WHeeLs on FIRe

Octane goes behind the scenes with Hot Wheels, at the launch of a Ferrari tie-up targeted directly at the collector market

- Stephen Dobie

ABSENCE MAKES THE market grow fonder: a twist on an adage that's deftly proven by one of the priciest product drops in Hot Wheels history. After 15 years without an official Ferrari casting in its lineup, the headline piece of the brands' glorious reunion sold out in under two hours. Impressive, when it commanded $100 for a pair of 1:64-scale cars tucked in a teasing black box.

'From a volume standpoint, the brand is bigger than it's ever been; Hot Wheels' Global Head of Design, Ted Wu, tells me at the glamorous unveiling in the Fiorano pitlane. 'Our fans are as engaged as ever, so the timing is right to bring Ferrari back into the offering. We're all about performance and design. Our brands are so similar in ethos that it didn't feel right not working together.'

Hot Wheels and Ferrari thrashed out the launch line-up together, with Ted and his team especially keen to get motorsport icons in the hands of adults and kids alike. The halo piece, sold quickly to subscribers through the Mattel Creations online platform, paired a callback to the first Hot Wheels Ferrari toy way back in 1969 – a 312P racer in open-top form – with the new 499P Modificata, a track-only customer version of the double Le Mans winner. Both are resplendent in shiny Spectraflame red.

'We created a whole new painting process,' confides Ted. 'We really wanted the finish on these Ferrari exclusives to be bold and bright. We've done red Spectraflame before in our Red Line Club specials but typically it's a deeper, richer colour. To get the brightness we wanted we used a special silver-plating before painting the colour on top of it. This new process requires a bit more attention and time, but it was important for our design team to match the red that Ferrari is known for.'