The year was 2014, and fans of the Need for Speed franchise were able to enjoy a live-action version of their favorite video game. At the same time, our favorite diecast brand gave collectors two of the cars from the movie. One of them was a gold Pontiac GTO, and the other was a red Koenigsegg Agera R.
Now, I was already back into collecting diecast when I discovered them both, and the GTO was a casting I had. So I was never really interested in it like I was with the Agera R. Furthermore, Pontiac is a brand they were always able to use, so I figured they could end up releasing another nice looking GTO at some point in the future. On the other hand, Koenigsegg was not a brand they were able to use before. And since it was a movie replica, I thought Agera R was going to be a one-and-done thing.
Eventually, Hot Wheels not only used the casting again, they also acquired the ability to make some of the other manufacturer's vehicles. And while I was able to get all of the newer Agera R releases, I still wanted to have a red one. I know I liked the matte black one, but I feel the car looks really good finished in red. So I figured I would eventually have to try and get the Need for Speed release off of the secondary. But to my surprise, Hot Wheels' design team has decided to give collectors like me a second chance at a red one, and I couldn't be happier.
This right here is exactly what I wanted to have in my collection, and you know what? I think this is the better of the two red releases. Why is that? Well, in my opinion, the car looks neater without the extra black along its sides. I also feel the same way about the top of it too. Sure, many people won't have an issue with the large black stripe, but I think it looks much better with the thin stripes.
I'd also like to mention that I'm very pleased with their decision to use black wheels again. I mean, I would have liked this release regardless, but the debut release had black wheels too. So they are another reason why I have absolutely no need to have the movie replica.
Ultimately, there's no denying the fact that this is a fantastic alternative to the debut release. Although, I guess a hardcore fan of the Need for Speed franchise would still want the movie replica. But for me, this one is more than good enough. Alright, this wasn't the only great release from this assortment, so let's move on.
When you look up this car on the internet, you get a plethora of pictures that show red ones with no designs on them. So even though I knew there was going to be another release, I really didn't know what to expect. After all, you never know what they will or won't be able to do to another brand's vehicle. So I'm glad the license allows them to use different colors for this car, and I'm extremely pleased with their decision to use yellow. In my opinion, it's another color that's perfect classics like this.
Now, from what I can gather, there are no real-life examples of this car that have a livery, and I honestly thought there would have been, but I guess there weren't. And that makes complete sense now that I know what "Stradale" means. Basically, Italian manufactures give that name to their street-legal cars. So this release is another example of why Hot Wheels is a great diecast brand. Thanks to them, we get to see how it might have looked if it was used for racing. And I really like how they gave it the livery that's seen on the Tipo 33/3.
Before I get to the next release, I need to take a moment to talk about the wheels. As you know, the real version of this car is seen with wheels that look similar to the RR8DOT wheels. But once again, they have decided to use a different wheel for this casting. Now, the lace wheels might be an okay wheel for it, but I do think the 8-spoke wheels would have been a better choice. They might not look like the real car's wheels, but I feel they look a little more period correct than the lace wheels.
To be fair though, this is still a ten out of ten release, and I can ignore the wheels because they don't ruin the overall appearance of this release. Alright, let's move on to the third and final release I'm pleased with.
No matter what assortment it is, there is always one release that is the highlight. Sometimes it's due to a specific design choice that was made, while other times it's because of the casting itself. There's also been many times where I felt an assortment's highlight was the release I wanted the most. So it might not necessarily be the same release that everyone else likes. But this time around, the highlight is not the one I wanted the most. And the reason why is because this assortment has the debut release of the Lamborghini Essenza SCV12.
I might really like the look of older Lamborghinis, but there's no denying how stunning the newer ones are, and these diecast versions of them are just as nice. I mean, this casting even has side-view mirrors. So it truly is a ten out of ten 1:64 scale re-creation, and the wheels are the only thing I can really complain about. But I'm not going to because Hot Wheels doesn't have a premium wheel that looks like the real car's wheels. Plus, the casting looks just fine with the 10-spoke wheels.
Now, I bet a lot of collectors are also happy that it has a metal wing instead of plastic one, and you know what? I am too. A lot of the times I can ignore certain issues, but the issue with the wings getting bent was something that even I couldn't ignore. Initially, I just kind of overlooked it because I was happy to have those releases. But some of them were bent way out of shape, and that isn't a good thing when it comes to hard to find premium releases. Supposedly it could be fixed with hot water, but that solution only applies to collectors that open their releases.
