not change how I feel about this release, as I'm just happy that I don't have to try and track the Matchbox one down.
Aside from this being a new Hot Wheels casting, it is also the debut of some new Real Rider five spoke wheels. These new RR wheels look awesome on this RS 200, and I like how they chose to make them gold. Gold wheels go great with the white, Ford blue, and black color scheme on this model's exterior. On a side note, I can't wait to see which castings receive these wheels next, as there are so many that would look good with them.
Now obviously being a modern Hot Wheels premium, means this model is going to feature better details than the Matchbox one from 1987. The roof scoop is a perfect example of what I mean. On the Matchbox casting, only the top of it was painted blue, whereas the whole thing is blue on this Hot Wheels one. The next set of details that are better, are obviously going to be the ones on the front and rear. And that includes head/tail lights, as well as front/rear bumper features.
As far as decals go, this release may not have all the sponsor decals from the real car, but I do like the ones that Hot Wheels was able legally use. Aside from the Ford decal, Hot Wheels currently has the legal okay to use Bilstein Shocks, and Pirelli Tires. Both of these sponsors are seen on the real life counterpart. Like the real car, this Hot Wheels release features Pirelli Tires in two main spots. The one that's over the back half of the rear wheel well, is accurately placed. The one that's supposed to be placed directly over the front wheel well, was placed on the top of this model instead.
Speeding up the hill next, is the Lancia 037. This is another casting that's making it's debut in this Car Culture assortment. After all these years, it's nice to finally see a new Hot Wheels Lancia casting. All we had from Lancia before this casting, was the Stratos, which is a great casing that needs to get a premium release. But that's another story. Today, it's all about this new 037 casting.
The Hot Wheels designers, did a marvelous job re-creating this car in 1:64 scale. And the wheels it features, further complement my opinion. Last year, Hot Wheels debuted a new RR wheel that features eight dot style slots. For the most part, this wheel is very accurate to the wheels used on this model's real life counterpart. The reason that I said for the most part, is because of the number of slots on these wheels from Hot Wheels, is off by two. Aside from that, the overall design of the wheel is close enough for me.
For this release's design, the Hot Wheels designers decided to use the actual Martini Racing livery that's seen on the real car. If Mattel and it's brands, had the legal okay to use the Martini Racing name, then this model would've featured their decal, and the design would've been colored correctly. In all honesty though, the Martini design will always look good on this car no matter what colors were used. Since Hot Wheels couldn't use the Martini decal, they decided to replace it with a decal version of the Lancia badge. And I like how it was placed in the same spot that the Martini decal is on the real car.
One of the other decal changes, is seen along the sides of the front bumper. On the real car, the sponsor decal placed there, is Olio Fiat. For this Hot Wheels release, they applied the Hella sponsor decal instead. Since Hella makes rally lights, and this is a rally car, this decal is appropriate in my opinion. This model does feature Pirelli Tires, which is one of the sponsor decals that's seen on the real car. This decal was placed twice along this model's sides. The second Pirelli decal that was placed on the side scoops, is accurately placed. The only decal that's missing from this spot, is Martini. The decal version of the Lancia badge that was placed on the sides of this car's wing, is another accurate detail.
I really like the details that were given to the rear end of this release. Aside from tail lights, this model also features this car's grill. And accurately placed on top of it, is the Pirelli Tires decal. Unlike the rear end, the front end of this model doesn't feature any decals. Aside from that, I do like how it was given front end details like lights.
Placed on the top of this model, is the decal version of the Lancia badge. The top of the wing, is the next point of interest. On the real car that's sponsored by Martini, this section has a Martini Racing decal. For this model, Hot Wheels decided changed it to Lancia Racing. I have absolutely no issue with this change. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have some type detail there, versus having no detail at all due to Mattel not having the license to use Martini.
The third car competing today, is the Audi Sport Quattro. I love how the Hot Wheels team decided to put this casting into their premium line. Having a premium version of this casting, should ultimately produce many great releases like this one. Out of all the releases of this casting so far, this one is now my personal favorite. And it's all because of the design featured on it, which is an exact replica of the one that's used on the real car.
Now then... obviously there are some changes due to legal reasons. These changes in no way affect how great this release is. With the Michelin decal, there are two main things the Hot Wheels designers did differently. The First of those things, has to do with the decal itself. The decal used for this release, features the Michelin Man. The second change, has to do with the placement of the second decal. On the real car, this decal is placed over the rear wheel, whereas on this Hot Wheels release, it was placed just after it. The Audi Sport decal on it's fenders, is also not placed in the right spot. On the real car, it's placed on the front half of the fenders, unlike the one on this model that's placed towards the back half of the fenders.
