Vintage Hot Wheels

What are vintage Hot Wheels?  Where can you get these vintage Hot Wheels diecast cars and trucks?

Vintage Hot Wheels are the cars and trucks from the very first edition that were released in 1968.  The original 16, also known as the “Sweet Sixteen” are the most coveted by all collectors.  They have the iconic red line tires and spectraflame paint.  The original 16 models are as follows:

Beatnik Bandit

Custom Barracuda

Custom Camaro

Custom Corvette

Custom Cougar

Custom Eldorado

Custom Firebird

Custom Fleetside

Custom Mustang

Custom T-Bird

Custom Volkswagen

Deora

Ford J-Car

Hot Heap

Python

Silhouette

These cars came in many different colors and some are more valuable than others.

Here are 10 of the most expensive Hot Wheels ever made.

1971 Purple Olds 442

The color purple is what makes this model valuable. Most of the other Olds 442 models come in magenta – which is more pink than purple – and only a few of these true purple ones exist in proper condition. Their value? Anywhere from $1,400 – $2,000.

1968 Custom Volkswagen Without Sunroof

Originally, this Hot Wheel was only available in Europe. Though made in Hong Kong, most of the models were sold in Germany and the United Kingdom. They also had a different interior and no plastic side windows like your typical Volkswagen models. Because it is different than other models, the parts aren’t interchangeable with the American version of this vehicle.

Typically, the 1968 Custom Volkswagen without Sunroof came in blue or aqua. Really rare models came in orange, red, green and copper. If you find one loose, it’ll cost you around $1,500.

1968 White Enamel Camaro

Legend has it that this model is the first Hot Wheel ever produced and could rarely be found sold loose, much less in a blister pack. If you find one for sale today, expect to pay around $2,500.

1970 Red Baron With White Interior

At last count, fewer than 10 of the 1970 Red Baron with White Interior are known to exist. This model was never sold widely and only produced as a prototype with no marking decal on the helmet. If you find one, you can expect to spend approximately $3,000 to add it to your collection.

The car’s history, though, is interesting. Inspired by the German World War I fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen (better known as the Red Baron), this Hot Wheel was designed to look like a World War I era fighter plane in many ways.

1995 Collector Number 271 Funny Car

Only 12 of this model were reportedly ever made, making it perhaps the rarest Hot Wheel produced in the 1990s. They were printed and released on a blue card with the ‘271’ collector’s number printed on it. As of this year, only six of the 1995 Collector Number 271 Funny Car has been found and there aren’t any variations on this model. As a result, the estimated value of this Hot Wheel is around $3,500.

Note that if you happen to find a car that looks like this in your basement, you’ll need the marked package to prove its value.

1970 Ed Shaver Custom AMX

This model, which was exclusively available in the United Kingdom, was only produced in blue and originally sold as part of the “Exclusive Racing Car Series”.

What makes the model valuable is the Ed Shaver stickers. Shaver was an American serviceman based in the UK and Mattel (who, of course, makes Hot Wheels) sponsored his drag racing career. Some of these were passed out at race tracks where Shaver raced and as part of a mail-in cereal box promotion. Only a few of these models exist today and they retail for around $4,000.

1970 “Mad Maverick” Base Mighty Maverick

This car is rare simply because of the word ‘mad’. Mad Maverick was its original title, but it was soon repacked as Mighty Maverick. As of now, only five Mad Maverick editions are known to exist – two in blue, one in purple and one unassembled with no assigned color – and their value is hard to peg down as a result.

1974 Blue Rodger Dodger

The Rodger Dodger model is your standard muscle car Hot Wheel and a quick eBay search will net you red, yellow and purple models. The blue, however, is rare because only seven were made as a special batch of Rodger Dodgers produced in the mid-1970s. The blue color may have also been a UK exclusive.

Oddly enough, a man by the name of Bob Parker traded models with a collector in England and received two Blue Rodger Dodgers in the first box he received. He asked for more, received five and sold all seven to collectors in the United States. Assuming he would receive more, he didn’t keep one for himself. If you happen to find one for sale online, it’ll cost you around $8,000 based on past sales.

1968 “Cheetah” Base Python (Hong Kong Base)

The 1968 “Cheetah” Base Python Hot Wheel gets its name from its metal made from a Hong Kong patent pending base. The one issue which made it so rare? The car – which is now known as a Python – shared the name with GM Executive Bill Thomas’s Corvette modeled ‘Cobra Killer’.

As a result, only a few of these were made before the name change and all of those were made in red. Only a few have been found and they retail for $10,000 or more online.

1969 Pink Rear-Loading Volkswagen Beach Bomb

There is only one known 1969 Pink Rear-Loading Volkswagen Beach Bomb. Owned by Bruce Pascal – who owns perhaps the world’s biggest and most valuable Hot Wheels collection – it was built as a prototype in 1969. It features surfboards loaded into the back via a rear window. On the version that was eventually released, the surfboards slid into a side pod.

This model never made it to the mass production because the car was deemed too narrow to function and a fit properly in the Hot Wheels Super Charger. As a result, this entire body style was scrapped by Mattel.

Pascal reportedly purchased this Hot Wheel for a cool $72,000 – making it far and away the most expensive collectible on this list. A second one reportedly does exist, but that fact has not been verified.

In terms of vintage Hot Wheels, any of the diecast cars and trucks made from 1968 to 1977 are considered to be vintage because of the red line wheels they have.  As a collector, any chance you get to buy or even come across a vintage red line Hot Wheels car, you pull the trigger and become the owner of that diecast car or truck.  They are what makes your collection valuable.  The more you own and have in your collection, the more your collection is going to be worth.  If you’re looking to build your ultimate collection and become the proud owner of these vintage Hot Wheels, go to Ebay, Etsy, Amazon or visit any local flea markets or estate sales and you just might get lucky to find them and become the owner of them.