‘Hot Wheels' turns 50: How much do you know about the famous toy cars?

On May 18, 2018, the famous “Hot Wheels” line of die-cast metal toy cars is turning 50 years old. Here are some amazing facts about one of the world’s best-selling selling toys:

  • Every second, 16.5 Hot Wheels cars are produced.The average American kid owns 50 Hot Wheels. The price of a Hot Wheels car is around $1 -- the same as it cost in 1968.
  • The first Hot Wheels toy ever sold was the dark blue “Custom Camaro” on May 18,1968, thereby marking Hot Wheels’ birthday. The Custom Camaro was part of the original “Sweet 16” line of Hot Wheels toys. To commemorate Hot Wheels’ 50th anniversary, Chevrolet created a life-sized version of the iconic original.
  • The world’s most valuable Hot Wheels car is the 1969 Rear-Loader Beach Bomb, worth nearly $150,000 each. There are only 40 known units in existence today.
  • Hot Wheels’ super-collector Bruce Pascal owns one of the world’s most expensive Hot Wheels collections, worth more than $1,000,000.
  • Since 1968 Hot Wheels has produced more than six billion cars and more than 20,000 different car designs.
  • Hot Wheels’ first partnership with an automaker was with General Motors’ Chevrolet brand. Since then, there’s been a Hot Wheels model for nearly every car ever made.
  • The Hot Wheels garage features a collection of nearly 20 real-life vehicles inspired by some of the most memorable Hot Wheels toys.
  • The iconic Hot Wheels orange track has been sold alongside the cars since the very first models. The color has stayed the same for 50 years, and Hot Wheels makes more than 6,000 miles of track every year.

Happy birthday to an American classic! Here’s to 50 more years of Hot Wheels fun!