There are a few details that are accurate of course. On it's fenders, the Castrol decal is accurately placed. And on it's quarter panel, the Quattro decal is accurately placed. Another feature that's basically 100% accurate, are the wheels. I'm so glad Hot Wheels has their RRE wheels, as they are the exact same spoke shape as the wheels used on this model's real life counterpart. The racing number plate on it's doors, was designed correctly as well. Like the real one, the top of this one is blue. The decal in it, is of course different, but I do like how they at least put one there. And the Audi decal was a great choice.
Lastly, I like the details that were given to this release's front and rear. Like the initial basic release of this casting, the front end features the grill, Audi badge, and head lights. Since this is a premium release, it was also given additional front bumper details. The rear of this model, was given taillights, as well as two decals. The decals featured on the rear of this model, are Audi and Quattro.
The fourth car to make it's trek up the hill, is the Porsche 934.5. Like the Audi, I'm happy to see a premium version of this casting. I hope it gets many great releases, with fantastic re-created liveries. The overall livery on this release, seems to take inspiration from the number 59 Porsche 934.5 of Brumos Racing. Sadly... this team is no longer in business. This release from Hot Wheels, has one key aspect that leads me to believe this. And that aspect, is it's overall stripe design.
The stripe design over the rear wheels, aside from being the same as the Brumos one, has a similar color placement to the real car's stripes. On the Brumos Porsche, a red stripe is over a blue one. On this Hot Wheels version, the blue stripe was changed to yellow. The sides of the real car, also had a very thin stripe design that ran along the top half of it's sides. For this release, the Hot Wheels designers re-imagined that stripe. Instead of it being thin, they chose to make it the same width as the one that's over the rear wheels.
Up on the top of this Porsche, is a stripe design that is practically the same as the car this is based on. Like the real car, the red stripe is on the passenger side. The only difference is with the color of the stripe on the driver side. On the Brumos 934.5, this stripe is blue. This was of course changed to yellow on this model. Another aspect that's the same, is the placement of the racing numbers. Like the sides of the Brumos 934.5, the racing number is placed on the back half of the doors. And for the number on the hood, it is within a white circle.
The Hot Wheels RRA wheels, were in my opinion, a fantastic wheel choice for this release. And being done in white, is another similarity to the Brumos Porsche. Even though they don't look the same as the real car's wheels, they still give this model an authentic racing look.
The first four cars from this set, are all classics with a lot of history. This set does however, have one car that is modern, and has made some history of it's own as well. With that said, the last car climbing the hill today, is the Volkswagen ID R. This is such a stunning car, and it's nice to see a good looking Hot Wheels re-creation of it. This car, is Volkswagen's first electric race car. Competing in the Pikes Peak, this car made history as the first car to make a sub eight minute climb.
Based on the pictures I've seen, the real life car has been seen finished in four different color schemes. I'll be honest, I don't know the exact order of these color schemes, so I'll just list them. The color schemes are all black, grey/black, blue/black, and red/black. For this debuting release, the Hot Wheels designers decided to give this model the grey/black color scheme. Or to be more precise, the grey with a black roof color scheme.
Like the real ID R with this grey and black color scheme, this too features the number 94. The roof, was given accurate details, which includes a white 94 and a decal version of the Volkswagen badge. I only wish that it had the sponsor decals that are seen on the top of it's real life counterpart. In fact, speaking of decals, I also noticed how the real car had different tire sponsors. The real grey one, appears to have been sponsored by Michelin Tires. Again, I don't know the exact color orders, but it seems like the possible later color versions of this car, are sponsored by Bridgestone Tires.
Mattel does currently have the license to use the Michelin decal with the Michelin Man. As such, I feel this model should've at least had that decal. The sides of this model's wing, could've also featured the decal like the real life counterpart's wing. Maybe the Hot Wheels design team decided that there were space issues, but I personally think the sides of this model's wing have enough space. As usual though, my gripe in no way detracts from how much I love this release.
For this releases wheels, the Hot Wheels designers decided to give it black and chrome RRA wheels. I have no issue with these, since Hot Wheels does not currently have a Real Rider wheel that looks anything like the wheels on the real car.
I hope to see many future releases of the RS200 and Lancia 037. In my opinion, these two castings would also make for some awesome Team Transport releases as well. With the ID R, I hope to see it released again, with the other color schemes. And since blue is my favorite color, I would personally love to get a release based off of the blue and black color scheme. At the end of the day, I'm excited at the thought of all the possible future releases.
So racers, do you have a favorite from this set? Or do you like me, like all five? Go ahead and let me know your opinions down in the comments section. Okay everyone, until next time, thanks for reading and happy collecting!
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