The first month of #Hot Wheels iD is in the books, and we are officially two waves into this new line. I have yet to take a close look at any of the cars here on OTD, so I am giving you a dose of my favorite thus far: the #SRT Viper GTS-R.

As you probably already know, the #Hot Wheels iD cars come in a box, oppose to the traditional blister card. The box is wrapped in a sleeve that has a flip up side that reveals the top of the car in the package. The bottom of the packaging has a window that reveals the NFC (near field communication) chip — what makes these iD cars different from any Hot Wheels car before them. The chip can be read by smartphones and by the Hot Wheels iD Race Portals. It offers unique coding which is read by the system/app which unlocks that data associated with that car. No information is transferred back to, or saved on the actual car.

Hot Wheels SRT Viper GTS-R from the 2019 Hot Wheels iD / Speed Demons series (package view)

Hot Wheels SRT Viper GTS-R from the 2019 Hot Wheels iD / Speed Demons series (wheel view)

Hot Wheels SRT Viper GTS-R from the 2019 Hot Wheels iD / Speed Demons series (base view, NFC chip)

In addition to the NFC chip, the #Hot Wheels iD vehicles feature a transparent base/chassis that allows for you to see it. Each vehicle also features line-exclusive wheels called, #iD5 Wheels, with “HWiD SERIES” on them along with the name of the actual series — which is “SPEED DEMONS” in this case. It gets even better. Since these have a pricepoint of $7 (USD), the iD vehicles were allotted #Spectraflame Paint and full front- and rear-detail. There are so many great aspects of the Hot Wheels iD line thus far. With that, looms a little bit of a negative cloud surrounding the “up-slope” chins. Since the cars were made to be track compatible, the fronts of most of the vehicles were modified to have such a chin so the car could make it through the loop on the iD Smart Track Set. The #SRT Viper GTS-R casting has always had the up-slope chin, so no modification was made to the actual casting for this release, whereas other castings did not suffer the same fate. In the game, it mentions that the #Viper wears Spectraflame Steel Blue paint — see screenshot below. The paint is definitely more vibrant than what steel blue entails, so this car is more “spectraflame dark blue” than anything. Speaking of the paint, did you know that the vehicles in the Hot Wheels iD line feature the same type of Spectraflame Paint that is used on the Super Treasure Hunts for 2019?

Hot Wheels SRT Viper GTS-R from the 2019 Hot Wheels iD / Speed Demons series (rear view)

Hot Wheels SRT Viper GTS-R from the 2019 Hot Wheels iD / Speed Demons series (side view)

Hot Wheels SRT Viper GTS-R from the 2019 Hot Wheels iD / Speed Demons series (top-right view)

Hot Wheels SRT Viper GTS-R from the 2019 Hot Wheels iD / Speed Demons series (in-game details of car)

The Hot Wheels iD game also makes mention of the Hot Wheels Designer — as well as the OEM designers of the actual car. #Ryu Asada Designed the Hot Wheels #SRT Viper GTS-R casting, which made its debut in 2015 — contrary to the game, where it says 2013. Since I have a huge Hot Wheels #Viper collection, collecting this casting was a no-brainer from the beginning. Below you can see every release of this casting, including this latest #Apple Exclusive release.

Hot Wheels SRT Viper GTS-R from the 2019 Hot Wheels iD / Speed Demons series (casting collection family photo, July 2019)

The #Hot Wheels iD #Speed Demons #SRT Viper GTS-R has the distinction of officially being the first Hot Wheels car to be an #Apple Exclusive as it was, and actually still is, available exclusively on apple.com and in Apple stores worldwide. Will Apple get another exclusive? I don’t know at this point, but it does look like they will continue carrying the iD line past their initial 30-day exclusive rights period as some collectors have already reported finding the second wave of iD vehicles.

So, even if you a teetering back and forth on whether to collect the #Hot Wheels iD cars, the SRT Viper GTS-R is definitely one of those cars you’ll want to pick up before its no longer available. The classic Dodge “blue with white racing stripes” is an awesome look for this casting, and the nasty #Viper on the sides is a nice touch. …AND, since this is predominantly a mainline casting, this may be the only time you see front- and rear-detail on the Hot Wheels #SRT Viper GTS-R.

RELEASE DETAILS: Spectraflame Blue Body (metal). Tinted Windows. White Interior. White iD5 Wheels with blue line tampo. Tinted Base (plastic). Made in Malaysia. Toy# FXB05. Released in 2019 as #3 of 5 in the Hot Wheels iD / Speed Demons series (sold exclusively through Apple).