Everyone had a favorite toy as a kid. Some people loved Barbies and Polly Pockets, others loved Hot Wheels and G.I. Joe action figures. If they’re still in mint condition, many of the toys initially produced between 1970 and 1990 are worth a pretty penny nowadays. Hot Wheels collectible cars are of high-value for avid collectors.
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Those with a hobby for collecting vast collections of Hot Wheels in hundreds of different colors and models. If you have any on the list we’ve compiled below, you might be shocked to find out how much money you’ve been sitting on. It’s time to dig out your old collection from the attic and take a look!
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10 Purple Olds 442 (1971)
During the Redline era of Hot Wheels cars, which spanned from 1968 to 1977, Larry Woods designed the casting of the Olds 442 vehicle based on the 1970 Oldsmobile 442. If you happen to have any of the original Olds 442 toy cars in your attic, then you may have a lucrative find in your hands.
However, most of these cars came in shades of purple or pink, the one that is worth the most by far is the purple shade. The vehicles all contain white interiors, but they do come in a variety of Spectraflame car coatings with purple being the rarest.
9 Firebird Funny Car Collector Number 271 (1995)
When thinking of Hot Wheels toys, the 1995 Collector Number 271 is the type of car I envision as an emblem of the brand. There are only 12 of these cars known in existence as they were the rarest make from the 1990s. At present, one is being sold for $7,000 on eBay.
If you do check your collection to see if you have one, make sure the original packaging is still intact. Unfortunately, the car loses value without the original box, as it cannot be authenticated without the blue placard in back. The number 271 and the name “Funny Car” are also vital assets to this toy.
8 The Mutt Mobile
Another Larry Woods casting, the Mac Mutt Daddy is notable for its removable back door that hides a secret stash of two little white dogs! It makes sense, given the name of the car and it even has “Mutt Mobile” painted on the side.
Like with other Hot Wheels, the Mutt Mobile comes in multiple colors with the rose shade being the rarest. While this isn’t the most expensive car on the list, it can still net you several hundred dollars depending on the color. The gold shade is also one of the more expensive Spectraflame shades of the Mutt Mobile.
7 Pink Superfine Turbine
The Superfine Turbine released during the Redline era is known for being exceedingly hard to find because it was only manufactured for one year, 1973, before production on the car stopped. It was re-released in 2010 for the NeoClassics series.
The Turbine has a rear door that can be opened to reveal two-tiered tires and the front has a chrome-colored jet engine. While all of the Superfine Turbine cars are rare finds (and only a limited amount exist in each shade) and can be sold for quite a bit of money, the pink one is on a whole other level.
6 Custom Camaro (1968)
The custom Camaro is thought to be one of the first ever Hot Wheels designs to be put in production and created. The Camaro car was a rebuttal to the Ford Mustang, and it became extremely popular for vehicle collectors and fans around the world.
When the Hot Wheels design was created, there was a particular version painted in lime green with an antifreeze over chrome finish. This version was said to be for advertising purposes, with only twenty of them supposedly out there in existence. The car is packaged on a Cheetah card and comes with Hong Kong glass. Apparently, if you have one of these, you can sell it for more than $1,000 dollars.
5 The Mystery Machine (2017)
Scooby Dooby Doo, where is your Hot Wheels counterpart? Hot Wheels released the first version of the iconic Mystery Machine back in 2012. Since then, several other variations of the van have been released with the most recent one coming out in 2017. Surprisingly, the 2017 version is worth more money than some of the older versions, but all of them can net you a decent chunk of cash (though typically under $100).
Still, it’s a nice amount of pocket change if that’s all you’re looking for. With the exception of the 2013, 2016, and 2017 versions being crafted from metal, almost all of the Hot Wheels Mystery Machine cars are built from chrome and plastic.
4 Custom Volkswagen (1968)
Designed by Ira Gilford and Harry Bradley for the 1968 Sweet Sixteen series, the Custom Volkswagen is worth more than $1,000 today, but only if you have the version with no sunroof. Attempting to stay true to its full-scale counterpart, the Volkswagen toy even has a blown V-8 in the car’s trunk!
The reason the version with a sunroof is so rare is that the model was produced exclusively for a European release from Hong Kong. The US version did include a sunroof. These collector items come in a wide range of colors, and their base is a metal frame with blue-tinted windows.
3 Cheetah Base Python (1968)
Again, this is another car that came from the original sixteen series. The Python was modeled after Bill Cushenberry’s “dream car.” What makes this particular model so valuable is because it has the original “Cheetah” name imprinted on the car’s base.
But the Cheetah name belonged to Bill Thomas and his race car already so the base name was changed to “Python.” There are only 8 of the original Cheetah base cars in existence, supposedly. If you happen to have one, you’ll be able to make yourself hundreds of dollars richer because many Hot Wheels collectors are clamoring to add this one to their collections.
2 Pink Rear-Loading Volkswagen Beach Bomb (1969)
Odds are, you’re not going to find this particular Hot Wheels in your attic because there was only one known in existence and it sold for an insane amount of money to an avid collector. However, there are rumors another one has surfaced which means there could potentially be more out there, stranger things have happened.
The Pink rear-loading Volkswagen is so unique because it was the original mold for the Volkswagen Beach Bomb. It was too clunky to fit on the Hot Wheels tracks, and the surfboards in the trunk were removable. The car was remodeled to fit better on the tracks, and the surfboards were changed to slide-in. The remodel is valuable too but not nearly as much as the original 1969 design.
1 Mad Maverick
The Mad Maverick car was based on the 1969 Ford Maverick. This Hot Wheels may be the most expensive one on the list for one reason: it might not even exist anymore. The name “Mad Maverick” was attached to the car in the pre-production stage, and while a few models were manufactured, they are scarce, rendering the value of these cars priceless.
The prototype was eventually changed to “Mighty Maverick” because Johnny Lightning had a vehicle of the same name and they didn’t want the two to be too similar. Therefore, very few models exist with the original “Mad Maverick” title on the base and if you happen to stumble upon one, make sure you hang on to it.
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