Hot Wheels are not just toys for children, but are also highly collectible items by adults all around the world. In general any Hot Wheels from the early days of the toy line are hard to come by and valuable, but of course there are some exceptionally rare and valuable Hot Wheels out there. Most of the Hot Wheels on this list are rare because they were only prototypes never released to the public and only given to Mattel employees. In other cases, the color of the Hot Wheels was not produced for very long leading to only a few surviving examples.
As of August 2019, these are some of the rarest and most valuable Hot Wheels ever made.
- Pink Beatnik Bandit
- Red Baron with White Interior
- Ed Shaver Custom AMX
- Purple Olds 442
- Blue Rodger Dodger
- Brown Classic ’31 Woody
- “Cheetah” base Python
- “Mad Maverick”
- Pink Rear Loading Volkswagen Beach Bomb
Number Produced: Unknown for sure but believed to be very few
Current Number Still in Existence: Unknown; very few
Year Produced: 1968
photo source: Hot Wheels Wiki
The Beatnik Bandit is part of the Hot Wheels “Sweet Sixteen” or the first 16 cars Mattel released when the company launched in 1968. The design of the Beatnik Bandit was based on a real custom car built by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, an American artist, cartoonist, illustrator, pinstriper and custom car designer and builder.
With such an interesting design, Mattel released the Beatnik Bandit in 18 different colors. While the rarity of the colors varies, the hot pink is the rarest Beatnik Bandit colorway and is valued at about $3,000. It is believed that very few hot pink Beatnik Bandits were produced, which is why so few exist today.
Did You Know?
In addition to hot pink, the Beatnik Bandit was released in other pink hued colors including magenta, creamy pink, and rose-red. While magenta and creamy pink Beatnik Bandits are hard to find, they are not quite as rare as the hot pink.
Number Produced: Unknown
Current Number Still in Existence: less than 10
Year Produced: 1970
photo source: Hot Wheels Wiki
The Red Baron with White Interior may not be quite as valuable as some of the other Hot Wheels on this list, but only less than 10 cars are known to exist at this time. When the Red Barons were released in 1970 some of them were made with white interiors instead of the normal black. No one knows for sure whether or not this was an error or if they were pre-production prototypes.
Did You Know?
The Red Baron Hot Wheels was inspired by the World War I fighter pilot of the same name and popularized by the “Peanuts” cartoon character Snoopy’s imaginary battles with the Red Baron.
Number Produced: Unknown for sure
Current Number Still in Existence: Unknown; very few
Year Produced: 1970
photo source: Antique Trader
The Custom AMX was first released in 1969 and quickly became a popular Hot Wheels model, especially in the United States. While blue Custom AMX cars are common, the Ed Shaver version of the car is rare and valuable.
The Ed Shaver blue AMX was only released in the United Kingdom and was modeled after the car driven by drag racer Ed Shaver. The only difference between a regular blue Custom AMX and the Ed Shaver version is that the latter features custom decal stickers. Ed Shaver AMX cars with authentic stickers are very hard to come by and are rarely for sale; there are many blue Custom AMX cars with fake stickers out there so buyers should beware.
Did You Know?
Some of the only ways that a person could obtain an Ed Shaver Custom AMX was by sending in proof-of-purchase points to redeem for the car in the UK or receiving one at the trackers where Shaver raced.
Number Produced: Unknown
Current Number Still in Existence: Unknown; considered very rare
Year Produced: 1971
photo source: Hot Wheels Wiki
All Olds 442 that were released to the public have a white interior, but about 144 red Olds 442s with a black interior were made as pre-production models. Only about 25 of these red Olds 442s exist, but they are still not as rare as the purple Olds 442.
Did You Know?
The purple Olds 442 is considered by many collectors to be the rarest of any Hot Wheels from the entire Redline Era.
Number Produced: Unknown
Current Number Still in Existence: less than a dozen
Year Produced: 1974
photo source: Hot Wheels Wiki
The blue Rodger Dodgers are so rare because 1974 was the only year that Mattel released this colorway for the car. The Rodger Dodger stayed in production until 1979, but only in the plum color. When Mattel later revived the Rodger Dodger model, it was released in a few different colors like chrome and gold and satin olive green, but never blue.
