The Neon Speeders line has never really resonated with me. Between the overly busy decos, unrealistic paint colors, and the Walmart-logo inspired wheels, they’ve always appeared too cartoonish for my tastes. Sure, the special paint that glows under a black light is an undeniably cool gimmick, but I don’t display my collection under a black light, so it’s functionally irrelevant to me.
In fact, I am so uninterested in the Neon Speeders line that I generally don’t bother even checking their pegs. Then, one day, while looking for the new Matchbox Moving Parts mix at Walmart, this Camaro ZL1 happened to catch my attention out of the corner of my eye, sitting on the very front of the peg. The neon orange paint might have helped, but that’s not the main reason this model caught my eye.
While I may not be the biggest Neon Speeders fan, regular readers will know that I am a big fan of Camaros, and modern muscle cars in general. I even included the fifth gen ZL1 casting in my Forgotten Gems series, as it’s one of my favorite Hot Wheels muscle car castings of all time. The sixth gen ZL1 casting is also a good casting, but it has consistently failed to be a great model, due to its rather egregious lack of detailing.
Its first two releases featured clean decos with detailing on the hood scoop, roof, and trunk, with later versions opting for side detailing with unprinted hood scoops. At no point in this casting’s nearly decade-long history has this ZL1 ever received front or rear detailing.
This Neon Speeders release, likely thanks in large part to its $4 price tag, finally brings the detailing that this casting has always been missing. In doing so, it shows just how good this casting is while also making the case for a more premium Camaro (which is thankfully coming soon!)
The deco is both what makes this model special and what holds it back from true greatness. The effect of the front and rear detailing is transformative. This Camaro looks so much more complete and realistic than any that came before it. At the same time, the racing-inspired graphics feel too gaudy for this ZL1 to enter into the Pantheon of great Hot Wheels releases.
Blue and orange may technically be complimentary colors, insofar as they’re opposite each other on the color wheel, but I’m not convinced they make for an appealing combination on a car like this. Still, within the realm of Neon Speeders, this is one of the least offensive graphics choices I’ve seen. It feels like a set of vinyl graphics someone might have on their car for a rally, unlike many of the other Neon Speeders models that don’t even pretend to be realistic (think of the Aston Martin Vantage GTE with its lime green base or the Subaru WRX with its yellow spoiler). I’m not really sure what the significance of the number 6 is, as this model is number 4/8 for its series and is a 2017 model year. If you have any ideas, let me know!
I’m no stranger to removing ugly graphics on these Silver Series cars, so my plan was to just break out an Expo marker and clean this Camaro up. However, when I started researching, I kept finding conflicting information about whether the Neon Speeders graphics could be removed like mainline tampo prints, or whether they were under clearcoat like a premium model. After experimenting with this Camaro, I can confirm that at least on this release, the graphics are under the clearcoat and are not easily removable. Not without stripping the paint anyway, which rather defeats the point of the excellent front and rear detailing.
The new grille and headlight detailing looks so good that it’s hard to believe we haven’t seen it on any previous ZL1! This casting has always had a color break for the lower grille section, which is formed using the model’s interior piece, but the additional contrast from the new prints finally makes this Camaro look properly realistic. The headlights prints aren’t too pixelated, with clearly visible DRL elements and perfect alignment. Hot Wheels even correctly included the hollow Chevy badge in the grille – that’s wonderful attention to detail!
The story is similar around back, where the alignment of all the prints is perfect, which helps show off the texture in the sixth gen Camaro’s brake lights. This model also gets a third brake light, Chevy and ZL1 badges, and a detailed license plate! The paint coverage around the spoiler and trunklid leaves a bit to be desired, lest you forget that this is still a Hot Wheels model. While the exhaust tips don’t get any silver detailing, they are spectacularly modeled and remain one of the strong points of this casting.
The little splash of black printing on the spoiler is a lovely touch and a great use of this version’s additional detailing budget!
I’m still not crazy about the Walmart-logo wheels that are used on the Neon Speeders series, but they’re far more appealing when blacked out like this. They even bear a slight resemblance to the factory wheels on the Camaro SS 1LE from this generation!
Despite this Camaro’s crazy, frustratingly non-removable graphics, it is unquestionably the new definitive version of this casting thanks to all its newfound detailing. To me, it perfectly makes the case for including a proper premium Camaro in the Car Culture or Boulevard lines, which have significantly underrepresented modern muscle cars over the past several years. Luckily, we will soon be getting just such a thing!
This upcoming Camaro ZL1 looks to be based on a 2024 model, with the 1LE’s added front aero and rear spoiler. Plus, it’s also adding the side mirrors that this mainline-based 2017 ZL1 is missing! I’m so glad to be seeing a modern Camaro finally make it to the premium line, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it, but I still find myself wishing for a clean version of this 2017 casting, too. Its design looks a bit cleaner, and I like the brake lights better than the 2024’s. With Hot Wheels finally starting to acknowledge modern muscle cars through models like the upcoming ZL1 and Cadillac CTS-V wagon, as well as the recent Mopar 2-pack, there might just be a chance for this casting to get the clean, fully detailed version it deserves. Here’s hoping!
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