A couple months ago when images of the first wave of #2023 Hot Wheels #Car Culture / Speed Machines surfaced, OTD partnered with 1StopDiecast to bring you POWER RATINGS and a SERIES PROFILE on every 2023 #Car Culture mix. You can read what others in the hobby had to say about the mix HERE and how we ranked them before they were released. If you haven’t found these yet, you should consider grabbing a set (or a factory-sealed case) from our sponsor, 1StopDiecast.

My case from 1StopDiecast arrived in early March. Much to my surprise, it contained the #Chase variant of the #Porsche 911 GT3. For those that don’t know, every mix of 2023 Hot Wheels #Car Culture has one vehicle that has a black variant produced in limited quantities — commonly referred to as a “chase” vehicle. Chase pieces in Car Culture tend to be all the rage, however, there is a much larger story here. This series is the return of the #Speed Machines — a 2010 line that paired #Exotic vehicles with CM6 #Co-Mold Wheels. Over the last decade or so, the original Speed Machines line has seen a meteoric rise in fandom from Hot Wheels collectors as demand (and value) of these have increased.

QUICK LINK! Find Hot Wheels Speed Machines on eBay.

Back by popular collector-demand, the Hot Wheels team obliged in bringing back #Speed Machines and even carried over the original artwork for the blister card. The twist is that Speed Machines is no longer a stand-alone line as it — at least for this release — is now part of #Car Culture, the famed premium line by Hot Wheels. By doing so, the line actually makes a jump from the realm of semi-premium into the full-premium world. Some collectors have expressed disappointment in the wheels not being #Real Riders, but that wouldn’t be true to the original Speed Machines line. The Hot Wheels team actually went through great lengths to retool the CM6 wheel and you can’t help but wonder if said wheel will actually be available for the 20th anniversary of #AcceleRacers in 2025. I digress…

This batch of #Speed Machines is actually better than the original. Why you ask? Since these are full-premium, they have metal bases. The originals had plastic. This definitely makes the cars you see below faster on the orange track than their basic-level counterparts. Hot Wheels racers should take note! I expect to see a few of these racing at the next convention.

QUICK LINK! Find Hot Wheels Speed Machines on eBay.

Porsche 911 GT3

The #Porsche 911 GT3 is one of two #2022 New Models — the other being the #Pagani Zonda R — that made the quick leap from basics to premium in #Car Culture / Speed Machines. Former Hot Wheels Designer, Lindsey Lee, nailed the design of this casting giving it a nice wide-body look & feel with those smooth fender flares. The side mirrors and open spoiler are nice, crisp touches, all while maintaining the feel of the 1:1 car.

The two variants in this #Car Culture / Speed Machines series mirror the two colors we received in the mainline in 2022: black and blue. Once you get these two in hand, however, you can feel that these aren’t basic anymore.

With Porsche celebrating 75 years in 2023, Hot Wheels Marketing Director, Jimmy Liu stated it is one of at least two #Porsche #Chase cars in #Car Culture this year because of said celebration. There is something very menacing about an all-black Porsche, and the gray’ed out livery is certainly unique to this release.

Obviously the all-black, chase will be highly coveted by collectors. What is underrated though, is this “in-color” variant. The two-tone deco is always fun; combine that with the gold CM6 wheels, and honestly, I am actually thinking the blue/black “common” variant is nicer than the chase. It is the only car in this series to have a wheel color other than gray. If you add in the fact that it isn’t as common as the other 4 cars in this series — as it doesn’t always come two to a case like the others — and you could be looking at a collector-favorite in the years to come.

The more I look at the blue/black #Porsche 911 GT3, the more I like it. With it being a new casting, you can bet we will see some more stellar releases of it as it was already announced as the Hot Wheels NFT Garage Series 5 Treasure Hunt. Building a collection of this casting is already looking to be costly!

QUICK LINK! Find Hot Wheels Speed Machines on eBay.

