5 Hot Wheels Cars Worth Way More Than You Can Imagine

Founded 55 years ago, Hot Wheels continues to remain an iconic toy brand, with multiple generations of kids having now enjoyed cars emblazoned with its name and fiery logo, as well as related video games, animated series, and more. Originally founded by Elliot Handler, the brand is known for its scale models of actual automobile models, including many muscle cars and hot rod types (hence the name). Toy manufacturer Mattel still produces new lines of Hot Wheels, and the cars can be found everywhere from online to random aisles in the supermarket.

It's not just children who love Hot Wheels, however. The brand has a dedicated following of adult collectors, some of whom amass huge quantities of the tiny vehicles. Limited edition models are still produced, mainly to cater to this demographic of enthusiasts who probably won't be pushing these special cars through a Hot Wheels playset anytime soon. Some Hot Wheels are especially rare, and the amount of money they can go for is jaw-dropping. It shouldn't be a surprise that many of these high-priced models come from the 1960s and 1970s, including the "Original Sweet 16" line of vehicles made in 1967. 

Here are some models of Hot Wheels cars that are worth more than you can imagine. After seeing how much they go for, you'll be rummaging through your old toy collection, looking to see if you've somehow been storing a diamond in the rough all this time.

Currently, the Hot Wheels model that is worth the most money dwarfs every other car the brand has ever produced. Worth a staggering $175,000, the pink version of the 1969 rear-loading Beach Bomb is over four times as valuable as the second most expensive Hot Wheels car. There are a few reasons the price goes so high for this particular model, a VW bus, that create a perfect storm of collectibility for Hot Wheels enthusiasts. 

A lot of its value has to do with it being a prototype. It never saw an official release, and you couldn't come across it in a toy store. Instead, a Mattel employee held onto it after it was decided the model wasn't suitable for mass production, due to it being too narrow and top-heavy. Part of this design was to accommodate surfboards being loaded through the rear, giving it a perfect 60s beach vibe, and a look unlike any other Hot Wheels vehicle. The design was altered to mount the surfboards on the side, and add a plastic sunroof to lower the van's center of gravity.

Only two individual cars from this line were ever made in pink, making them the rarest of the rare. Typically when it comes to Hot Wheels collectibles, any customization that wasn't part of their original factory design will greatly diminish a model's value, so slapping a coat of pink paint on another Beach Bomb won't make it suddenly worth $175,000. However, other Beach Bombs with rear-loaded surf boards are still pretty rare and worth more than the average Hot Wheels toy, to say the least.

If you've had a random assortment of Hot Wheels cars in your collection growing up, there's a decent chance you had at least one Red Baron model. Its extremely distinct visual design has made it an icon for casual Hot Wheels fans and enthusiasts alike. The name "Red Baron" comes from the infamous World War I fighter pilot; the vehicle is a long, slender hot rod with a big WWI German infantry helmet raised up on its rear, as well as an Iron Cross motif on its radiator. It debuted in 1970, so it's likely not a coincidence that "Peanuts" and Snoopy's famous rivalry with the Baron were also highly popular with children at the time.

Since then, several models have been released, including various riffs on the stylized design, like cars that substitute the army helmet for a skull or even a bowl of gelatin. Most of the Red Baron cars originally released in 1970 had black interiors, but for whatever reason, a small handful of models had a white interior. It's these Red Baron models with unique interiors that can go for $3,500.

Mustangs are a popular Hot Wheels model, which makes sense considering how gorgeous and coveted the real-life version of the muscle car is. It was also one of the original vehicles that Hot Wheels first modeled to scale in the late 60s. There's one Mustang from that era in particular that is worth more than almost every other Hot Wheels toy in existence: the watermelon-colored 1968 Over Chrome Mustang.

The Mustang, which has a red interior, red-line tires, and a gorgeous finish, was made by the company for internal use, and intended for marketing purposes. Only two were ever produced, which is why the ultra-rare car is worth $40,000, the second-most valuable Hot Wheels you can find (only the pink 1969 rear-loading Beach Bomb currently goes for more money.) Interestingly enough, one of the two was found at a real estate sale in a trailer park after its previous owner's death.

One of Hot Wheels' earliest models was a scale 1931 Ford Woody, the wood-framed station wagon that was popular in the first half of the 20th century. There are a few variations of Hot Wheels' Woody, including interiors in white, dark brown, and champagne. The toy also has either a wrinkled top or a smooth top. They can also be identified by the red pinstripes on their tires. The red lines were used by Hot Wheels in those earliest models, which is where the Hot Wheels "Red Line" terminology comes from (including the Red Line club of collectors). Because of their age and place in Hot Wheels history, red-line vehicles are cherished collectibles.

The earlier, red-line, smoothed-top, brown-colored Woody cars from Hot Wheels' 1969 line are extremely rare, with possibly fewer than 100 in existence. That's probably why you'll have to shell out $8000 to own one of Hot Wheels' oldest and most charming-looking models.

[Image by dave_7 via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 2.0]

Several Camaro models made by Hot Wheels can be found on the list of most valuable cars by the brand, including the white and brown custom Camaros from 1968, which can be worth $3000 each. But neither come close to the value of the 1968 Over Chrome Camaro, which is worth $25,000. The car looks its price, too, with a gorgeous lime green coloring over a chrome finish that gives it the same luster as a vintage Christmas ornament. (The particular shade of green over chrome is also affectionately called "antifreeze" green.)

This particular model wasn't made for sale, but rather to sell other cars in commercials for the brand. Only 20 of the cars with the lime green over chrome finish were made, making the red-lined vehicles especially rare, even when compared to other Camaros made by Hot Wheels in its earliest days. It's also one of the coolest-looking Hot Wheels toys ever produced, and the brand's third most valuable model on the collector's market.