Jun Imai studied at Art Center College of Design before joining Hot Wheels in 2004. From 2004, until he left Mattel in 2018, he has designed hundreds of cars for the diecast lines.
In 2012, he left diecast to lead HW Innovation and RC Design, and returned in summer 2014 as Manager of HW Diecast Design.
A few of his favorite designs include: Mad Manga, Nissan Skyline GT-X “Hakosuka”, Nissan Skyline 2000GTR “Kenmeri”, Datsun 510, ’71 Datsun Bluebird Wagon, Mazda RX-7, Toyota 2000GT, Datsun 620, BMW 2002, ’66 Dodge A100, ’69 Mustang Boss 302, ’77 Pontiac Firebird T/A, ’83 Chevy Silverado, Porsche 935/78, Porsche 911 (993) GT2, Driftsta, Datsun Fairlady 2000, Custom Datsun 240Z “Fugu Z”.
Aside from HW’s, he enjoys spending time with his family, running 5K’s, skateboarding, and tearing up L.A. streets with his modified Datsun 510 Wagon, 260ZG, and Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2.
Life on the farm tends to be a slow, monotonous life-style. But what if your farm had a drag-racing tractor? Well, that may speed things up a bit! Thats exactly what the Hot Wheels Dragtor is … a drag-racing tractor. From the mind of Hot Wheels designer (and […]
As the early editions of the Hot Wheels ’83 Chevy Silverado continue on their meteoric rise in value, a lesser discussed white version from last year has started to climb. Released as a #Toys R Us Exclusive, the white colorway of the HW Performance (Fram) ’83 Silverado is proving to be hard […]
The #Faster Than Ever cars that appeared in the Hot Wheels mainline were great for diecast racers everywhere because you could pick up a fast car for under $1. While the wheels were nothing more than a copper-chrome open-hole 5-spoke (OH5) wheel, it was the copper color that signified that […]
The run on #2016 Hot Wheels continues here at Orange Track Diecast. With so many new and exciting releases, its hard not to focus on them! One of the newest, that’s garnered a lot of interest, is the Hot Wheels Time Attaxi. If you’ve ever seen a drifting […]
Turns out the Custom Volkswagen Beetle from the newly released Volkswagen 5-Pack wasn’t the only variation found in the pack. While it was surely the most noticeable, the Volkswagen Type 181 from that same 5-Pack received a more subtle casting modification. The VW Type 181 on the left […]
The BMW Series was released earlier this month at Walmart stores worldwide. In this 8-Car Set — which is not to be confused with the 5-Car mainline series of the same name — each of the eight BMW vehicles came on a black blister card with unique illustrations of each vehicle. […]
The Datsun Bluebird 510 might have been known to be the “poor man’s BMW” but it is certainly the rich man’s Hot Wheel — with this release being the crown jewel of modern day Hot Wheels collecting. Yeah, I went there. With prices soaring to the $200 range […]
The Hot Wheels Bread Box casting was first released as part of the 2010 New Models Series. It was first released in white and was succeeded by red and blue colorways. It was designed by Hot Wheels Designer Jun Imai and is modeled after the Jeep FJ-3 Fleetvan. […]
WOW! Gulf Race Team products have been selling like hot cakes over at HotWheelsCollectors.com (HWC). When HWC first released a 4-car series of Gulf cars in 2013, cars like the Porsche 917K and the Ford GT-40 sat for days in the Hot Wheels Shop whereas the Volkswagen Drag […]
The Stars & Stripes series is one of the hottest modded series that I can remember. Exclusive to Walmart stores in the United States, this isn’t another pop-up series like the ones that have been appearing in the dump bins as of late. The Stars & Stripes are […]
ORANGE TRACK DIECAST 