10 photos
Photo: Hot Wheels Malaysia
When I flew back home from my Porsche Cayenne test drive, I had access to a nice selection of on-flight entertainment. The list of movies was so long that it took me 10 minutes to just scroll through them. There several Fast and Furious titles in there, but I didn’t care about either of them.
I don’t know about you, but I’m still stuck in the 2001 to 2006 era. Nothing was ever the same for me after Tokyo Drift, and I guess it’s not solely the producer’s fault for that. I grew up, became seriously involved in motorsports, and discovered what the real world of racing was all about.
I can say that I’m gutted I didn’t get to see the anniversary re-release of the first film in cinema, as I didn’t experience it in 2001 either. And even though rumors have it that Fast Forever will be the saga’s conclusion, that’s still not enough to convince I should see it.
I’ve had a lot of fun pursuing tiny Hot Wheels replicas of my favorite cars from the first three films, including Brian’s Eclipse and Skyline, Dominic’s RX-7 and Charger and Sean’s EVO and S15 to name a few. But I can’t justify buying new variations, especially when the card art is the only thing to have changed.
Mattel’s current approach with the Fast and Furious series reminds me of Pop Culture, but I guess there’s no other way around it. I had strongly hoped that Han’s Veilside RX-7 would be available this year, but I’ve found solace in pre-ordering one from Mini GT instead. The eighth season of the Premium Fast & Furious line kicks off with a brand-new casting in the form of the 1999 Toyota MR-S.
It’s a replica of the Veilside-kitted model we saw in 2 Fast 2 Furious, but you may not remember seeing it if you blinked during that particular scene. Ok, it was in there for a few seconds, and I’m almost certain there were two other ones with the same specs but different colors (red and blue) for the sequence.
This is Thomas Kim’s first design for Mattel, and the second MR-S casting ever as Alec Tam had made a ‘Tooned one back in 2004. Speaking of cars that were only in the movie for a few shots, the Toyota Chaser JZX 100 is back for its second release and it’s obviously identical to the one I unboxed in December of 2025.
It’s a cool car, and definitely worth it if you couldn’t find it the first time. The same goes for Suki’s Honda S2000, which is easily the repeat-highlight of the set. It’s the seventh time we’re seeing this design, but only the third in premium spec. Once you disregard the NFT release (someone is asking $973 for it on eBay), you realize that seven years have passed since this collectible was available straight from the factory.
I’m not thrilled about the wheels but will try to get it anyway. The general consensus among enthusiasts seems to be that the Toyota FJ Cruiser will be the unofficial peg-warmer of the set, especially since you can still find the 2024 First Edition release in some stores. Last year’s Team Transport version wasn’t particularly popular either, but at least it tried to bring something new to the table.
And yes, there’s one more car in this first mix, and it’s the 1987 Buick Regal GNX. You may remember seeing in the Treasure Hunt/Mainline series earlier this year. It had Fast and Furious related variations in 2020 (debut version), in 2022 and in 2023. Every such premium iteration has had different wheels on.
The 8-DOT Real Riders were slightly strange for the job while the Mag-Style design took things to the next level. Right now, I have mixed feelings about the Split 6-Spoke rims, as they mostly work for Japanese and maybe even European vehicles. I don’t think that will stop any Buick fans from going after this new version of the car, though.