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Fastest 100
Hot Wheels
(1968-2023)

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Below is my latest list of Hot Wheels top 100 cars.  Updated as of January, 2023 after more than a year of time testing my collection of over 2,300 cars across many brands, including a large collection of fast Hot Wheels cars (based on my experience and also researching YouTube racings channels and other racing sites).  Certainly though there are more cars to test and new cars being released. 

Hot Wheels of course is the diecast leader.  The brand started in 1968 and has been releasing sets every year since.  The inventory of Hot Wheels is vast, but there are specific castings, wheel types and series that are faster on the track. 
​

​Key notes/considerations:
  • I race on a two-lane, 27 foot Magic Derby track (equivalent to about one-third of a mile).  The Derby track is 22% wider than a typical Hot Wheels orange track, allowing me to race more car sizes/scales. 
  • I categorize my cars into speed tiers with 5-Stars being the best.  The 5-star performers all have times under 2.500 seconds. 
  • I only count the fastest casting in my rankings for a specific car/brand.  For instance, instead of counting all the very fast Probe Funny Cars, I only recognize the fastest among them. This makes things more interesting to me, as I don't end up with so many of one model, let alone the same exact car, in my rankings.  
  • I've applied graphite to the cars, which really brings out the speed potential for diecast.  I'll go into more detail on that in the future.  Some cars only improve slightly, but others improve significantly when dry lubes applied.  

Please see information on the home page for more details on testing method, speed tiers and other details.  

My top 4 Hot Wheels cars.  All elite 5-Star performers and among the fastest overall cars.  The #1 Probe Funny Car (Trix version is my fastest), the Dodge Challenger Funny Car, the Plymouth Arrow Funny Car and the Pontiac Grand Prix Stocker (#44) from the Basic Pro Racing series.
The next 4 include the "Hot Wheels" Side-Splitter, the Ultra Hots Quick Trik, the Firebird Funny Car and the '71 Mustang Funny Car.
More 5-Star performers.  The compact Ferrari 355, the Iron Man Mark Character Car, the Modern Classics car '67 Shelby GT500 and the "QVC" T-Bird Stocker (another Basic Pro Racing entry).
More elite cars include the Ultra Hots Wind Splitter, the Corvette Sting Ray (with the Gold Hot Ones wheels), the K-2SO Character Car and the "Baby Ruth" Dodge Concept Car.  The large K-2SO car does not fit on a standard orange track.
Rounding out the Top 20 include the Ultra Hots Sol-Aire CX4, the Peugeot 205 Rallye, the green Ultra Hots Predator and the Boulder Basher from the Crashers series from 1999.
Observations:
  • Some great vintage representation in the Top 100 including:   
    • 9 Ultra Hots from the 1984-1986 series
    • 8 Blackwalls from the 1970's, 1980's and into the 90's
    • 6 Hot Ones cars from the 1980's
    • 2 Redlines from the early 1970s (Noodlehead and Short Order)
    • 1 Speed Demons car from 1986 (Evil Weevil)
    • 1 mainline release from 1989 (Sol Aire CX4)
  • There are 10 Faster Than Ever (FTE) cars, all from 2005 or 2006
  • There are 9 Character cars in this elite group with Star Wars and Marvel cars having the best representation
  • A good balance of weight classes with 24 Heavyweights, 26 Light Heavyweights, 36 Middleweights, 16 Welterweights and 1 Featherweight (Salt Shaker).  See the home page for breakdowns on the weight classes.
  • The funny cars are over-represented among the Top 20, leveraging good balance and heavy weight to generate more speed.  Many of the funny cars also benefit nicely from graphite.

Fastest 100+ Hot Wheels Cars
Starting with 5-Star Cars

Note that the #15 ranked Star Wars Character Car "K-2SO" is too wide for the standard orange track
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Top 4-Star Cars

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  • Home
  • Overall Rankings
    • Top 100 Fastest Diecast Cars
    • Fastest Cars by Weight Class
    • Fastest Brand Comparison
    • Why are some FTE's faster than others?
  • Hot Wheels
    • Top 100 Fastest Hot Wheels
    • Top 25 Recent Releases (2018-2022)
    • Redlines (68-77)
    • Blackwalls (77-97)
    • Hot Ones (80's)
    • Ultra Hots (84-86)
    • Speed Demons (86-89)
    • Crashers (99-00)
    • Faster Than Ever - FTE
    • Character Cars and Mario Kart
    • Pro Racing and Pro Circuit Cars
    • Since '68, Super Chromes & Classics
    • Hot Ones (repro), Neo-Classics & 50th Anniversary Originals
    • Modern Classics, Flying Customs & Cool Classics
    • Heritage, Retro Style & HW's id's
    • Premium Series Cars (2000+)
  • Johnny Lightning
    • Top 50 Fastest Johnny Lightning
    • JL Vans
    • JL Trucks and SUV's
    • JL Indy Racers and Dragsters
    • JL Chevy Cars (Camaro, Corvette, Chevelle)
    • JL GM Cars (Pontiac GTO, Olds, Buick)
    • JL Chrysler Cars (Plymouth, Dodge)
    • JL Ford Cars (Mustang, GT, Torino)
    • Johnny Lightning Toppers (69-71)
  • Kenner
    • Fastest Fast 111's
    • Fast 111's Inventory
  • Matchbox
    • Top 50 Fastest Matchbox
    • Matchbox Lesney Superfast (69-82)
    • Laser Wheels & 80's Superfast
    • Best Matchbox Wheel Types
  • Mattel
    • Fast & Furious (1/55th Scale)
    • Fast & Furious (1/55th Scale) Inventory
    • Pixar Cars
  • Siku
    • Fastest Siku Cars
    • Siku Inventory w/Whitewall/Deep Dish Wheels
  • Tomica
    • Fastest Tomica Cars
  • Other Brands
    • Corgi
    • Ertl
    • Lionel Revolvers
    • Maisto
    • Majorette
    • Metal Machines
    • Road Champs
    • Tiger Wheels
    • Zee Toys
  • Feedback