This weekend, the 2023 Hot Wheels Legends Tour comes to a close. Here’s a round-up of the ten remaining cars set to duke it out for immortality.
Here at Fast Car, we love the Hot Wheels Legends Tour. It’s the stuff of childhood dreams. The craziest modified cars from across the globe come together, with the most popular earning the prize of becoming a genuine 1/64 Hot Wheels diecast!
Last month, we brought you news of this year’s regional winner of the UK leg of the competition – the MG B-EAST. So, make sure you go back and read that article to learn about Michael Wallhead and his magnificent MG in detail! In the meantime, here are the nine other competitors in with a chance of being immortalized as a diecast model.
2023 Hot Wheels Legends Tour Finalists
1974 BMW 2002 Tii Touring
Built by Philip Jäger, this BMW 2002 Tii Touring is a well-used drift missile, with the engine from a BMW M5 proudly perched in the open trunk.
Golgoth 1
France’s winner comes from the mind of Thibault Lagardère. Named ‘Golgoth 1’, this Bellytank is an homage to the old post-war beach racers that were popular in France. Sticking to the theme, an old aircraft tank forms the body and Thibault has used spare parts from a variety of 1930s vehicles to make up the rest of it.
1985 Daihatsu Hijet
Fans of the NIGHTRIDE YouTube channel will already be very familiar with this particular kei van. Powered by a motorcycle engine, this Daihatsu Hijet has got a fully custom floor to help it deal with that crazy lowered stance. And, as you can see, the interior isn’t exactly stock either.
1981 Chevrolet Camaro
Atlanta’s winner is barely recognizable as a Chevy Camaro, but that’s exactly what lies beneath this mad exterior. Michael Scire first acquired the car as a teenager, and it’s taken him 18 years to get to this point in the build.
1985 Mercedes-Benz 300D
David Almanzan teaches automotive technology to high schoolers, and if his ’85 Merc is anything to go by, he’s well-qualified for that job! This 300D is the result of the efforts of around 260 students spanning several years of classes.
Pair of Isettas
Micheal Brown enters the Finale with a pair of cars rather than one, but they’re very small so we’ll let him off. Both based on the BMW Isetta, ‘Big Dill’ has been converted into a drag racer with a Harley Davidson motor, while ‘The Pickle Jar’ is a support truck/trailer powered by a Chevy six-pot.
1980 Porsche 928S
From Mexico, we have this Porsche built by Juan Carlos. Converted into a pickup of sorts, it’s packing a custom roof rack as well as all the kit needed to carry two bikes, two surfboards, a foilboard and a slalom ski. The winch, skid plate, roll cage and all-terrain tires make this thing a serious off-roader too.
1990 Mazda MX-5
Nicknamed, ‘The Cyberpunk’, this Mazda is the brainchild of New Zealand’s Chris Watson. It’s got a carbon fiber shark fin, custom rear light bar, turbofan wheels, and massive arches. Aesthetically, it’s pretty dystopian, in keeping with the cyberpunk theme. You could easily imagine this rolling around the back streets of Night City.
2015 Nissan Juke
The Juke is a car which doesn’t tend to get a lot of love, but over in Indonesia, this touring car racing-influenced build earned David Sebastian a call up to the Legends Tour Grand Final. It’s got 450hp under the hood, and even has a custom manual gearbox conversion.
Find out who the winner of this year’s casting will be on Saturday 11th November!
