Posted October 17, 2021 by f1nut in Diecast models

Rare and hard to find Hot Wheels F1 diecasts

Unlike the wide range of 1:18 scale F1 model makers today, in the late 90’s and early 2000’s retail F1 collectors were for the most part limited to choosing between Hotwheels and Minichamps for 1:18 scale diecast models. Hotwheels (Mattel) were mass produced with lower quality detailing compared to Minichamps. While Hotwheels were best known for their Ferrari diecasts due their exclusive licence they also released 1:18 scale models of the Williams, Jordan, Renault and McLaren Grand Prix cars of that era (which Minichamps also produced models of).

Fast forward to 2021 and there are certain Hotwheels F1 models that still retain decent values and are targeted by collectors. It’s no surprise that these more sought after models are ones that are not available by Minichamps being the cars of popular world champions – Niki Lauda, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen.

Hotwheels ad in an old Autosport magazine circa 2000. Williams, Ferrari, Jordan, Stewart and McLaren models in 1:18

Most basic Schumacher Hotwheels Ferrari 1:18 cars generally fetch USD$80+ as there were a large variety of different production runs but some of the limited edition releases and also the milestone models tend to command good prices. Prices are higher for full Marlboro liveried Ferraris.

For sentimental reasons, the 2004 Ferrari F2004 was Michael’s final world championship car and in 2006 the Ferrari 248 was Michael’s car in his last season with Ferrari and both of these usually sell for higher prices. Also the Schumacher Hotwheels Elite models (driverless) also have higher prices than the regular Hotwheels models due to their higher quality build. Many of the Schumacher Hotwheels 1:18 are customised so resale values can vary wildly. For example, the F2004 Bahrain GP 04.04.04 car is often sought after but the original base model has limited engines exhaust carbon wash, while the more customised models use the Hotwheels elite or the Marlboro conversion with added carbon spray on the sidepods, bargeboards and rear exhaust. A recent ebay sale for the F2004 Bahrain GP was $750USD but that was #1 of 15000 and highly customised in other areas.

Kimi’s title winning F2007 is also a HotWheels model with no other 1:18 maker, so fetches good prices too. Again, the Philip Morris barcode liveried models typically fetch better prices.

Fernando’s Renault cars in 1:18 are similarly sought after with the championship R25 and R26 cars still getting very decent prices. Models with converted Mild Seven livery also command higher prices.

Non-championship drivers do also feature too – Hotwheels models for Filipe Massa’s Ferrari F2008 (famously lost the 2008 title to Lewis) and Eddie Irvine’s Jaguar Racing R2 also still manage to fetch good re-sale prices.

In the $USD300+ range are: