Caught in the last mix of the doomed #Hot Wheels iD line is the premiere of the #Automobili Pininfarina Battista. This #Electric-powered supercar has those signature Italian curves that many gasoline-fueled #Exotics from Italy have — looking sleek and fast as hell! It is just too bad collectors who hunt exclusively at retail will never find this one.
Hot Wheels iD was doomed since series 1 was overproduced, overpriced, and oversold. It was a great line that should have been so much more. I have always championed the line because the opportunity was there. The idea of using standard Hot Wheels vehicles equipped with discrete NFC chips was brilliant, and adding #Spectraflame Paint & full-detail on every vehicle is something Hot Wheels should definitely build a new line around. But I digress…
In the last case pack of the #Hot Wheels iD line, the final 12 iD vehicles are released. Among those 12 is the very first #Automobili Pininfarina — the Battista! It’s the first car from the German company with Italian roots in design. It’s also the first licensed electric supercar that Hot Wheels has made! This #First Edition release wears spectraflame pearl white paint and kills it in monochromatic design.
With this car making its debut in the #Hot Wheels iD line, the car gets that full front and rear detail that is traditionally reserved for premium cars these days. One look at the rear end and you’ll see why those details are so important to collectors who focus on realism. The multi-level taillight pattern tampo’d in red enhances the casting and its monochromatic design ten-fold!
Will collectors go crazy for the #Automobili Pininfarina Battista? Probably not. At least, not right now. It is a new casting based on an #Exotic produced in the hundreds, and I am not even sure they exist outside of Europe. But heck, this thing is cool while being different. It will be interesting to see how much of the last mix of #Hot Wheels iD has an effect on how many are actually made. If Hot Wheels collecting history has taught us anything though, it is to not wait on the last mix of a line as they are generally produced in lower quantities. So, if you’re looking to find what could ultimately be the only release of this gorgeous electric supercar, find one now on eBay and that is the only place it is currently available.
BUY THE HOT WHEELS iD AUTOMOBILI PININFARINA BATTISTA ON EBAY NOW!
Categories: Showcase
ORANGE TRACK DIECAST 
Finally a new post! Not the topic I was hoping for, but nice to know you’re still out there! With your addition to the RLC staff as a collector I would love to hear something about a way out of this shortage. Here in Kansas, I can count on one hand the number of cases I’ve seen per month since November. Granted it’s more on the store distributors if Mattel is providing enough product and its still not making it here, but no one knows.
Stores are getting product outside of the mainline. Check local finds forums and groups to see what is showing up where. Now is the time to do this even more vigilantly.
Where was the official death of HotWheels iD noted other than this article? Was that widely known via a social media post for Mattel or a forum post somewhere else on MC/RLC?? Or another OTD aritcle?
That’s a bummer, they’d just started to seem to figure it out with the realistic price range and distribution issues hopefully hitting an end.
Also, “spectraflame white” is a new reference too, unless I’m mistaken, no?
The writing is on the wall. Preparing an OTD article that should cover this in better detail. “Spectraflame Pearl White” was taken from the app as the “official name”. Not sure if its new. I will have to compare to the other white cars from this line.
Is is true Mattel only made 25 of the Battista?
Sounds like some diecast aisle rumor phooey!
I bought that car on Ebay. I
Now have the Holy Grail of Hot Wheels ID cars. I’m happy.