Legendary Hot Wheels Redlines

Legendary Hot Wheels Redlines

Legendary Hot Wheels Redlines

Hot Wheels are well-known for having inventive designs, speed, performance, and vibrant colors, but it’s their “Redlines” that make them legendary.

This article discusses the origins of Mattel, its collectible toy vehicles, and the iconic red-stripped tires.

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Before Hot Wheels Redlines

In 1945, two California residents by the names of Harold Matson and Elliot Handler started their own company.

Because Harold Matson's nickname was "Matt" and Elliot Handler's nickname was "El", they combined the two nicknames to call their company "Mattel".

Originally, they made picture frames in their garage. But when the WWII soldiers returned home, there was a massive baby boom which incentivized Mattel to make toys instead.

Their toys included dolls, dollhouse furniture, action figures, musical toys, educational toys, games, and toy vehicles.

Hot Wheels Relines Era

Most toy vehicle manufacturers during the late 1960s focused on making their toy vehicles look like real-world vehicles.

But Handler felt the toy vehicles lacked the excitement needed to capture the imaginations of young consumers.

Mattel miniaturized its toy vehicles to 1:64 scale of life-sized vehicles because they are easy for little hands to hold.

Inspired by Californian's growing interest in custom cars and hot rods, Handler wanted to develop toy vehicles that excelled at being fast.

So he instructed Mattel's engineers and auto design team to focus on making its vehicles fast, as well as aesthetically pleasing.

With children being their target audience, they started off by miniaturizing the toy vehicles to 1/64th the scale of life-sized vehicles so they'd be easier for little hands to hold.

Then they developed thick mag wheels, minimal friction axles, supercharged engines, torsion bar suspension, and metal chassis because the extra weight enhances stability.

To make the vehicles even more distinctive, Mattel designer Harry Bentley Bradley added a red stripe to the tires.

Another important feature of the 1968 Hot Wheels Redlines, was the Spectraflame® paint which had a metallic finish and came in a spectrum of colors.

It is important to note that during this Era, Hot Wheels Redlines were only manufactured in the United States and Hong Kong.

Hot Wheels Tracks
1998 Hot Wheels NASCAR PlaysetAs a side note, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the famous bright orange Hot Wheels tracks which are an integral component to Hot Wheels being fast. They were created by Mattel designer Jack Ryan who had a passion for racing and cars.

The tracks have a revolutionary design with curves, loops, and banked turns that can be connected together to create various layouts. The inclines, declines, loops, and turns allowed the cars to move freely under the influence of gravity.

Some tracks include spring-loaded launchers or boosters to give the cars an initial burst of speed, some have special features such as stunt ramps or head-to-head racing, and others incorporate storytelling elements or interactive components such as the Hot Wheels NASCAR Playset shown here.

When Elliott Handler saw the ingenious design and performance of the new and improved Mattel toy vehicles,
he said “Those are some HOT wheels!”... hence the name Hot Wheels.

The first set of Hot Wheels Redlines, known as the “Sweet 16”, debuted at the International Toy Fair in 1968 and consisted of the following:

Beatnik Bandit

Beatnik Bandit

Custom Barricuda

Custom Barricuda

Custom Camaro

Custom Camaro

Custom Corvette

Custom Corvette

Custom Cougar

Custom Cougar

Custom El Dorado

Custom El Dorado

Custom Firebird

Custom Firebird

Custom Fleetside

Custom Fleetside

Custom Mustang

Custom Mustang

Custom T-Bird

Custom T-Bird

Custom Volkswagen 1968

Custom Volkswagen

Deora

Deora

Ford J-Car

Ford J-Car

Hot Heap 1968

Hot Heap

Python (Cheetah)

Python (Cheetah)

Silhouette

Silhouette

The speed and appeal of Hot Wheels Redlines ignited a fervor among both children AND adults which contributed greatly to the brand’s success.

In fact, from 1968 to 1977, which collectors affectionally refer to as the "Redlines Era", Hot Wheels Redlines were so popular that consumer sales reached an estimated $500 million.

In 1977, in order to cut costs Mattel stop putting the red stripe on the Hot Wheels. They also stopped using metal chassis and instead used plastic chassis.

Such cost-effecient changes in manufacturing, combined with changes in consumer interests, caused Mattel to discontinue the Hot Wheels Redlines.

Later Editions of the Hot Wheels Redlines

25 years later, Mattel paid homage to the original Redlines by reissuing models from that era under the 25th Anniversary Series.

All cars in the series had the same vibrant Spectraflame® paint and striking red-striped tires that made them so popular.

Launching the 25th Anniversary Series was a lucrative venture for Mattel, with sales surpassing an estimated $100 million.

