Real car designers go Hot Wheels

Mattel invited car designers who usually work on big cars to try their hand at the tiny one-buck-each variety. See the results here, then in toy stores soon.

By By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Ford Gangster Grin
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Hot Wheels Design Challenge
Ford Gangster Grin
Designer: Steve Gilmore

Gilmore was one of two winning designers with previous Hot Wheels experience. He interned there while in college.

The Gangster Grin had been living inside his head for years, Gilmore said, waiting for an opportunity to come out.

The bullet shape in the center of the car's grill was inspired by a similar shape on a 1949 Ford. The overall shape of the car was inspired by customized Mercury cars of the 1950s.

Other designers looking over his shoulder as he worked suggested the evil-looking car had a "grin" to it, which inspired the name.

Although it looks impossibly low, the Gangster Grin passes Hot Wheels' loop test.


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Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2012 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.
© 2012 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. Ad choices .