Watch Us Judge the Hot Wheels Legends Tour Semifinalists

You may not be a collector, all grown up as you are and needing your shelf space for pretentious bourbon, but we’d be surprised if you can see a Hot Wheels car and not give it a quick little spin around the table. Mattel’s glossy mini-machines have appeal across age groups, and worldwide, which is why the Hot Wheels Legends Tour—a chance for builders of full-size cars to see their work memorialized in die-cast form—attracts entries from all over the globe.

Winnowing the hopefuls down to one takes a full year, with regional events leading up to a 24-car semifinal, and, eventually, a 10-best shootout. We were invited this year, along with beloved Window Shop participant and Road & Track senior editor John Pearley Huffman, to judge the difficult semifinals.

The semifinalists ranged from a pink mini-truck to an almost spherical Volkswagen Bug bus. We liked the Snork-nosed blown Porsche 928, while other judges marveled at a high-riding Autozam and a Ford Anglia with a stock back window design so wildly styled that it seemed more custom than the customs. Here’s the full list we had to choose from.

• 2015 Proton Suprima S – Nilai Seremban, Malaysia
• 2003 Toyota Hilux – Shimotsuma, Japan
• 1969 Buick Riviera – Los Angeles, California, USA
• 1987 Mitsubishi Jeep Ratrod – Pozorrubio, Pangasinan, Philippines
• 1998 Nissan 240SX S14 SE – Miami, Florida, USA
• 1974 Mini GT – Punta Arenas, Chile
• 1978 Porsche 928 – Dallas, Texas, USA
• Raptor Buggy – Mt Maunganui, New Zealand
• 1973 Toyota Celica ST – Windsor, Ontario, Canada
• 1980 C3 Corvette – Pajęczno, Poland
• 1992 Autozam Scrum – Beaumont, Texas, USA
• 1976 VW Puma GTE – Saarbrücken, Germany
• 1956 VW Beetle – Syracuse, New York, USA
• 1963 Ford Anglia 105e – Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
• 1971 Plymouth Duster/2009 Dodge Charger SRT8 Super Bee – Mexico City, Mexico
• 1968 VW Beetle – Atlanta, Georgia, USA
• 1931 Dodge Rat Rod – Detroit, Michigan, USA
• 1962 Beetle – Bandung, Indonesia
• 2011 Kart 1000 cc – Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
• 2017 Radio Flyer – San Tan Valley, Arizona, USA
• 1927 Wayne Ford School Bus – Tumbling Shoals, Arkansas, USA
• 1974 Mini Clubman Panel Van – New South Wales, Australia
• 1969 International CO1800 – Corning, California, USA
• Nissan Skyline R33 1JZ non VVTI – Barcelona, Spain

We’re not just being polite when we say any of the cars we saw would have made excellent Hot Wheels, but we were instructed to think of the final product: how would the details translate? Is this a car that’s similar to Hot Wheels already in production? Would a kid want to play with this? Would an adult?

We won’t give away the semifinalist winners! You can watch the judging here and tell us who you would have sent to the finals.

How to See the Finals

If you want to watch the finals, held at Jay Leno’s garage, check back in on the Hot Wheels Facebook page on November 12 at midnight Eastern time.

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