2020 Hot Wheels: VW ID R

The prototype was shown at the recent Hot Wheels convention in Los Angeles, as can be seen from some websites...  and while no one AFAIK was able to identify it, it clearly is the Volkswagen ID R.

The VW ID R was initially some prototype test bed of VW’s electric car technology in racing form, and later (2018) it raced at Pikes Peak, where it easily won and shattered the record…

With the real ID R appearing in different colors already, this is a great opportunity for Mattel to milk the casting...

HW 2019 Ford Ranger Raptor: New Color (white)

The Hot Wheels 2019 Ford Ranger Raptor was first released earlier this year in yellow, later in blue, but with unsightly and large "Hot Wheels" tampo with checked-flag background... nice casting, but details and finishing leaves a lot to be desired...

This one is slightly improved, but hopefully it will have a tampo-less version in the near future… good thing they kept the nice "BAJA5" wheels on this one.

December 2019 Tomica

Tomica series

No.22 Volvo XC60
Scheduled to be released in December 2019 Manufacturer's suggested retail price 450 yen (excluding tax)

• Suspension, rear door opening and closing

No.93 McLaren Speedtail
Scheduled to be released in December 2019 Manufacturer's suggested retail price 450 yen (excluding tax)

No.136 Komatsu Harvester 931XC
Scheduled to be released in December 2019 Manufacturer's suggested retail price 900 yen (excluding tax)

• Main body left / right movable / arm movable / cab rotation / wood removal


Tomica gift set

Call out! Emergency vehicle set
Scheduled to be released in December 2019 Manufacturer's suggested retail price 2,000 yen (excluding tax)

• “Get out! Emergency vehicle set” is now available from Tomica Gift Set!

• Toyota Estima Patrol Car
• Toyota Hiace Cause Investigation Car
• Nissan Caravan Ambulance
• Kawasaki Heavy Industries BK117 C-2 Police Helicopter

Dream Tomica

Dream Tomica
No.159 Shaun the sheep
Scheduled to be released in December 2019 Manufacturer's suggested retail price 700 yen (excluding tax)

• The popular character "Shaun the sheep" has appeared as Dream Tomica!
• Suspension
• Product is an image. Some final products may differ.

Greenlight VW Golf (CALTEX)

Coming soon, just another run-of-the-mill VW Golf (gen 1), but with the appeal (to some) of a “CALTEX with Techron” tampo.  Is it worth it?  Depends on the collectors’ desires…  The wheels are nice, very much like typical steel rims of the 1970s.

Maybe they should make this a promotional car at CALTEX gas stations.  Not very likely, though.

2020 Hot Wheels: Formula E

It's confirmed, next year Hot Wheels will be releasing a 1/64sh version of the Jaguar Formula E Gen 2 race car...

You can see it here amongst a lot of cars in a Mattel show, top row, middle car...

This is awesome news for open wheel race car collectors... this decade (2010s) there are very few F1 cars done in 1/64sh scale, after a lot were done the past couple of decades.  In the 2000s (2000-2009) Mattel routinely released F1 cars of 5, sometimes 6, teams every year - even if they were using the same casting.  This isn't F1, but being purpose-built for the race track, I'd say it's close enough, at least in terms of appearance.  Hopefully Mattel will release other "teams" as well, especially with big carmakers like BMW, Audi, Porsche, and Mercedes also in the series.

The sample shown shows the colors of the Jaguar Formula E team, and it's no coincidence that LEGO just announced that the first 2020 set its own Speed Champions line will also feature the Jaguar Formula E racer, along with an I-Pace E-Trophy...

New Hot Wheels Road Bandit (Philippine Jeepney) color

The 2nd color for the new Hot Wheels casting called “Road Bandit”, obviously a Philippine Jeepney, is red, and for me it looks even better than the initial yellow offering… The decoration (tampo) appears to be the same.

While I haven't seen a Jeepney with an engine that large and popping out of the hood, the chrome in the engine somewhat replaces the roosters and horses seen above the hood of old Sarao Jeepneys...

Clearly this “Road Bandit” is a superior Jeepney copy compared to Tomica’s “Jamboree”… The proportions are much closer too, compared to the real thing…

New Tomica: Toys R Us Exclusive Honda Civic TYPE R British color specification

It's going to be released only on November 16, in Japan, but this is something Tomica and Civic fans will surely be excited about...  MSRP is ¥700.  Expect it to cost a lot more in the "black market"...

It has working suspension, but no opening features.

New Matchbox: Ghe-O Predator

As an encore to the unusual off-road bruiser called Ghe-O Rescue, Matchbox has released the Romanian carmaker’s 2nd vehicle, the Predator… and just like the Matchbox Rescue, the Matchbox Predator looks very much like the real thing…

Here is the Rescue again, released about 4 years ago...