Hot Wheels of the Day

Porsche 917K

Real Riders

RELEASE YEAR: 2005 • CASTING DESIGNER: Larry Wood

In 2005, it was Kmart stores that catered to the Hot Wheels collector. There were three Kmart Collector Events a year (at the time), and #Kmart Exclusive Hot Wheels nostalgic lines. One of those lines was the Real Riders line, sold exclusively at Kmart/Sears stores in 2005. Only 20 vehicles got released at retail that year, plus an additional exclusive for the Woodward Dream Cruise. The line consisted of all realistic vehicles, complete with #Real Riders (obviously), and could very well be considered a precursor to all the Hot Wheels Garage and Boulevard lines.

The line contained a mix of street cars and race cars — one of which being this Porsche 917K. In today’s market, the #Porsche 917K is an uber-popular casting where all releases of it command a pretty penny. Back then, it was one of the oddballs of the line that consisted of mainly #Muscle Cars. The fact is: the Real Riders Porsche 917K is a vintage racing gem from a largely unsuccessful line.

Color (material): Sky Blue (metal)
Chassis (material): Black (metal)
Windows: Clear
Interior: Black
Deco: White Striping, Black #23 in Roundel
Wheels: Dark Chrome #RR6SPBl
Country of Manufacture: Malaysia
Toy# (SKU): H9215

CURRENT MARKET VALUE (Carded, September 2021)

$50.28 ▲

Where have we heard that before? It seems like every time I say it, it is because we are talking about a Hot Wheels car that has a substantial value behind it. As you can see here, this one doesn’t come cheap. For being as sought-after as it is today, this Real Riders #Porsche 917K does have a few drawbacks.

The casting was originally one of the #100% Hot Wheels — known as Cool Collectibles — that didn’t sell well. That is hard to believe today. The casting was transitioned from the elaborate multi-piece tool line to the premium lines by converting it into a standard Hot Wheels 4-piece vehicle: body, base, windows, and interior. Even the #Opening Hood that exposed the beautiful engine was removed, and lost were the custom-fitted #Real Riders that so many of the 100% cars got. In turn, some semi-premium #Real Riders 6-Spoke Bling Wheels were put on, and the result was a funky looking stance on a casting that commands thick rear tires. The car looks great from above, but at eye-level, it doesn’t compete with the premium castings of today in terms of silhouette.

The #Porsche 917K casting would eventually be retooled once again, but this release serves as almost a transition piece between the 100% cars of 20 years ago, to the Car Culture Premium Box Display Set release we saw just last year. It is one of only 8 releases of this “short-tail” casting.