Hot Wheels Turned Fan's Full-Size, Homebuilt Hot Rod Into Officially Licensed Toy

Every car enthusiast that grew up playing with Hot Wheels cars has dreamed about having a model car made out of their own full-size ride. That dream is going to come true for Luis Rodriguez, who was selected by Mattel after a 15-stop, nationwide Hot Wheels Legends Tour. The campaign's goal was to celebrate the brand's 50th anniversary by selecting one special custom car to be immortalized in Zamak and sold on a blister card.

The judges for the contest were a veritable who's who of car enthusiasts: legendary Hot Wheels designer Larry Wood; Jay Leno, who needs no introduction; and Magnus Walker, the Urban Outlaw himself, just to name a few. A winner was selected at each tour stop, and all fifteen of them—alongside Hot Wheels' impressive fleet of full-size toys—were on display at the Hot Wheels SEMA booth, where the winner was announced. 

Rodriguez's custom, open-wheeled car, dubbed the 2JetZ, looks almost like it was built from the ground up to be a Hot Wheels car. The jet fighter fuselage body houses the driver and the Toyota 2JZ powerplant, mounted behind the pilot. Weighing just 1,600 pounds and producing in excess of 600 horsepower, it just might have a chance of holding its own in an acceleration contest with an actual jet.

Collectors can expect to find Rodriguez's 2JetZ hanging from pegs in the toy aisle of their favorite stores next year. We're excited to see what this thing can do on a track—an orange plastic track, that is.