The Range Rover is back in the Hot Wheels mainline! …said no Hot Wheels collector ever. Okay, that may be a little harsh, as I am sure there are a few luxury #SUV nuts out there. However, when you weigh the magical “return of Bugatti” via the hype the Bugatti Chiron got, there really is no comparison. The #Range Rover Velar makes in luxurious debut as part of the #2019 Hot Wheels “P” case assortments — the second-to-last case assortment for the year. There have been a wealth of #2019 New Models being released here in the last few case codes for the year, and as collectors turn their focus to 2020, these #First Editions are not ones to overlook.

Hot Wheels Range Rover Velar from the 2019 Mainline / Factory Fresh series … also part of the 2019 New Models (side view)

The #Range Rover Velar is part of the 10-Car, 2019 #Factory Fresh series and there couldn’t have been a better series for this casting to debut in. Factory Fresh — for all intents and purposes — is a series of stock versions of real cars that are awarded “clean looks” as the tampo passes are reserved for front and rear detail.

This methodology strays away from the brand standard that existed for Hot Wheels in the 1990s. That’s when the first — and only — Range Rover was released. Sure, there have been several #Land Rovers released, but as far as the Range Rover is concerned, the last-time Hot Wheels released one was 20 years ago when we saw the Final Run of the original Range Rover casting.

Hot Wheels Range Rover Velar from the 2019 Mainline / Factory Fresh series … also part of the 2019 New Models (head-to-head view) with original Range Rover casting

That original Range Rover casting made its debut in 1990, and the one you see above was from the 1993 mainline. Looking at the two head-to-head, the original Range Rover dwarfs the new #Range Rover Velar casting. Hot Wheels aren’t known for being particularly in 1/64 scale, but the fact that the new Velar is more sleek and compact than your standard Range Rover 30 years ago, does play a factor here.

As far as design goes, Hot Wheels Designer, Dmitriy “Dima” Shakhmatov did an exceptional job capturing the body lines of the model Land Rover describes as “the avant-garde Range Rover”, which I can only assume is in reference to the model’s aesthetic innovation. This Hot Wheels casting is truly a team effort though as Dima pointed out to me. When I reached out to him he was quick to praise the job the graphics team did on the tampo work. They captured the essence of this #SUV through the front, side and rear detail; so I figured that praise definitely warranted a few close-ups.

Hot Wheels Range Rover Velar from the 2019 Mainline / Factory Fresh series … also part of the 2019 New Models (close-up of front detail)

Hot Wheels Range Rover Velar from the 2019 Mainline / Factory Fresh series … also part of the 2019 New Models (close-up of rear detail)

So while the #Range Rover Velar may not have collectors grabbing every single one from a 600-ct. dump bin the way the Bugatti Chiron does, it is definitely one you should not overlook. We have taken a sharp turn towards 2020 with 2020 “A” case Hot Wheels hitting U.S. distributors yesterday, but the Velar is definitely one of the gems from the 2019 P & Q case assortments and is appearing at retail now. More importantly… The Range Rover is back in the Hot Wheels mainline!

Hot Wheels Range Rover Velar from the 2019 Mainline / Factory Fresh series … also part of the 2019 New Models.

On a side note, the 1993 Hot Wheels Range Rover I showed above in the comparison shot is actually a car that pre-dates my collecting days which started in 1995. It’s got a few scuffs and scratches, but considering how old it is and that there was a point where I actually played with it, I was amazed at how good of shape it was in. That’s it. 🙂