Hotwheels Camaro Concept
 

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LAS VEGAS – Fulfilling the wish of every child who has ever played with one, Chevrolet and Hot Wheels® have created a life-size Hot Wheels Camaro Concept. The car debuted at the 2011 SEMA Show – the aftermarket industry’s premier display of automotive toys.

The Camaro Hot Wheels concept is inspired by the “Custom Camaro” – the dazzling Spectraflame® 1:64-scale toy that was part of the original 16 Hot Wheels cars released in 1968. The project was a collaborative effort between the General Motors Design studio in Michigan and the Hot Wheels Design studio in California. Each sketched its own ideas of a life-size Hot Wheels Camaro, compared notes and refined their visions until the concept hit the right note for each group of designers.

“The Camaro has been a mainstay in the Hot Wheels lineup since 1968,” said Phil Zak, GM design director. “Several generations of car enthusiasts grew up playing with Hot Wheels Camaros, while dreaming of driving the real thing, so this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make that dream a reality.”

There was a similar buzz of excitement in the Hot Wheels studio.

“The Hot Wheels and Camaro brands have been paired together since their inception,” said Felix Holst, vice president of design for the Mattel Wheels Division. “As part of the brands historic sweet 16, the Camaro was the first Hot Wheels car ever produced. The Spectraflame paint and redline tires of those first Hot Wheels cars have been the dreams of guys for generations, and it was thrilling to inject these elements into a Camaro for real.”

The synergistic project created a car that is instantly identifiable as a Camaro with styling cues – including flat-black graphics, red-line wheels and, of course, the dazzling metallic-green finish – that are classic Hot Wheels.

The original Hot Wheels cars debuted with their metallic Spectraflame paint finishes, and the Camaro Hot Wheels Concept features a brilliant, chrome-style finish created in a similar manner: a tinted top coat over a shiny base.

In the case of the original Hot Wheels lineup, the process involved polishing the die-cast metal vehicle bodies and applying a metallic lacquer to them. With the Camaro Hot Wheels Concept, the process was decidedly more complicated.

“We are always looking for innovative ideas and processes that push the boundaries of design – including paint finishes – and the Hot Wheels concept definitely stretched our team to the limit,” said Zak. “They had to essentially invent a new way to paint the car.”

The reflective finish was created using Gold Touch Inc.’s Cosmichrome product, starting with the application of a primer coat on an immaculately prepared surface. The primer coat was then sprayed with a liquid-metal solution to create the mirror-smooth, silver-chrome base coat. Afterward, the green tint was applied in several layers until the just-right color effect was achieved.

“It may sound pretty straightforward, but no one had ever tried using this process to paint a whole car,” said Zak. “The bodywork and paint team experimented with several processes before spraying the first body panel. There were so many variables that contributed to getting the finish perfect, from the drying time to the air pressure of the spray guns – none of which was known before this project – and the team absolutely nailed it perfectly.”

Additional features of the Camaro Hot Wheels Concept include:

■Over Chrome Green paint with ghosted Hot Wheels logo on the quarter panels
■Satin black ground effects (splitter, rocker and rear fascia-side extensions)
■Satin black wheels with milled face and Torch Red stripe: 20x10-inch (front) and 20x11-inch (rear)
■ZL1 grille with Hot Wheels badging
■Hot Wheels badge on the decklid
■Euro-style taillamps with new inner smoked lens
■Euro-style rear fascia with new diffuser and exhaust bezels
■ZL1 rear spoiler
■Chevrolet Accessories Modified Satin Black Stripe
■Black aluminum “CAMARO” fender badges with milled face
■Black aluminum hood insert with milled hood vent extractors
■Chevrolet Accessories Synergy Series gill decals
■Black leather-wrapped IP and door inserts with Torch Red accents, and cut-and-sew flames
■Hot Wheels sill plates
■Hot Wheels cut-and-sew embroidered logos in the front seatbacks
■Chevrolet Accessories pedal kit
■Chevrolet Accessories footwell and cup holder lighting (red)
■Brembo brakes: six-piston front with two-piece rotors and four-piston calipers (Chevrolet Official Licensed Product)
■Suspension lowering kit by Pedders (Chevrolet Official Licensed Product)
■Chevrolet Accessories strut tower brace
■Chevrolet Accessories black engine cover
■Chevrolet Accessories exhaust system
Under the hood is the all-aluminum 6.2L LS3 V-8 backed by the Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual transmission.

