The Mysterious Disappearance of Matchbox’s RED Edition Toyota Supra

My jaw dropped when I randomly stumbled upon this Red Edition Supra at a local toy show.  It may not seem like anything special, but the mysterious circumstances surrounding this model have been on my mind for nearly a year.

On the surface, it may not seem that interesting.  The Supra is cool and all, but Matchbox releases 6 Red Edition models every year, and they aren’t all that rare in the grand scheme of diecast collecting.  Except, that’s not quite true…

Distribution of Red Edition models has been exceptionally weird lately.  It’s no secret that Target has been struggling to move through Matchbox models recently, with the majority of Targets near me still filled with mid-2025 releases.  With Red Editions being exclusive to Target stores, only the first three of the six planned Red Editions were widely released at Targets.  The planned Mercedes-AMG SL63 was leaked in production-ready packaging, but I’ve never seen any reports of it being found on retail shelves.  The planned Dodge Charger has never been seen and was likely cancelled.  The final planned Red Edition for 2025 was this Mk5 Supra, though the package is labeled 4/6. 

Around July of 2025, a few Instagram posts popped up from people who had found the Supra out in the wild.  Shortly thereafter, a few examples popped up on eBay.  Given the high reseller prices, I decided to bide my time and wait for the Supra to become more widely available so I could pick one up at a more reasonable price.  Then, it just vanished. 

Gone were any eBay listings.  It stopped popping up in people’s Instagram posts.  It was as though the model never existed!  Even with rare models, there are usually a few examples kicking around on sites like eBay for high prices, but the Red Edition Supra was nowhere to be found.  In fact, this model is so rare that it doesn’t even appear on the Matchbox Fandom page for the GR Supra!  I’d love to be able to tell you more about it, but there’s almost no information to be found about it online.  Which is why I was so shocked to find one just sitting on a table at a toy show. 

Obviously, I had to have it.  Not only is the mystery behind it interesting, but this Supra is easily my favorite version of the casting so far.  It’s the only version so far to receive silver wheels, which contrast nicely with the bright red paint.  The detailing is spot-on, especially at the back where it even includes red text on the rear license plate!  Unlike some Red Editions, this Supra doesn’t use its extra detailing budget to add side detailing, and I’m happy that Matchbox kept the design clean. 

With this being the definitive version of this casting, it’s really a shame that its distribution seems to have been so limited.  It’s possible that there are still some examples kicking around in the supply chain somewhere, waiting to hit shelves, but that seems unlikely given that this release is nearly a year old.  Perhaps Target started cancelling orders as slow-moving cases began to stack up, which resulted in low production numbers for this Supra.

I’d love to know more about this model, as well as the missing SL63 and Charger Red Editions from last year, so if you know anything more about them please reach out!  

For a while, it seemed like perhaps the Red Edition line was gone entirely.  After all, it hasn’t seen any distribution at Target stores for months, and the Reds from batches B and F have yet to be seen even in leaks.  Only batch D’s 1969 Camaro has been found in stores, and only in limited quantities.  However, just recently, we saw a leak of the 1970 Ford Ranchero in production packaging.  That’s both interesting, and worrying.  The Ranchero was supposed to be the fourth of six Red Editions for 2026, which suggests that some models are getting skipped again.  I hope that’s not the case, because I’ve been looking forward to batch K’s scheduled 2019 Mercedes AMG GT63S for nearly a year! 

Time will tell what happens to the Red Edition line going forward.  Being Target-exclusive, it’s put in a difficult place when most Targets now only have 2 pegs for mainline Matchbox models.  With not enough space for a single case on the sales floor, it’ll be difficult for Target to turn enough inventory to justify six unique Red Editions per year.  For now, I’m thankful for every great Red Edition I can get my hands on, and this Mk5 Supra is easily one of the best.  I have no idea how many of these actually exist out in the world, so keep your eyes peeled.  You might just stumble upon one when you’re least expecting it.