On the list of coolest jobs in the world, ‘Hot Wheels designer’ has to be right up there.
Unencumbered by the constraints of whether or not it will get a five-star ANCAP rating or even Australian Design Rules, makers of these miniature motors have (almost) free rein to create whatever they want.
Indeed, some of my son’s favourite Hot Wheels cars aren’t traditional models at all, but are basically a dinosaur on wheels, or have a toilet on the back.
Short of finding the shrink ray from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, what does it take to bring a Hot Wheels model to life?
Drive sat down with Philip Riehlman, Principal Designer at Mattel, who has been doing it since 1993, to find out exactly that.
“At the start of the process, we identify what the current or the new trends are that are coming and what things we want to do differently and what things we want to make sure to keep,” he tells us.
“We always have muscle cars, but the JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) and European cars are kind of hitting right now, exotics, etc, but a lot of it has to do with what the consumer trends are.
“Then we start getting into what's called ‘slots and rats’, where we start really diving down into the line structures and stuff like that.
“There are always some minor changes, then we go through our approval process, licensing, and then we start designing it.”
In its entirety, Riehlman says, the process takes about a year from the very beginning to the final product hitting the shelves.
Exactly what is involved and how long it takes can vary, depending on whether the vehicle in question is a replication of an existing car or one of their own unique designs.
“It's different if it's our own design or if it's a replication of an existing real car that we heavily modify. It also depends on whether it's going to be a direct replication or a modification, and how much we can modify it.
“As a designer, you kind of want to design your own cars, so those are the most fun. But, I mean, it's still super fun to do modified cars and replication cars as well, usually because they are cars you care about.”
According to Mattel, there are more than 130 new car designs introduced every single year, and an incredible 25,000 variations in existence.
More than eight billion Hot Wheels have been produced since the brand was born in 1968, and 22.5 cars are sold every second globally.
Those might seem like some wild numbers, but having seen the queues snaking around the block of the adults’ Hot Wheels stand at this year’s Melbourne Motor Show, I can believe it.
It’s no mean feat, though, Riehlman says he is just one of the dozens of designers working tirelessly to make it all possible, and it’s more complicated than it might seem.
“When you strip a car from full-size to 164th (scale), you have to exaggerate some things just to make them show up. If you shrink your car directly down, a lot of the details would disappear,” he says.
This is especially true for existing models, for which Hot Wheels needs to get permission from the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
“We get approvals for sculpting and decoration, and sometimes the licences to supply 3D files for reference and stuff like that if we need it. Then, of course, licences are different; we’re all working with a bunch of different people.
“There was one brand, which I won’t name, one time a decade ago, that had a whole advertising program about getting this [certain] car and making it your own and customising it.
“But then, when we wanted to do a custom version of that car, it said no. That was kind of a shocker.”
Over the past 33 years, Riehlman has designed dozens of vehicles, starting with the Twin Mill II, although his first model from start to end was the Volkswagen Drag Bus.
More recently, he’s created the DeBerti Toyota Tacoma, 2024 Ram 4x4 and Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo. But his career started designing real cars.
“I always wanted to be a car designer since I was a little kid, ever since I started collecting Matchbox and Hot Wheels,” he says.
“After school, it wasn't a great time in the car industry; it was the mid-80s, and it was a little tough to get a job, so I did other things for a while. But I wanted to get back into something involving cars.
“I did a couple of early ones where it was kind of a collaborative effort because, back in those days, somebody would do the sketches, then somebody would take it the rest of the way through.
“I’ve [designed] a lot of muscle cars because I am kind of a muscle car fan. I probably have more than I should have – I’m more of a hoarder than a collector.”
Hot Wheels has just relaunched its Legends Tour for Australia and New Zealand after a two-year hiatus.
The tour gives enthusiasts the chance to have their car immortalised as a 1:64 Hot Wheels die-cast, which, if they win, will be sold worldwide.
In 2023, the global winner hailed from New Zealand, getting their Mazda MX-5 ‘Chimera’ turned into a real-life Hot Wheels model.
Speaking to Drive at the 2026 Melbourne Motor Show before heading back to Hot Wheels HQ in California, Riehlman gives us a little hint on what a model needs to make it a hit.
“[For a Hot Wheels car to succeed] it's got to have the power of performance about it. It's got to have that Hot Wheels attitude and DNA, and it's got to be a little bit over-the-top.”
A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.
