- now in its fourth year, the hot wheels legends tour will hit 14 countries on five continents in search of a unique customized vehicle to turn into an iconic 1:64 scale die-cast model.
- previous winners have included a custom 1970 pontiac trans am, a modified nash metropolitan, and a hand-built car called the 2jetz.
- the 2021 tour kicks off in australia next month, and the winner will be announced in november.
there's a world of difference between buying a die-cast toy car that looks like your daily driver and getting your actual car turned into a hot wheels model. the former, you might be able to do at the toy store (or online shopping site of choice) today. the latter? well, you'll have to win the next hot wheels legends tour.
now in its fourth year, the 2021 legends tour is looking for a "one-of-a-kind life-size car creation" that mattel will eventually turn into a 1:64 die-cast toy. mattel said it is looking for standout vehicles with three main winning qualities: authenticity, creativity, and "garage spirit." we can picture plenty of people out there wrenching their own, authentic creations, but the toymaker admits that the creative angle might be the most difficult to capture. "we've made tens of thousands unique vehicle models over the past 50-plus years, so we're looking for never-before-seen designs that stand out from the rest," the company said on its website.
previous winners include the hand-built 2jetz in 2018 and a modified nash metropolitan called simply "the nash" in 2019. both of those have die-cast models available, while the 2020 winner, a custom 1970 pontiac trans am, will be available to purchase sometime in 2021.
winners from the legends tour don't just get to become die cast, but will also be added to the forza horizon 4 video game through a purchasable hot wheels legends car pack on xbox, windows 10, ios, and android devices.
for 2021, mattel expects to get more than 10,000 entries in the 14 countries and five continents where it will run the tour, so your chances are admittedly low. but it really all depends on what you've got sitting in the garage. the tour is now accepting submissions, so the time has come to show off.
in the u.s., hot wheels will host live events at some walmart stores this summer. livestreams will be viewable on the hot wheels facebook page and on walmart's website. the livestream events kick off in new zealand on april 15 and continue in australia (april 22), and then the united states and canada (april 29). before selecting an overall winner to turn into a toy, the legends tour will pick regional winners and a "mobil 1 fan favorite" (mobil 1 is a sponsor), and 10 finalists will face off in a grand finale event in november.