My Want List: 2022 Hot Wheels Car Culture - Deutschland Design

Hello, and welcome to another edition of My Want List. Well, Hot Wheels has decided to make a sequel to last year's German themed Car Culture assortment. And once again, they've picked some awesome castings, which is why I wish I was able to find all five. But I already knew there was going to be one that was hoarded. At this point, whenever I see a picture of a new assortment, I can immediately spot the release that's going to be the one that never makes it to the pegs. And I knew right away that that release was going to be the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. So I'm not disappointed at all. Anyway, today's post isn't about what I couldn't find, so let's move on to the ones I found.

Sometimes, there's a release you just have to have, and the reason for that will vary. It could be because the release is new, and you think it might not have another release, or it could be because it features a specific livery. Another reason could be because the release is in a premium line that it normally wouldn't be a part of. And that's the exact reason why I had to have the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.  

This casting made its debut last year in the Pop Culture series, and I suspect that it will mostly be used for that series. Of course, I could be wrong, but these panel van castings are mostly seen in the various Pop Culture assortments. I, for one, think it's disappointing because there could be so many great releases of castings like the Dodge A100 if they used it for the Car Culture series on a regular basis. But no, it continues to only be used for the Pop Culture series. Fortunately, some of the panel van castings are picked for a Car Culture assortment, and I'm glad this Sprinter is one of the ones they picked

As you know, a lot of Car Culture releases feature some type of design, and while there's nothing wrong with that, I do think it's nice to have a plain release. With that said, I really like how they chose to make this release plain. I know it has a black hood, but its exterior doesn't feature a shop or racing support theme. Now, there could eventually be a release of this casting that features one of those two themes, and I'll probably really like it. However, this one will still be my favorite due to it being plain.

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a premium release? For me, it's a diecast model with the best details. And in my opinion, replicas of race cars are currently some of the best premium releases due to how accurate they're able to make them. So with that being said, this assortment has the debut release of the 1994 AMG-Mercedes C-Class DTM Touring car, and I feel it's the perfect example of a premium release with the best details.  

Hot Wheels has made a lot of good replicas over the years. But every so often, they'll make one that's out of this world, and I feel this is one of them. They did a fantastic job with the overall design of this casting, and I love all of the details that were applied to its exterior. I especially like how it features the front and rear window banners.

The only thing about this replica that's not quite accurate, are its wheels. Based on the pictures I found, the real car used lace style wheels, and as you can see, the designer chose to give this release the Aero Disk wheels. Now, I'm not entirely sure if the D7RRs would have worked with this casting or not, so I would have used the MCRRs instead. But at the end of the day, I think this replica looks just fine with the Aero Disk wheels. 

I'm actually shocked at how it got overshadowed by the Porsche. You'd think releases like this would be the ones to get. But hey, I'm not complaining because this is one of the ones I really wanted due to the fact that I have the D2 Privat themed CLK-GTR. 

This Car Culture assortment also has a second new casting, and it's a '12 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe Black Series. And from what I can gather, there's a special version of it that's black. Now, to be honest, I really don't see why they had to go and make premium "chase" releases. I know they want collectors to look forward to their products each month, but we all know it's only going to be certain people that get them. So it's not something I would have considered doing. Anyway, all I cared for was the regular version, so I'm glad I was able to find it, and I think the car looks just fine finished in red.

It might be a small detail, but I really like how they chose to add a tampo to the canards, and it wasn't just the sides of them either. They also chose to add a tampo to the top of them, and I think it was a nice touch. Now, the tampo on mine isn't perfect, but I don't mind at all. Even if they aren't evenly placed, I appreciate any and all additional tampo details. 

As for the design of this casting, I do kind of wish they designed it with a plastic wing instead. Doing so would have made this casting look a little more accurate. But I'm sure many of you prefer this design instead due to the fact that the plastic wings end up getting bent. Other than the wing, this is a very nice casting, and I'm looking forward to many more releases of it.

Besides Mercedes-Benz, Audi is another manufacturer that we've seen more of in recent years, and I think we're all glad they're able to make more of their vehicles. I, for one, am extremely happy because we've gotten castings like the Hot Wheels 2019 R8 Spyder and the Matchbox '20 TT RS. So hopefully this Audi trend continues. Now, the two aforementioned castings aren't the only nice ones we've gotten in recent years. Last year, Hot Wheels gave us a premium release of the S4 Quattro, and thankfully, it wasn't a one-time release like the Nissan 2020 Vision GT.

I wasn't really sure what they'd choose to do for another one, but I have to say, I'm pleased with this second one. Although, it is worth mentioning that the first one is still my favorite for obvious reasons. Anyway, this car looks great finished in Imola yellow, so I'm really glad they chose to use it for the second release of this casting. Now I'm curious to see what color they pick next. If it was up to me, I'd choose Cactus Green or Hibiscus Red. Of course, those are just my suggestions, and I'm sure you have a different color you'd like to see used. 

I'd also like to see them use different wheels for this casting too. Sure, the six-spoke wheels are accurate, but we've gotten two very accurate releases now. So I think it'd be cool to see one that has a slightly customized look to it. And to achieve that, I'd make it Hibiscus Red with black MCRRs. They could also use the RREs too.

Okay, that's all four of the releases that were left. To be honest, I'm really glad they decided to add a Porsche to this assortment. Doing so made it easier for me to find these four, which I feel are just as good as the Porsche. And I actually think the C-Class DTM Touring Car is even better than it. Ultimately, I'm very pleased with this year's Deutschland Design assortment, and I hope they eventually do a third one with five more awesome vehicles from German manufacturers. 

So how do you feel about the releases from this assortment? Was the Porsche the only one you wanted? Feel free to let me know down in the comment section. Okay, that's all for this edition of My Want List. Till next time, thanks for reading, and happy collecting. And remember, these are just toys.