Around the same time, Mattel introduced the "Classics Series" and the "Vintage Series" which also used the original Redlines designs.

Continuing the tradition of bringing back the Hot Wheels Redlines aesthetic, in 2005 Mattel released the Classics Series II.

Hot Wheels Redlines Club

In 2001/2002, adding an extra layer of excitement for Hot Wheels Redlines, a RedLines Club (aka the "RLC") was started.

The founder of the RLC was renowned Hot Wheels designer, hot rodder, and Automotive Hall of Fame inductee, Larry wood.

Wood, who has literally designed thousands of Hot Wheels, started the RLC to provides avid collectors with a community platform to share their collections and enthusiasm for the brand.

An annual membership to the RLC granted collectors exclusive access to limited editions, special events, merchandise, official insider news, looks behind the scenes, voting on new collectible releases, and real-time interactions with Hot Wheels designers.

Collecting Hot Wheels Redlines

Mattel's commitment to its rich heritage provides collectors with a tangible connection to the timeless appeal of Hot Wheels.

The Legendary Hot Wheels Redlines have been a hallmark of quality showcasing everything from muscle cars to fantasy vehicles.

Furthermore, every Series that honors the original Redlines allows new generations to own a beloved red-line model.

Our Collectibles Store has Hot Wheels Redlines from 1968 and red-lines from every subsequent series as well as from the RLC.

You can check out all of our Vintage Hot Wheels Redlines in this video on our Collectibles Store YouTube Channel. Here are just a few:

1936 Ford Coupe

A Hot Wheels 1968 collectible diecast 1:64 scale Redline® '36 Ford Coupe that comes with a matching collector’s button

1968 Hot Wheels 36 Ford Coupe

Lotus Turbine

A Hot Wheels 1968 collectible diecast 1:64 scale Grand Prix Series Redline® Lotus Turbine that comes with a matching collector’s button

1968 Hot Wheels Redline Lotus

Paddy Wagon

A 1992 Hot Wheels collectible 25th Anniversary red-line 1:64 scale diecast blue police paddy wagon that comes with a matching collector's button

Hot Wheels Rdln Bl Paddy Wagon

Red Baron

A 1992 Hot Wheels collectible 25th Anniversary red-line 1:64 scale diecast Spectraflame® red Baron that comes with a matching collector's button

Hot Wheels RL Red Red Baron

Red Deora

A 1993 Hot Wheels collectible Vintage Exclusive Series II red-line diecast 1:64 scale red Deora (custom ’65 Dodge A100 pickup) with two surfboards

1993 Hot Wheels Red Deora

Snake Barracuda

A 1993 Hot Wheels collectible Vintage Exclusive Series II red-line diecast 1:64 scale Don "The Snake" Prudhomme 1970 Plymouth Barracuda

1993 Hot Wheels Redline Snake

Dairy Delivery

A Hot Wheels 2005 collectible Classics Series II (#17 of 30) red-line diecast 1:64 scale Spectraflame® red Dairy Delivery truck

Hot Wheels Rl Dairy Delivery

Green Chevelle

A Hot Wheels 2005 collectible Classics Series II (#1 of 30) red-line diecast 1:64 scale Spectraflame® green convertible 1970 Chevy Chevelle

Hot Wheels Rl Grn 70 Chevelle

Blue Corvette

A 2005 Hot Wheels collectible Classics Series II (#3 of 30) red-line diecast 1:64 scale Spectraflame® blue 1965 convertible Corvette

Hot Wheels Redline 65 Vette

Pontiac GTO

A 2005 Hot Wheels collectible Classics Series II (#14 of 30) red-line diecast 1:64 scale Spectraflame® copper 1967 Pontiac GTO

Hot Wheels Redline 67 GTO

Custom Barracuda

A 2004 Hot Wheels collectible limited edition (5000 made) RedLines Club exclusive diecast 1:64 scale chrome custom Barracuda

2004 HW Rdl Custom Barracuda

You might also be interested in other Hot Wheels we have for sale that have the red stripe on the tires such as the Road Runner, 1955 Nomad, or 3-Window.

As this Legendary Hot Wheels Redlines article comes to a close, we leave you with this fun riddle:

We're vintage racers, classic delights.
With Spectraflame paint, we gleam bright.
'68 to '77 was our prime...
We're the fastest kind of diecast design.
We're high performance, we set the pace,
Through loops and turns, we boldly race.
Zooming out of sight, turning tight,
Our red-hot wheels, are sure to excite.
From Beatnik Bandit to Python we roll,
For collectors, we're the goal.
What are we? We're Hot Wheels Redlines

This concludes our article "Legendary Hot Wheels Redlines". Now that you have read about the Legendary Hot Wheels Redlines, click on the links below to check out more content from our Collectibles Store:

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