Hot Wheels 50th Originals Collection Custom Mustang

The 50th anniversary of Hot Wheels has not only brought us some cool cars, but some fast ones too!

In this review we are taking a look at the new Hot Wheels Custom ‘67 Mustang from the 2018 50th Anniversary originals collection. This set has not been out very long, but the Mustang has already begun to establish itself as a very quick car. There are five cars in the collection, but the mustang has risen from the five as the one to race. Each car in the set is an all metal casting. These days it's pretty hard to find an all metal casting that doesn't have the Real Rider rubber tires. But all five have hard plastic wheels that are the best for racing.

Because the cars in this set are all metal, they all have some potential for speed. But it does turn out that the Mustang is the heaviest, coming in at 57 grams. Which is actually significantly more than any of the other cars in the set.  The next closest are the Cougar and the Barracuda at 47  grams.  The Camaro comes in at 46 grams, and the Bug at 42 grams. That extra weight means more energy and momentum as it comes down the track, which in the end means a faster car.  Not only is the Mustang heavier than the other cars in the set, but it is pretty heavy relative to all Hot Wheels cars.  It’s definitely not in the range of the heaviest cars Mattel makes, but it is on the heavier side.  And it is significantly heavier than most anything you will find on the pegs these days without real rubber tires.

Another reason that the Mustang has set itself apart from a few of the other cars in the set is that it's hood doesn't open. A hood that opens and closes is super cool, but when it comes to racing, it's not optimal. As the car races down the track unless the hood is really stiff it will bounce up and down a bit wasting precious energy. The proof is in the sound. If you listen to the Mustang and the Cougar race down the track the Cougar will be noisier. It takes energy to make noise and that’s energy that is not getting the car down the track. Both the Cougar and the Camaro have hoods that open.
The Mustang has a bit of an advantage over the Volkswagen Beetle in that it’s wheel base is slightly longer than the Beetle’s. As we’ve discussed in previous articles, generally the longer the car, the straighter it runs down the track. That means it wastes less energy than a shorter car getting down the track.

 The Mustang has an advantage over the Barracuda because the Barracuda has a problem with scraping on the sidewalls of the track. The fenders hang over the wheels a bit and so the side of the car has a tendency to scrape on track slowing the car down.
This set of cars also tends to have very good wheels.  For the most part, they all spin true and have very little wobble.  So if you can find one with pretty good axles (which is the challenge with any casting) then you have potential for a really fast car.

All the things that make the Mustang the best racer in the set also make it a good racer overall.  All of these cars (with the exception of the Barracuda) having good weight because of all metal castings, and good wheels that spin true, show potential as good racers.  However, the Mustang is the one that gets it all right.  If you’re a racer, you definitely want to get yourself one...or a few.

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