This might be shocking to some, but I think this version looks better than the "chase" version. Why is that? Well, just take a look at this one's exterior. Unlike the other version, which is all black, this one features a very cool two-tone color scheme like the real car. So even though the other one is special, most Hot Wheels releases are a single color. And if you take that into consideration, then you'll start to see that the "chase" version isn't exactly as cool as this one.
Hopefully they're allowed to do whatever they want to do to this casting because I would love to see many cool racing themed releases. And I'm sure many collectors would love to see a Gulf themed one. So let's all keep our fingers crossed. Okay, those are the three releases that I'm happy with, so it's now time to go over the two I'm disappointed with.
Last year, Hot Wheels finally got the license to make the '94 Bugatti EB110 SS, and it was another one of the cars that I wanted them to make. So I was ecstatic when I finally got my hands on one, and I just knew there would eventually be a premium version too. Now, even though I was happy with the basic ones, I was very eager to see a premium one. And the reason why is because I thought they were going to create something special. But that turned out to not be the case.
Blue might be my all-time favorite color, but did they really have to use it again? I mean, it's no lie that the EB110 looks great finished in the color, but this is the casting's first premium release. So I feel they should have used a new color for it. Doing so would have definitely made its premium debut special. But I know, what they can and can't do all depends on the license. And this release has me thinking they're only allowed to use certain colors for it. Hopefully that's not the case, though. But if it is, then that would be unfortunate because there are other colors I would like to see used.
Now, to be fair, this release's exterior color is a noticeably different shade of blue, and I didn't think that was going to be the case. Thanks to the card art, I thought it was going to be finished in the same blue that was used for the mainline release. But no, it's actually darker.
Besides the color, this release also has some additional tampo details that were not added to the mainline release. And I'll admit that they do help to make this one look a little better. So it's not like this is a terrible release. I just can't get over their decision to use blue again so soon.
Another thing I can't quite understand is why they decided to put "EB 110 SS" on its license plate section when the card does not say that it's the Super Sport version. Additionally, this release has the Real Rider Aero wheels. Now, I'm no expert on Bugattis, but from what I can gather, this release is actually the EB110 GT. Of course, I could be wrong, but if I'm right, then I feel they should have put that on its license plate section instead. Doing that would have been a great way to make this example of the casting stand out from the mainline one.
Ultimately, I am still disappointed with this release, but I don't necessarily feel the same way I did when I first saw pictures of it. So I can accept what was done to it. Now then, let's move on to the release I'm really disappointed with. And no, I definitely can not accept what was done to it.
The fifth and final release from this assortment is the McLaren Speedtail, and like the EB110, my issue with it has to do with its exterior color.
Now, it does seem like they used a slightly darker version of the color, but it's basically the same as the one that was used for the debut release. At first, I thought their decision had to do with the licensing agreement, but then I realized it didn't when I came across the latest Nightburnerz 5-pack. You've seen it, right? Well, if you haven't, then you should know that it has an example of this casting that's finished in purple.
I've never really been truly mad about a design choice before, but I can honestly say that I'm mad about the choices that were made for this release. I just can't understand why they would choose to use a new color for a basic release and not a premium release. It just doesn't make sense to me! And I really don't understand why they decided to release them around the same time as each other. It's almost like they were trying to create a peg warmer.
If they were going to use blue again, than why not use a completely different version of it? Remember the blue that was used for the Factory 500 H.P. release of the McLaren 720S? Well, I feel that would have been a much better option than what was used for this release. Of course, that's not the only nice color they could have used. There's also yellow and green. At the end of the day, anything would have been better for this casting's second premium release.
Well, those are all five of the releases from this year's Exotic Envy Car Culture assortment. Now, I bet some of you are wondering why I have the EB110 and the Speedtail. Well, as you already know, I really wanted to have the Agera R, so I decided to order a case from an actual distributor. And doing so costs a pretty penny. So thanks to the design choices that were made, I feel this case isn't really worth the price I paid, and that's why I'm not too happy about this assortment.
Okay, now that you know my thoughts, I want to know yours. So feel free to let me know how you feel about this assortment down in the comment section. Alright, that's all for this edition of Looking At. Until next time, thanks for reading, and happy collecting.
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