McLaren 720S

From a no-doubt-favorite to the most questionable, the #McLaren 720S is the #Speed Machine I have been seeing left behind at retail. It was also our lowest rated release from this series. The color is cool, the casting is cool, but somewhere it isn’t connecting with the collector-base.

Perhaps its a case of this one being the lowest on the totem pole and you start to think of all the others #Exotics that could have been in its place. When the Hot Wheels #McLaren 720S debuted in the 2018 Factory Fresh mini collection, it was all the rage. Now, it’s the one car in this series that is being left behind.

Ford GT

The Hot Wheels #Ford GT LM is the one casting in the #Car Culture / Speed Machines series that is a carryover from the first time the #Speed Machines line was released. Heck, it was the only casting that is old enough to be able to. I was a huge fan of the Ford GT LM when it debuted in 2009, and find myself digging more and more with each new premium release of it. I unfortunately have neither of the two releases, as I wasn’t a huge fan of the deco on those. This one however, is a rehash of a very popular deco found in the #Gran Turismo Themed Assortment from 2018.

Gone are the #Gran Turismo markings, and added are a ton more details like front fog lights and everything on its rear. The obvious upgrade however, are those gray CM6 #Co-Mold Wheels — WOW! Talk about taking a decent piece already in the Gran Turismo basic-level release and giving it an upgrade. I am usually not in the camp of liking when Hot Wheels “rereleases” vehicles, but this one is a clear upgrade.

Lamborghini Veneno

The #Lamborghini Veneno is one of those Hot Wheels castings that I go back and forth on. From some angles, it’s a behemoth … from the side profile it reminds me of a door wedge. Thankfully, I don’t share the bad angles on OTD! The bright red screams at you, just like the design of the car. That seems to be a good pairing to me.

The truth is: #Lamborghini only built 4 of the 1:1 #Lamborghini Veneno (plus 9 roadsters) — 1 for its factory museum and 3 for customers. This car is a true #Exotic as most people will never see one in real life. The Veneno is basically as close as you can get to driving a street legal prototype race car, though your chances are probably greater to drive an actual prototype race car than one of these.

The side stripes on this #Speed Machines release are pretty close to the ones that were available on the actual car. My favorite detail however, is the black “VENENO” found on LMP-style central wing that connects the back half of the vehicle to the giant wing. Again, it was something that was found on the actual car, so its great to see it replicated (finally!) in Hot Wheels form.

Pagani Zonda R

The #Pagani Zonda R was my favorite #2022 New Model so I was thrilled to see it go premium by year two. So far we have seen 3 releases of the casting and all three are real world liveries. The best of the bunch the #First Edition matte black release — at least in my opinion — but these other two aren’t far behind it.

Facts are facts and this Hot Wheels #Pagani Zonda R designed by former Hot Wheels designer, Sonny Fisher, is very well designed. The casting even has the fender strakes in the front and the metal rear spoiler is perfectly flat. Every edge of it is so crisp and I truly hope this isn’t the last time we see the CM6 #Co-Mold Wheels on it. The wheels are a great fit for the car and I hope at some point, the original matte black paint scheme is revisited in premium with gold CM6.

There you have it: the full lineup of #Car Culture / Speed Machines! Is this a one & done, an annual segment in #Car Culture, or the rebirth of the line? You let me know what you think. Either way, these 5+1 work well together and the hopes are that we definitely get more. As I mentioned above, I’m curious to see if the Hot Wheels racers out there take to them with their metal/metal construction and plastic CM6 wheels as they not only look good, but are legit #Speed Machines on the orange track!

QUICK LINK! Find Hot Wheels Speed Machines on eBay.

One quick note here. It is May of 2023 and we have yet to see mix 2 of #Car Culture (Spettacolare) show up. With 7 more mixes after Speed Machines, it looks like the 2nd half of 2023 could be full of Car Culture drops. Stay tuned!