One of the most exciting moments on the diecast calendar every year is the Hot Wheels Convention, where we always get a sneak peak at some of the models coming later in the year. While Hot Wheels doesn’t cover the full line as extensively as Matchbox does at the Gathering, it’s still a fun opportunity to see some upcoming models. As is tradition, the Hot Wheels team also brought some very exciting prototypes that weren’t covered during the preview presentation…but more on that later.
Up first was the mainline – and honestly, there wasn’t too much new or exciting here. We got our first look at a new model called Twin Tags, which seems likely to rival the old “Zoom In” GoPro car for pegwarming supremacy. Most of the rest of the mainline section was either uninteresting or stuff we’ve already seen leak, so let’s skip right to premium.
After a recap of the Modern Classics, Vintage Racing, and Aero Styles sets that have already leaked, we saw our first new set: Road Trip. This set is dominated by trucks that honestly don’t interest me much, but I am excited for this Subaru Legacy GT! Modified Subarus filled the school parking lot when I was in high school, so I will always have a soft spot for these sleeper Subie wagons. I love the blue paint and stock deco, and the ride height is the perfect sweet spot of lowered style while maintaining usability. I’m not crazy about these wheels, though. I suspect the intent was for these to be the classic Subaru gold BBS’s, but they look straight-up yellow, at least in this picture. I may have to swap mine over to gray 10 spokes…
The next set to be featured was a return of the Deutschland Design theme. As a big German car fan, this is the most excited I’ve been for a Hot Wheels premium mix in years! I’ll be picking up this entire mix the second it becomes available, without hesitation.
First up is a brand new casting: the 2025 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Pro. It may not be the prettiest car Mercedes has ever made, but it’s an absolute monster when it comes to performance. I can’t quite tell if the debut color is white or light gray, though either would be a good fit for the car. The black wing provides a lovely contrast to the lighter paint, and the front and rear detailing both look great. I’m glad to see Hot Wheels continuing to expand their catalog of AMG castings!
That epic AMG was followed by another new casting: the 2025 BMW M5! Like the Mercedes, this BMW is not the prettiest car ever made, but it’s definitely also an epic performer. I’m glad Hot Wheels chose the sedan version of the M5 for this mix, since Matchbox is releasing an M5 wagon this year in the same green color. The two should make a great pair, and I can’t wait to put them side by side! The M5 seems to be having a moment at Hot Wheels right now, as this will now be the fifth M5 casting to come out in the last few years. Perhaps we need a Car Culture mix made entirely of M5s?
The rest of the Deutschland Designs set is made up of recolors, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting. I’ve been a big fan of the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 casting since it came out, and this new yellow recolor adds some welcome variety by replicating the carbon fiber hood design from the GT4 RS. The rest of the model looks as great as always, and I’m always happy to see a Porsche in such a bright and fun spec!
When the Audi RS6 Avant GT came out last year, I noted that the front bumper design was actually from a standard RS6 rather than the GT, so there was potential to see a regular RS6 Avant in the future. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long! This RS6 looks to be a Nogaro Edition, a special edition version made to pay tribute to Audi’s best blue. It looks great in real life, and I’m stoked to see it make its way to the world of 1/64!
The final car in the Deutschland Designs set is an imposter. Hot Wheels continues to pretend that this Mk7 VW Golf casting is a GTI when it just isn’t. It was based on a standard Golf, which you can easily tell by the front bumper design and exhaust tip location. If Hot Wheels wants a GTI so badly, I wish they would just admit their mistake and make a new GTI casting (a Mk7 GTI Clubsport would be awesome to see). Barring a new casting, I think they should have just used the recent Mk4 R32 casting to fill the VW slot in this mix. Still, a white Golf is still a cool model in its own right, and I’ll still gladly add this one to my collection.
The chase model from this set is a Porsche 911 GT3 R, which I’m sure will make a lot of Porsche fans happy. Personally, I find the gold chase models heinously ugly, so I’m just enjoying not having to chase the chase models!
Next up was the Team Transport line, where we finally got to see the final deco on the Porsche Cayenne tow vehicle. To my surprise, it has a clean gray coat of paint and factory front and rear detailing. It even appears to have detailing on the roof! Obviously, the giant trailer hitch on the back will limit this Cayenne’s appeal as a standalone model, but I still think it will look great towing a variety of other premium Hot Wheels Porsches! The one it comes with is a 944 in a Shell livery, which doesn’t do anything for me, but this set is worth it for the Cayenne alone.
That brings us onto Boulevard, which always seems to get the coolest cars. That can be very frustrating, given that the Boulevard line is exclusive to Walmart. Walmart’s poor track record when it comes to distribution often makes these models fiendishly difficult to find – there are still several 2025 Boulevard models that haven’t hit shelves in my area. Luckily, Mattel seems to be selling the Boulevard line to hobby dealers now, which can help ease the pain a bit. We’ve already seen Boulevard mix 3 online, so let’s jump straight to mix 4.
Without a doubt, this 2003 Ferrari Enzo will be one of the hardest to find and most expensive Hot Wheels models of the year. After Hot Wheels reacquired the Ferrari license last year, it was only a matter of time before Ron Wong brought out a new Enzo casting. This new version looks like a massive improvement over the old one, with matching wheels on both axles, more realistic proportions, and side mirrors! I’m particularly impressed with the design of the Enzo’s nose, which was always a weak spot on the previous mainline casting. The rear looks to be fully detailed as well, making this the rare example of a Hot Wheels Ferrari with brake lights!
