The Stars of 2016 Hot Wheels Batches K & L #3. BMW Z4 M

Fun fact: The number four has appeared on the side of every version of Hot Wheels' BMW Z4 M. The 2012 First Ed. and FE Recolour both sported '4', which then became '04' for the BMW Series release in 2016 and then '44' for the 2016 Mainline release in the BMW segment.

But enough with the trivia. The usual practice at Hot Wheels is that if a car is released in the basic line, it may get a recolour. In the 2000s and early 2010s a third colour wasn't uncommon, but began to die out.  Thankfully this has had something of a resurgence this year with models like the '15 Ford Mustang GT getting three colours, and many of the cars that received Zamac treatment also getting a third colour. Two completely different versions of a car in one year though? That's rare, but is getting more and more common. In this case, after not being seen since the first two releases in 2012, the Z4 made a welcome return not only to the mainline, but also in the BMW Manufacturer set.

There's not much more to say about this one, as I probably exhausted most of it in my BMW Series post, but it is great to see it back after three years of absence alongside its 2012 debut counterpart, the M3 GT2 (maybe it's returned twice to make up for that?) and it's pretty much modification-proof due to having a metal spoiler from the very beginning.

Welcome back Z4, I hope to see you again soon...hopefully before 2019!

NB: You'll notice the black FE Recolour is absent below, as I'm yet to acquire one :(

The Stars of 2016 Hot Wheels Batches K & L #2. Lotus Espirit S1

   

The Wedge. This was the iconic supercar shape of the 1970s, and remains the definitive outline of most exotic cars produced in the period.

One of the most famous of which is the Lotus Espirit, which became known around the world through being showcased in 1977's Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me. Its appearance in the film coupled with the fact it had underwater capabilities (unfortunately these didn't come as standard, or at all in the real world) earned it legendary status.

Despite this, Hot Wheels didn't produce a casting of the Espirit S1 until 2014 (they had done an S4 Turbo). The casting made it's debut in Batch A of 2015, and just like the Aston Martin DB5 that had appeared in 2014, it was immaculately proportioned and brilliantly executed to the point where the question of whether it should have been a Matchbox was raised. I personally don't agree with that, as I'm currently loving the variety which underpins the HW Mainline. 

As was to be expected, the first release was in white, reminiscent of Roger Moore's star car, which was received well, and it has gone on to return three times; in the Mainline in 2015 it was also later released in red, and has just returned for 2016 in yellow - both stock colours that the car was actually available in (I won't lie, I love it when HW does that). As for the third? In between these two releases it appeared in the James Bond series, but I have excluded that release as it is a carbon copy of the First Edition. The Espirit has also appeared in  the Retro Entertainment line twice, one of those times as the underwater version, but due to the difficulty of acquiring them in the UK I have neither.

Overall, this is a great casting of a terrific classic car, and one that I hope keeps coming.

With that other iconic Seventies wedge, the Lamborghini Countach (shh, I know the 25th Anniversary Ed. was produced from 1988-90):

The Stars of 2016 Hot Wheels Batches K & L #1. Lamborghini Sesto Elemento

Wow.

That should be the response mentally or verbally when any human being sets their eyes upon a Lamborghini. In reality, that's largely the case, so the Hot Wheels replicas (of which there are many) should evoke a similar reaction. Again, that's true most of the time; HW's brilliant Lamborghini castings outweigh vastly those that disappoint.

So, when Lamborghini put into production 20 examples of its carbon fibre masterpiece that resembles a technologically advanced, futuristic Gallardo (what they started with), it wasn't long before a HW replica debuted in the very first batch of the 2014 Mainline.

As the real car had only been seen in trademark carbon fibre grey with red accents, this was what everyone expected the First Edition to resemble. Hot Wheels thought otherwise. Instead, to the annoyance of some and surprised appreciation of many, the Sesto Elemento debuted in matte white with lime accents. To me, that version of the model is brilliant, and all four versions so far have been very good; very Lamborghini. The casting's second outing was the car's trademark guise, perhaps to keep the haters at bay (I doubt it though, releasing the Sesto in that colour was an inevitability) and then it returned in lime green with J5 wheels for 2015, and now in a lovely teal blue for 2016. It is part of a rare group of castings - those that sit happily on TRAP5 wheels without being a disappointment - and has done so 3 times out of 4.

To summarise, Hot Wheels' latest Lamborghini Sesto Elemento is a brilliant addition to a formidable, growing family of colour, excitement and drama. Just as a Lamborghini should be.

The family:

Oh, and I found this too: The Matchbox Porsche 911 Turbo...

Whilst at the Motor Madness UK event where I found the two Matchbox Ferrari Testarossas, I also came across this, the 2006 Mainline version of MB's awesome Porsche 911 Turbo casting. To think that this came out in 2002 is astonishing, as it's perfectly executed and one of the best sports car castings Matchbox has ever done. Sure, it would be nice to see a new one, but this looks just as good ten years on. Plus, from what I can see MB is recovering fairly well after a dark past few years - I look forward to the rest of 2016 and 2017, but distribution has to be sorted out as the only place I can find any these days is Morrisons and occasionally WHSmith's (the latter at vastly exaggerated prices).

This example only cost me £1 as it's used, but besides the headlight tampos there aren't any major paint chips to speak of or any other damage, so it was well worth that. It's a beautiful silvery blue colour with front and back tampos, what's not to love? And of course it's one of the last models to sport the love them/hate them 'flower' wheels, as it was around 2006 that they were being phased out for more realistic wheels such as the current 10spokes - this version of the 911 Turbo had three wheel variations because of it! All in all then this is a great version of a great model; one that is so great it continues to be produced (it's in this year's Exotics 5 Pack!) and symbolic of what Matchbox should want to return to - stunning realism.

The Stars of 2016 Hot Wheels Batches K & L...

But where's the Camaro? I hear you ask.

The honest truth is, I don't have one. Yet. As soon as I do, I will feature it on the blog. But right now I don't, so let's concentrate on the seven brilliant new models, new versions and recolours I do have from Batches K & L of the 2016 Mainline.

1. Lamborghini Sesto Elemento (2016 Release)

2. Lotus Espirit S1 (2016 Release)

3. BMW Z4 M (2016 Release)

4. '70 Ford Escort RS1600 (2016 Recolour)

5. SRT Viper GTS-R (2016 Release)

6. '17 Ford F-150 (2016 First Edition Recolour)

7. Honda Odyssey (2016 First Edition)

All of them are returning favourites or brand new successes, and each merits its own blog post. Speaking of which, I need to get a move on...