Did You Know?
While the plum Rodger Dodgers are more common than the blue Rodger Dodgers, any plum Rodger Dodgers with a white interior are rare.
Number Produced: Unknown for sure but believed to be very few
Current Number Still in Existence: Few dozen or less
Year Produced: 1969
photo source: WorthPoint
Like many of the first cars that Hot Wheels released, the Classic ’31 Woody came in many different colors. Not all colors are created equal as many were discontinued or may have been only prototypes. Of the dozen or so colors available for the Classic ’31 Woody, brown is the rarest. There are only a few dozen or so known brown Classic ’31 Woodys and it is believed that this color was most likely a prototype.
Did You Know?
There are four different body casting revision letters – A, B, D, and E – that have been found on the Classic ’31 Woodys and A bodies have only been found on unpainted prototypes, and at least one brown Woody.
Number Produced: Unknown for sure but believed to be very few
Current Number Still in Existence: 9
Year Produced: 1968
photo source: hwprotos.com
The story of the Cheetah prototype is similar to that of Mad Maverick’s as Mattel had initially named the car something they had not secured the rights to. The Python (Cheetah) was one of the “First Sixteen” group of 1968 Hot Wheels cars, so Mattel rushed production before they realized that Cheetah was already the registered name of a Corvette race car belonging to a General Motors executive.
Due to the name change, very few Cheetah base Python cars still exist. Currently, there are only nine known Cheetah base Pythons in the world. Most of these cars are red, one is orange, one is yellow, and the other is unpainted.
Did You Know?
The only way to know for sure if you have an authentic Cheetah base Python is the trademark symbol after the “Cheetah” name on the underside of the car. While no one knows how many real Cheetah base Pythons are out there, there are a number of replicas and fakes, including about 24 high quality replicas created by an avid Hot Wheels collector.
Number Produced: Unknown for sure but believed to be very few
Current Number Still in Existence: 3
Year Produced: 1970
photo source: Online Redline Guide
The Mad Maverick is one of the rarest Hot Wheels cars because only three are known to exist and they have never come up at auction. So few of the Mad Mavericks exist because Mattel had to change the name of the car, which was based on the 1969 Ford Maverick, due to trademark issues. Before releasing the car to the public, Mattel renamed the model the Mighty Maverick.
While the Mad Mavericks look identical to the Mighty Maverick that was released to the public, the bottom of the cars are stamped with the Mad Maverick name. Although the Mad Mavericks are very valuable, non have ever been put up for auction.
Did You Know?
One of the only reasons that people know the Mad Maverick cars are real is because a few cardboard boxes stamped with Mad Maverick on the sides have been found.
Number Produced: Estimated 200 for all Rear Loading Beach Bomb Prototypes
Current Number Still in Existence: 1
Year Produced: 1969
photo source: LA Weekly
The regular Volkswagen Beach Bomb is one of the most valuable Hot Wheels car ever released, but the rear loading prototypes are worth even more, especially the ones with an uncommon color. Of all the Rear Loading Volkswagen Beach Bomb prototypes, the pink one is the rarest Hot Wheels ever made because there is currently only one known to exist.
Not only is this lone pink Rear Loading Volkswagen Beach Bomb rare, it is extremely valuable. In 2011 at the 25th annual Hot Wheels Collectors Convention, Mark Meredith and Mike Stephenson sold the car for a whopping $125,000! This special version of the Volkswagen Beach Bomb has black interior with a black top and rose pink exterior. The wheels of the car are also larger than the normal Volkswagen Beach Bomb.
Did You Know?
The reason for the rarity of the Rear Loading Volkswagen Beach Bombs is because the car’s design made it nonfunctional with the Hot Wheels Super Charger playset. Only an estimated 200 Rear Loading Volkswagen Beach Bomb prototypes were created and never released to the public; instead, the cars were given to Mattel employees’ children for play testing.
