Normally, I make a dedicated top 5 list for both the Hot Wheels mainline and the premium line, but I decided to combine them into one roundup this year. The Hot Wheels mainline felt pretty weak this year, with only a few new models that interested me, so any top 5 list would require padding out the list with models that don’t actually excite me. The premium line was much better, but since the release cadence was so far behind this year, several of the top contenders (Mk3 Toyota Supra, Viper SRT10, ‘24 Civic Type R) either haven’t been released in my area or aren’t in my possession yet – and I don’t give awards to models I haven’t seen in person. So, this year’s slightly unconventional “top 5” will be a list of my favorite models that I’ve added to my collection from each line, in no particular order.
Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato
The Huracan Sterrato is a model I was surprised to see, given that Hot Wheels already has a model of the standard Huracan. I’m happy to see it though, because the Sterrato is an incredibly cool car and Hot Wheels nailed this casting. It looks sleek and low while still looking ruggedized and featuring more ground clearance. Those black fender flares are a highlight, though it’s unfortunate that their detailing comes at the expense of any rear lights. Even these wheels, which often ruin any car they appear on, feel like a perfect fit for the Sterrato!
Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Unlike the Sterrato’s surprise appearance in the line, it seemed inevitable that the new Mustang would appear in Hot Wheels’ lineup. What I couldn’t have predicted was how flawlessly the Hot Wheels team would execute this model! Everything about this model feels perfect – the casting, the detailing, the paint color – it’s truly a master class in mainline design. I love it. The Dark Horse has a low and aggressive stance, while still having the visual heft that a muscle car should. The headlights pop against the black detailing around the grille, and the heat extractor on the hood is a separate piece (a rarity among modern Hot Wheels models).
The rear of the Dark Horse features unusually good tampo accuracy for a Hot Wheels model, with perfectly aligned brake lights that look properly three-dimensional, rather than just printed on. The rear diffuser and exhaust tips are very well modeled, and I love the addition of an actual rear license plate!
Pagani Utopia
Every once in a while, there’s a new casting that feels like a love letter from the designer. That’s how this Pagani Utopia feels: seemingly every detail was fussed over until the entire model was perfect. Paganis have been famously difficult cars for Hot Wheels to replicate in 1/64, which makes it all the more special to see this one turn out so perfectly. The color match between the plastic base and the painted diecast body is so close that you can barely tell they’re different materials, and the wheel fitment is perfect. The Utopia’s complicated grille design feels far more detailed than a $1 model has any right to, and the headlights get printed detailing to really make the model feel complete!
The Utopia’s side profile is unmistakably Pagani, with tall swooping fenders and that small passenger cabin. If you look closely, you can even see Horacio Pagani’s signature in front of the rear wheel! The only bit of detailing that feels off on this model is the leather straps for the hood and engine cover, which are only detailed on the diecast body section and not the base.
Regular readers will know that I love a detailed exhaust, so I’m a huge fan of the color break that really shows off Pagani’s signature quad exhaust tips. Interestingly, this black plastic isn’t part of the interior piece as you might expect – the interior on this Utopia is red – so I suspect this black plastic piece was added just to give the exhaust an additional pop of color! The rear bumper features a printed Utopia logo, though I would have rather seen printed detailing on the brake lights. The spoiler looks great, and I think Hot Wheels did an excellent job replicating it within the design constraints of a mainline model.
I don’t normally shoot cars from above, but I had to make an exception to show off the excellent greenhouse on this Utopia! Check out all the individual little windows here, which really show off that gorgeous (and appropriately outrageously colored) red interior. I also appreciate all the metal flake in the paint, which helps transform an otherwise bland beige into a color that looks classy and expensive.
The Utopia casting is so good, it feels like a perfect candidate to be upgraded to the premium line – I hope to see it in a future Exotic Envy set!
Nissan SilEighty
Perhaps the biggest surprise with this new casting is that Nissan approved the licensing at all. Given how finicky a lot of licensors can be, I’m impressed that Hot Wheels got permission to produce a model that is effectively a mashup of two different cars. While I still prefer the original 180SX casting, I just find it cool that the SilEighty exists in diecast form. Sure, the casting feels a bit too big and the rear window looks a little off, but the rest of the casting is nicely detailed. I particularly like the detailing on the Silvia front end, though it does feature the premium line’s prevalent pixelation. The biggest issue with this particular release is the wheels, which are both too wide and too cheap looking – luckily, we’ve already seen sneaks of an upcoming 2 pack release that will fix that problem!
Toyota Soarer
This Soarer has a similar size problem to the SilEighty, where it feels a little too big and a little too heavy, but when viewed by itself it looks awesome! These wheels are a perfect fit and I like the mostly clean look (not really sure why it needed Falken logos at all). The little pieces of black trim around the windows are a nice touch! This is just a simple, nicely detailed model with a great stance that looks like it would be at home at a car show or a drift track.
2004 Subaru Forester STI
The Forester STI is easily the model I was most excited for this year, and it does not disappoint! Back in my high school days, when all my friends had WRXs and Evos, the Forester STI was always the forbidden fruit performance car that we dreamed about. This debut version from the Modern Classics series is the perfect dream spec: it’s World Rally Blue (of course), it has the perfect stance, and even the wheels are correct! Hot Wheels spared no expense on detailing here either, with a black mesh grille, fully detailed headlights, and even STI logos on the fog light covers! I will always be a sucker for the Subie hood scoop…
Check out that boxy shape! This car truly represents the best of Subaru from the mid-2000’s – a modern classic indeed!
The Forester STI gets full rear detailing as well, featuring brake lights that wrap perfectly around the sides of the car and surprisingly legible badges on the tailgate. I have to tip my hat to the designer for the clever use of the base/interior piece to form the license plate, which also helps avoid a rear rivet. That means there’s no post in the interior and no rivet messing up the shape of the rear diffuser and exhaust. This is great design work, and I hope we see a lot more of this casting, especially given the lack of clean Subies in the Hot Wheels lineup!
Toyota GR Corolla
While this casting is technically part of the 2023 line, its release was so delayed that I didn’t get it until October of 2024, so it seems only fair to include it in this year’s roundup. I wrote a rather lengthy post on this model that you can check out for all my thoughts, but in short, it’s my favorite super chase yet. Given my love of hot hatches and the brilliant execution of this casting, it’s not surprising that this would end up being one of my favorite models of the year. The biggest shame is that the chase version is the only way to get a clean deco on this casting, at least for now.
I sincerely hope Hot Wheels gives us a recolor of this casting in the near future, rather than making us wait years as they sometimes do with premium models, because more collectors deserve to be able to get their hands on great models like this. I believe a red one would be a perfect fit for the Boulevard line, but it could also make for a great Toyota 2 pack with the new Mk3 Supra!
That wraps up this year’s top 5 lists! Be sure to check out my others if you haven’t already, and stay tuned for all the great things coming in 2025!
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