Hot Wheels of the Day

’07 Ford Shelby GT500

Speed Machines

RELEASE YEAR: 2010 • CASTING DESIGNER: Phil Riehlman

In a matter of weeks, the triumphant return of the Hot Wheels #Speed Machines will be upon us. This time, Speed Machines will be part of the much celebrated Hot Wheels #Car Culture line. Judging by the initial collector reaction, these will undoubtedly be a success as collectors have longed for the return of the Speed Machines since prices started to rise on the line several years after its 2010 release.

For every #Ferrari 599XX or #Bugatti Veyron that sells north of $100 USD, I would be remiss to not mention the reason why some of the cars were more “rare” than others. Poor distribution and bad mix assortments plagued Hot Wheels lines in the early 2010s. For some reason, the more desirable vehicles always tended to be in the later case assortments as the year progressed. Often, the early case assortments were over-produced and contained less desirable models, and collectors never saw these later assortments as big box stores like Walmart and Target had dropped the line by then. The later case assortments did trickle out, but most of the time you had to search overstock stores like Tuesday Morning, Ross, and others of that era to find them. It was very hit or miss.

QUICK LINK! Find Hot Wheels Speed Machines on eBay!

Oddly enough, one of my personal favorites from the #Speed Machines line was one of the pegwarmers: the #’07 Ford Shelby GT500.

I personally remember passing on the #Speed Machines #’07 Ford Shelby GT500 numerous times. Honestly, I think it was because I had passed initially, and these — along with the black colorway — were so readily available, I had always figured I would “pick it up later”. 12 years later … I finally did.

There is no clear reason as to why this #’07 Ford Shelby GT500 was a pegwarmer so I have to assume it was overproduced. Obviously, I can’t say for sure as Mattel doesn’t publish production numbers on retail lines like this — its just a hunch. In this bygone era of Hot Wheels collecting, collectors were experiencing #Mustang fatigue as every line was littered with them. It wasn’t immensely popular then, and with the way collectors have started to value certain castings, it isn’t popular (or valuable) today. Good for me, right?

Color (material): Metalflake Silver (metal)
Chassis (material): Black (plastic)
Windows: Smoke Tint
Interior: Black
Deco: Blue Racing Stripes, #5 in White Roundel, GT500 Striping; Shelby, Ford, GT, and Cobra Logos
Wheels: Chrome-Rim, Black CM6 Wheels
Country of Manufacture: Malaysia
Toy# (SKU): R8501

ESTIMATED MARKET VALUE (Carded, January 2023)

$18.68 ▲

Yes, I was able to pick up this #Speed Machines #’07 Ford Shelby GT500 a couple months ago for a few dollars (loose). It is one of the least valuable cars from the line, yet it still commands a decent amount judging by the carded value above. The solid dark blue racing stripes wrap from the nose to the rear over a brilliant metalflake silver body. It was full-detail in a semi-premium line, and collectors nowadays can appreciate that!

One of the things that collectors ended up loving about the #Speed Machines line is that every release wore the infamous #Co-Mold Wheels (CM6). After originally debuting in the #AcceleRacers line, and being laughed off the pegs by collectors at the time, the CM6 wheels finally got the appreciation they deserved years after the Speed Machines line was discontinued. The open-spoke design of these pre-dated the modern #Real Riders designs of today that have the same effect. Even still, one of the biggest gripes from collectors were that these were NOT Real Riders.

The CM6 — in all its plastic, track-performing nature — was retooled for the 2023 Car Culture / Speed Machines series. It was an interesting choice to bring this wheel design (and this semi-premium series) to the #Car Culture line which was predicated on more realistic facets of automobile history. But, if early reaction counts after 1StopDiecast posted the pics, this series should be a huge success and bring in a lot more collectors to the original 2010 releases, like this #’07 Ford Shelby GT500, who are totally unaware of this being the series pegwarmer of its time.