One of the most underappreciated premium castings is also making its return this year. I can’t help but feel like this British Racing Green recolor of the Aston Martin DBS was made just for me. A few years ago, I declared the James Bond DBS to be the best premium that nobody cares about. It’s a fantastic casting (despite its lack of side mirrors), and this generation of DBS is the absolute peak of Aston Martin’s design language. It’s gorgeous, and I always thought it was criminal that we never saw the premium version get any use outside of the James Bond tie-in. It seems Ron Wong agreed, and this resulting green version is nothing short of perfection. I love the brown interior and the 10 spoke wheels, and I can’t wait to add it to my collection. You can expect to be seeing a lot of this model over on my Instagram.
The fan-favorite Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC AMG is getting an upgrading to premium, following in the footsteps of the 500E. I’m always happy to see a great mainline casting like this get upgraded for premium use, and the white on white color spec is perfect for an 80’s car like this. Given that John Lampert loves white cars and that this is one of his favorite castings, it’s not too surprising to see a Lamley Group logo on the license plate of this model.
Honestly, I’m surprised it took this long for the Lamborghini Revuelto to make its way to the Hot Wheels lineup. Somehow, it appeared in both the 1/43 line and as an RC car before finally making its way to the premium line. It seems the wait was worth it though, because this model looks epic! Hot Wheels has a fraught history with big Lambos, and we’ll have to see how the wheel fitment looks once it releases, but the early prototype looks incredibly promising. The bright orange paint is a perfect fit for a Lamborghini, and the detailing of the headlights looks far better than I would have expected from Hot Wheels.
Of course, this isn’t my first rodeo, so I knew the most exciting models would be the early prototypes that weren’t shown during the presentation. Even compared to previous years, Hot Wheels had a ton of jaw-dropping premium prototypes on display.
Naturally, I can’t start anywhere other than with the Pagani Zonda. Like many collectors, I’ve been begging Hot Wheels to make a Zonda for years. Earlier this year, Hot Wheels released a tooned version of the Zonda Cinque in what felt like the ultimate tease, but it seems like they finally listened to us. This looks like a Zonda C12S to me, which isn’t my favorite iteration of the Zonda but is still a welcome sight. The proportions of this model look great, especially the C12’s unique split rear wing design. It would have been nice to see LaFerrari-style side mirrors on this casting, but I understand that Pagani’s mirror design is troublesome for diecast companies. I can’t wait to see more of this casting as it gets closer to production.
Alongside my wish to see a Zonda, I’ve also been clamoring for more modern muscle cars from Hot Wheels! (We collectors really are a needy bunch, aren’t we?) I’ve always thought modern muscle was an overlooked part of car culture, and this one picture shows off two of the very best GM performance has ever made. On the left, a Chevy Camaro ZL1. On the right, a Cadillac CTS-V wagon. One is a track weapon, the other is the most practical way ever devised to do burnouts while carrying five people and a spare set of tires. I love them both, and they are both long overdue for some Hot Wheels attention. I particularly like the texture in the front end of the Camaro, while the Cadillac’s drool-worthy fender flares have been replicated perfectly. Wheels fitment looks perfect on both castings too. Bravo!
Speaking of cars I’ve been clamoring for, how about another hot hatch? This appears to be a Mk8 VW Golf R, though I haven’t managed to find a clear enough picture of it to tell for sure. The front end looks like an R to me, but Ron Wong also posted a story on Instagram where you can see the back of the model, and I can only make out one exhaust tip at the back where the Golf R has a quad exhaust, so it might be a GTI. Either way, I’m glad to see a Mk8 VW added to the lineup, and I’m also glad that they’re making the performance version this time, rather than making the same mistake they made with the Mk7! That said, if this Golf R debuts in any color other than blue, I’ll riot.
Well look what we have here, a gray recolor of last year’s showstopper Lexus LFA casting! I’m glad we didn’t have to wait long to get another version, but why on Earth did they choose gray? If you Google image search “Lexus LFA” you don’t see a gray example until the 17th line! Gray is certainly not a color I typically associate with the LFA, and the paint on this prototype version looks like it has far too much metal flake. I hope I don’t have to wait too many more years to get my ideal yellow or blue LFA…
The Mercedes GT 63 Pro may have gotten all the attention during the presentation, but it’s not the only crazy AMG supercar coming out this year. The SLS Black Series is coming out as part of the Fast & Furious line. I have absolutely no idea where they found an SLS in the Fast & Furious movies, but I’m glad they did because this model looks positively epic! The white paint contrasts beautifully with the black accents, and there are so many little details that go above and beyond what I’m used to from Hot Wheels. The mirrors are printed black, as are the vents on the hood, and the black wheels even have the correct chrome stripe on the outside! It looks to be a masterclass in Hot Wheels design, and I can’t wait to see it in person.
Over 2,000 words and there’s still so much I didn’t cover here! I skipped all of RLC and Elite64, as well as most of Team Transport, so if you haven’t already, head on over to the Lamley Youtube channel to watch the full sneak peak presentation for yourself. Let me know which models you’re most excited for, and be sure to subscribe because I’ll be covering many of these models in much closer detail once they finally hit shelves! All the photos in this writeup came from @lamleygroup, @ronalderw, and @diecastsupportgroup so go check them out and show them some love!
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