Collector’s model

Hot Wheels will offer a collector’s edition 1:64-scale model based on the full-size Concept. Purchase information is available at www.hotwheelscollectors.com, as well as the Hot Wheels and Chevrolet Camaro Facebook pages.

It will be the 18th 1:64-scale Hot Wheels Camaro model produced since 1968, all with a variety of colors and configurations. During the past 44 years, literally millions of Hot Wheels Camaro models have been produced.

The original Custom Camaro from 1968 remains one of the most valuable Hot Wheels toys among collectors. That year, Hot Wheels produced all the Custom Camaro models with Spectraflame paint – except for one version in white enamel.

Today, examples of the Spectraflame Custom Camaro in excellent condition can sell for $150 or more. Only 15 white enamel versions are known to exist, and none are in their original packages.

“The value of a white enamel Custom Camaro is upwards of $3,000,” said Holst. “But if one still existed in the package, the value could be tens of thousands of dollars.”

Re: Hotwheels Camaro Concept
 

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Re: Hotwheels Camaro Concept
 

Never been a big fan of the over the top concepts, but this Camaro is just cool. Love everything about it, but the red accents.

Re: Hotwheels Camaro Concept
 

I usually hate a lot of the SEMA concepts, as they are generally way over the top in efforts to show capability as opposed to a balanced, tasteful styling...but this looks hot.

Re: Hotwheels Camaro Concept
 

We need more colors like this, especially a blue. I would pay $750 extra to get it. Cool car.

Re: Hotwheels Camaro Concept
 

I'd let Frezza drive it...

Re: Hotwheels Camaro Concept
 

I really thought this was Synergy green until now...

NEWS: Chevrolet Camaro Hot Wheels Concept fulfills a childhood fantasy
 

Filed under: Aftermarket, Concept Cars, SEMA Show, Performance, Chevrolet

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....ls-concept.jpg

If you played with Hot Wheels as a kid (or as an adult, as some on the Autoblog team have admitted to doing), then you've probably imagined what it would be like to have the thing in full size. Chevrolet has tried to make that a reality, creating a Camaro concept car inspired by the "Custom Camaro" 1/64-scale model that was part of the original Hot Wheels collection released in 1968.

Making its debut at SEMA today, the Camaro Hot Wheels Concept features chrome green paint, ghosted Hot Wheels logos on the fenders, satin black wheels, a Euro-style rear fascia and taillights and black aluminum hood insert with milled heat extractors. Under the hood is the standard LS3 V8.

You can read a full list of the car's features after the jump, and be sure to check out our live photos in the gallery above.Continue reading Chevrolet Camaro Hot Wheels Concept fulfills a childhood fantasy

Chevrolet Camaro Hot Wheels Concept fulfills a childhood fantasy originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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Re: Hotwheels Camaro Concept
 

love it love it love it!!! would trade my synergy green mantis for this in a hearbeat. that is if my lovely wife would let me !! how cool that would be to have a hot wheels camaro
def need to buy one of the diecasts.

Re: Hotwheels Camaro Concept
 

That green mirror color was incredible...but would be sick expensive. There may even be laws against having it since it would blind people reflecting the sun.

Re: Hotwheels Camaro Concept
 

Jason, being a collector of those little Diecast cars they did have those colors in the late 60's "Spectraflame" cool colors!

Re: Hotwheels Camaro Concept
 

It really must be seen to be completely appreciated.

We insist that people wear gloves when handling it - the paint is quite fragile, but darn, it's cool!

(.....and expen$$$$$$$ive!)

Re: Hotwheels Camaro Concept
 

I had a few a long time ago. Do I ever wish I had them now...

Agreed. Every image I have seen of it is different...and still not quite right. I thought Synergy Green is touch to photograph. This is even worse.

I talked with my buddy who has a body shop and does custom work for OEM companies here in the Detroit area. Without getting too deep into GM's finances...he estimated that the paint job cost at least as much as the sticker on the car itself. Maybe more, it is very tough to paint something like that. But boy...does it ever look great!