Hot Wheels turns 50

MANILA, Philippines – Hot Wheels is part children’s toy, part legacy brand, and part mad scientist’s playground. All 3 aspects of the brand came together when it recently celebrated its 50th anniversary at the SMX Aura convention center.

The gathering was a celebration of Hot Wheels history. From its founding in 1968, the brand has gone on to sell over 6 billion cars (that’s one heckuva speed record at roughly 10.5 cars per second) and become a pop cultural icon.

One of the focal points during the event was an actual Camaro. The car was a reference to the Custom Camaro, one of the very first Hot Wheels released by Mattel in 1968. The celebration featured jaw-dropping collectibles that spanned the toy line’s history. 

#ChallengeAcceptedPH

You don’t get to 50 years without innovating and keeping up with the times. The celebration also unveiled the 2018 line of toys, which is anchored by its #ChallengeAcceptedPH campaign.     

These new cars and playsets nurture competition, experimentation, and creativity in kids. They ignite the challenger spirit and encourage kids to challenge the impossible and push through any obstacle.

The new playsets aren’t just for fun. Each one has a designated icon showing which aspect of a kids’ development it nurtures. They include: problem solving, revving creativity, building sportsmanship, and boosting confidence.

The #ChallengeAcceptedPH spirit is also demonstrated in the new Hot Wheels advertisement, “The Drive”:  

A history of taking on challenges

The automobile industry is all about facing – and surpassing – challenges. Designers work endlessly to create cars that are better, faster, safer. For over half a century, Hot Wheels has been doing the same thing. Back in 1968, 1:64 scale toy cars were relatively sedate. Matchbox, the reigning diecast toy car maker at the time, mostly made construction and utility vehicles. It was pretty great, but a dump truck wasn’t exactly the best vehicle to launch over a ravine made of your parents’ furniture.

Mattel co-founder Elliot Handler, husband of Barbie inventor Ruth Handler, saw an opportunity to make cars that were cooler and faster (emphasis on faster). The biggest challenge: how to give these toys speed. The answer was to equip each car with high-speed Delrin bearings and torsion bar suspension.

The next challenge was how to make these cars cooler, more radical. Elliot enlisted the skills of Harry Bradley an automotive designer from Detroit. Harry brought an aesthetic that embodied the burgeoning hotrod and muscle car culture of the time. Legendary artist and custom car designer Ed “Big Daddy” Roth was also hired to create the Beatnik Bandit, one of the more iconic cars from the original lineup.

The result was the historic first 16 models, also known as the “Sweet 16.” The candy paint jobs, mag wheels, and redline tires told kids that these cars were built for speed.   

That was 50 years ago. Here’s to 50 more! –Rappler.com