8/22/2025 — In a stunning ruby red move for Mattel’s 80th anniversary, Hot Wheels is releasing the #Original 16 vehicles from 1968 in a completely overhauled Hot Wheels Rally Case! This move should appease any vintage redline collectors, RLC collectors, and any one else that just loves a high-end set.

This is the third time Mattel Creations (formerly HotWheelsCollectors.com) released the Original 16 Set. From 2011 to 2018, the Hot Wheels team retooled all 16 vehicles — slightly improving the designs/castings for the modern era. These were released individually on original 1968 replica blister cards inside black boxes — ultimately forming a set. In November of 2018, Mattel dropped the Original 16 Store Display Set, replicating the infamous store display from 1968 as part of the 50th Anniversary of Hot Wheels. This ruby red Rally Case Original 16 set comes to us in conjunction with the Mattel 80th Anniversary celebration.

As you can see in the images below, all #Original 16 vehicles are included in this set which includes the Beatnik Bandit, Custom Firebird, Custom Barracuda, Custom Corvette, Custom Cougar, Custom Eldorado, Custom Fleetside, Custom Mustang, Custom T-Bird, Custom Volkswagen, Dodge Deora Concept, Ford J-Car, Hot Heap, Silhouette, Cheetah, and Custom Camaro.

This 2025 #Original 16 set is limited to 4,120 sets and priced at $550. In comparison, the 2018 set was limited to 1,500 sets and priced at $499.99.

Specifications

While the #Original 16 vehicles are the stars here, collectors should not overlook this rally case. Many collectors assumed it would be built similarly to the Arsham Rally Case from the Hot Wheels x Daniel Arsham collaboration in 2023. This is not the case however — pun intended — as this ruby red one was completely redesigned. The case opens left-to-right instead of top-down as was the case with the Arsham release. Plus, it houses all 16 vehicles in foam inserts rather than only 8 in their acrylic cases. The switch-based locking mechanism was also added to the sides. As far as the size, I cannot speak to that as I do not have a sample in-hand, however, you’re welcome to watch the video from the Lamley Group below where John showcases this new release and its features.

UpdATED 8/26/2025

The Mattel 80th Anniversary Original 16 Rally Case set sold out today on the US-based Mattel Creations site in 3 minutes. Congratulations to everyone that was able to obtain this stellar piece (of now) RLC history.