As if it was some sort of odd-couple pairing, two new #2021 Hot Wheels #Multi-Pack Exclusives are appearing in the same 9-pack. The #’71 Maverick Grabber & #’13 SRT Viper are both being released in this fantastic metalflake purple that is certainly delightful to look at. The two cars aren’t meant to be a pair by any means. One is classic #Ford, the other is modern #MOPAR #Muscle.

2021 multi-pack exclusive variants of the Hot Wheels ’71 Maverick Grabber and ’13 Viper SRT in purple

#Multi-Pack Exclusives (3-, 9-, 10- & 20-packs) are interesting in their own sense. As far as collectors know, they don’t command their own SKU (Toy#) which leaves many to believe they aren’t “designed” by the graphics team in El Segundo. They are often repaints/colorways of past designs that — for all we know — are decided on by the Mattel team in Malaysia. So it’s entirely possible that the team there uses colors they have on-hand or have an abundance of. There is no concrete evidence of this but the speculation exists as the process for these vehicles is not known outside of Mattel. Common sense would dictate that the vehicles do need licensor approval to be released in a new color, which would necessitate an individual SKU which is not displayed on the generic multi-pack packaging.

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As for the two cars being featured today, the #’13 SRT Viper is the latest addition to my casting collection of this Viper, and the #’71 Maverick Grabber was a nice byproduct of my 9-Pack purchase. Let’s get to the #Maverick first:

2021 multi-pack exclusive variant of the Hot Wheels ’71 Maverick Grabber (Purple) with 2010 New Model (yellow)

The metalflake purple is cool. It looks great on this casting and I’m sure it would look great on any other casting it touches. I am going to have to look up where else it has been used. The deco very closely resembles the standard #Maverick deco we have seen on several releases now, though I could not find another that has the Hot Wheels logo on the rear quarter-panel. New deco, perhaps? Well, that would negate everything I mentioned above. Doh! I would classify this more as a tweak than which there is a precedence of: ala Passn’ Gasser. Sticking to the facts, this is the first time the casting has worn the #Retro Slot Wheels, which is certainly very fitting for this casting. I remember disliking the wheels in the #Cool Classics line — maybe because they were forced onto every casting — but seem to have been used more appropriately since their return a couple years ago. This ranks among my favorite renditions of the casting, that of which I do not collect — but now has me thinking that maybe I should.

QUICK SEARCH: Find the Hot Wheels ’71 Maverick Grabber for Sale on eBay

Time to get down to the brass tacks of why I wrote this article in the first place: to show-off yet another Viper that I have added to my collection. Yes, I love Vipers and still hope to own a 1:1 one-day. I have nearly every Hot Wheels Dodge #Viper variant ever made however, a few rare RT/10s persist on my want list. The moment I laid my eyes on this latest metalflake purple variant, I knew I needed to get it together with the metalflake light green and orange variants previously released. A modern #MOPAR casting done in a trifecta of classic MOPAR colors.

Various Variants of the Hot Wheels ’13 Viper SRT casting: 2017 Forza (Light Green), 2018 Mopar (Orange), and 2021 Multi-Pack Exclusive (Purple)

This latest variant carries over the SRT top deco used on previous #Multi-Pack Exclusive releases which started back in 2015 — a recolor of the 2014 mainline releases, and fittingly, was the first article I did on this site (beware: not much of a read). For me, one of the more enjoyable aspects of collecting Hot Wheels is assembling micro groupings like this within collections of my favorite castings.

QUICK SEARCH: Find the Hot Wheels ’13 SRT Viper for Sale on eBay

All four multi-pack exclusive variants of the Hot Wheels ’13 Viper SRT

Micro groupings are great, but man, what is even better is obtaining the last variant needed to complete the casting collection rainbow. Most castings Hot Wheels releases aren’t even used 7 times to make up all the colors of the rainbow, so assembling one relies on a number of factors — frequency, variety, diversity & licensor leniency. Assembling a casting rainbow dates back to the redline era where the first vehicles Hot Wheels made were released in a rainbow of spectraflame color. For years, collectors tried to track down the rare colors. This was pre-internet so searching your favorite secondary market site wasn’t an option. Nowadays, assembling a rainbow relies upon the folks at Mattel to release a casting several times across a variety of lines, and having a licensor that allows them to release the cars in all sorts of colors. It certainly is not as straight-forward as you may think. Fortunately, for my Hot Wheels #’13 SRT Viper collection, we are there!

Hot Wheels ’13 Viper SRT “Casting Rainbow”