HOT WHEELS PREMIUM TRANSPORT SET FOR IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN CLASSIC RACING TEAM

The Hot Wheels you know and love, but on a higher, premium level

Hot Wheels is synonymous around the world with a scale model, die-cast toy cars. Back in 1968, working out of his garage, Elliot handler revolutionized the way that kids played with them when he introduced toy cars that rolled faster and further than any before them. He also introduced exciting new designs, inspired in part by the emerging hot-rod culture in Southern California. Over 50 years later, Hot Wheels has become the world’s best-selling toy, with 20,000 designs and six billion vehicles produced!

The IWC Schaffhausen Classic Racing Team represented a perfect opportunity for collaboration between IWC and Hot Wheels, and a great way to bring IWC and their mechanical watches to the attention of younger consumers.

The IWC Schaffhausen Classic Racing Team competes with the iconic Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, raced by F1 legend David Coulthard. That and its Euro Hauler have been combined into a stunning, 1:64 scale Hot Wheels Premium set – one of four in its 2020 Hot Wheels Car Culture Team Transport series.

Elliot Handler, father of the Hot Wheels car phenomenon

Likewise, IWC is a global brand, renowned as a manufacturer of precision instruments and innovative engineering. IWC began as International Watch Company, combining Swiss craftsmanship and American industrial technology to manufacture the best mechanical watches money could buy, including the “Big Pilot” watch – a professional pilot’s watch and true cultural icon that has become one of the most recognized designs in the watch industry.

The IWC Schaffhausen Classic Racing Team represented a perfect opportunity for collaboration between IWC and Hot Wheels, and a great way to bring IWC and their mechanical watches to the attention of younger consumers.

The IWC Schaffhausen Classic Racing Team competes with the iconic Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, raced by F1 legend David Coulthard. That and its Euro Hauler have been combined into a stunning, 1:64 scale Hot Wheels Premium set – one of four in its 2020 Hot Wheels Car Culture Team Transport series.

The Merc race car is faithful to the original, life-sized car on IWC’s racing team, in great detail – from its bucket seat interior to its racing rims. IWC’s lead graphics designer worked closely with the Hot Wheels graphics team “to create a striking livery reminiscent of the heyday of the ‘Silver Arrows’.” These exquisite graphics details are particularly evident on the accompanying Euro Hauler transporter, in the 2020 livery of the IWC racing team. The car’s number – 68 – is also the year that Hot Wheels began.

The packaging artwork includes a subtle image of the “Goodwood Motor Circuit, the iconic UK racetrack where David Coulthard won the Tony Gaze trophy in 2019 piloting the IWC Racing 300SL.”

The enthusiasm for the creation of this special racing set came right from the top. Speaking about the Hot Wheels and IWC collaboration, IWC’s CEO Cristoph Grainger-Herr said: “This partnership celebrates the merging of these two beloved brands by highlighting the detail and performance of both Swiss luxury and American automotive excellence, all in the palm of your hand.”

Richard Dickson, President and COO of Mattel, said: “IWC Schaffhausen and Hot Wheels have become industry leaders through generations of craftsmanship and design to create a premium product for our fans.” As he explained, in a virtual meeting with Cristoph on Instagram: “We take a lot of pride in the quality, certainly. Owning our own diecast facilities gives us the ability to really test, experiment and create, and ultimately drive an enormous amount of details into a vehicle that fits in the palm of your hands, with the output that is completely design-oriented.”

“The amount of Hot Wheels cars that we sell and produce also allows us to keep those costs relatively down. We sell over 500 million cars — a year!”

“It’s a brand with heritage, and that heritage requires us to ensure that the quality and the premium nature of the cars, as we move forward, never is compromised.” You can watch their entire conversation here: www.instagram.com/tv/CCvzIW7HneW/

”The global release of the Hot Wheels IWC Racing Team Transport set coincides with the opening of IWC’s new immersive flagship store in Zurich, Switzerland. Themed as “IWC Racing Works” – home of the IWC classic racing team, the store concept will feature the full-sized 300SL Gullwing as its centerpiece.”

IWC recently announced their “TIME WELL SHARED” initiative, in support of “Save the Children.” It encompasses online lectures, speeches, and webinars featuring such IWC brand ambassadors and partners as Tom Brady, Mercedes-AMG, and Tottenham Hotspur.

The other sets in this through-the-decades, 2020 Hot Wheels Premium Car Culture Team Transport series are the 2016 Ford GT Racecar and Ford C-800 transporter, the Volkswagen “Classic Bug” and Volkswagen Transporter T1 Pickup, and the 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 and its “Retro Rig” transporter.