Hot Wheels has sure gotten it right with their #Car Culture line. This line seems to be flying off the peg hooks of retailers everywhere. Case in point, the #Car Culture /  Track Day series has been out for about 2 months now, so its not entirely surprising that I just found it (sans the #Datsun Bluebird 510 of course) at my local Walmart last weekend. I was fortunate however, to pick up the Track Day ’70 Chevy Chevelle at the convention in October for close to cost but the #Volkswagen Karmann Ghia had eluded me to this point!

Not your standard, stock VW Karmann Ghia as this heavily modified, racing version of the car was designed Hot Wheels Designer, Phil Riehlman over a decade ago. Its metalflake aqua paint is a throwback to one of its early releases in the 2007 Ultra Hots — a release that started its run as a premium car after a limited quantities mainline release in 2006. This casting is probably most well known in the Hot Wheels world for its #Opening Feature, an engine cover / spoiler that detaches from the body.

Hot Wheels Volkswagen Karmann Ghia from the 2016 Car Culture / Track Day Series (rear, engine cover off)

This Hot Wheels #Car Culture / Track Day series release of the #Volkswagen Karmann Ghia showcases its #Opening Feature as its painted matte black to contrast the gorgeous metalflake aqua body. Even more suiting is the play-on-words on the sides of this release. It appropriately says, “GHIA-TEEN” which is just so clever considering its a play on the word “guillotine”. A guillotine, for those that don’t know, was a contraption that was used for beheading people. This vicious pun is can be referring to this car being a “head hunter” on the track or, the more likely scenario is, that the play on words refers to the detachment of that aforementioned engine cover / spoiler. Either way, it works.

The Hot Wheels #Volkswagen Karmann Ghia is definitely one of the more underutilized castings. Despite being very popular with collectors when it first came out at the end of 2006, its releases after 2008 became sporadic as this is only the third time the casting has been released in the last 8 years. Ultimately, as a collector of this casting, I was elated to see this release make it to the shelves of one of my local retail stores as its a terrific piece that has a specific place in my collection.

RELEASE DETAILS: Metalflake Aqua Body (metal). Matte Black Engine Cover / Spoiler (metal). Tinted Windows. Orange Interior. Chrome Real Riders Slotted 4-Spoke Wheels. Unpainted Metal Base. Made in Malaysia. Toy# DJF96. Released in 2016 as #4 of 5 in the Hot Wheels Car Culture / Track Day Series.