Car culture is undeniably one of the best lines Hot Wheels has ever made, featuring models of some of the greatest cars ever built. However, the line has a glaring omission – it contains very few of the cars that make up the majority of modern car culture.
Go to a car meet and take a look around. You’ll see a rainbow of GTI’s, Focus ST’s, Subaru WRX’s, and other hot hatches. Indeed, hot hatches are perhaps the most accessible and beloved part of car culture, yet Hot Wheels has produced relatively few of these automotive icons. That’s doing a disservice to all the fans that would love to have models of the cars they actually own and see at their local car meets. My proposal is simple: Hot Wheels Car Culture – Hot Hatchbacks.
Most premium Hot Wheels mixes feature about two new castings and three recolors, and my hypothetical mix is no exception. My dream mix features the following cars:
- 2019 VW Golf R (New Casting)
- 2019 Hyundai Veloster N (New Casting)
- 2016 Ford Focus RS (Existing Casting Upgraded to Premium)
- Subaru Impreza WRX STI Hatch (Existing Casting)
- Fiat 500 (Existing Casting)
2019 VW Golf R
The 2019 Golf R is the facelifted version of the wonderful Mk7 Golf R, which would make an excellent addition to the Hot Wheels lineup. Not only would this casting make up for the mediocre “Mk7 VW Golf” casting that has been relegated to cartoonish tampo designs, but it would also provide an excellent option for use in future Car Culture sets (a VW set, for example). I would like to see the Golf R in its iconic Lapiz blue with silver wheels, and full front and rear detailing.
2019 Hyundai Veloster N
The Veloster N is the car that launched Hyundai’s N performance division and won Road & Track’s Performance Car of the Year in 2020. It’s proving to be a hit with enthusiasts, and would be the first Hyundai vehicle to enter the Hot Wheels lineup since the Genesis Coupe! I would like to see this model in Performance Blue with black wheels to match the press vehicles. This casting would be somewhat harder than the Golf R to fit into future premium mixes due to the lack of similar cars in the Hot Wheels lineup, but I would love to see it nonetheless. They made a Lykan Hypersport after all!
2016 Ford Focus RS
The Focus RS became iconic as soon as Ford showed off the drift mode on its AWD system, and it has been a staple at car meets ever since. This casting has seen a few outings in mainline, though only the debut release sported a clean deco (albeit without taillights). My hypothetical mix sees it upgraded to premium with a metal base, in flat gray with black wheels. Nitro blue may be a more iconic color, but then 60% of the cars in this mix would be blue!
Subaru Impreza WRX STI Hatch
Perhaps the most obvious casting to join a hot hatch mix, the WRX STI is a beloved and underutilized casting. It has already been converted for premium duty, appearing in the Furious Off-Road mix. For the Hot Hatchbacks mix, I would like to see it in a bright red with silver wheels, similar to the car Evan Shanks used to have.
Fiat 500
The Fiat 500 is another casting that has already seen premium use in the Euro Style set, so it’s a natural fit for this mix. With its raucous exhaust note and undeniable Italian charm, it’s always one of my favorite cars to see rolling out of a Cars & Coffee. For this mix, this casting should feature the iconic white paint with red accents rolling on small white wheels. While this is an odd color combo, it will be instantly recognizable to Fiat fans as one of the signature color combinations of this quirky hatchback.
This mix of cars would not only be perfect for anyone looking to set up a car meet scene on their Dream Customs mat, but it would represent one of the strongest Car Culture mixes in recent memory. Collectors have proven their desire for clean, stock decos on modern enthusiast cars through the fervor surrounding Modern Classics 2 and 3, and this set would allow those collectors to buy models of the cars they likely actually own. Imagine the #LamleyHype…
DiecastLeno 
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