Hot Wheels invited major automakers to submit ideas that would be turned into a line of 1/64 scale toy cars. Six car companies sent at least three designs apiece, which were judged by a panel that included Hot Wheels executives and designers as well as editors from the Los Angeles Times, Car and Driver magazine, and Men's Journal magazine.
Since these weren't going to be made into real cars, there were few restrictions (wheels don't need room to steer, for instance, and drivers don't actually need to see out).
There were a few guidlines, however. The designs had to reflect Hot Wheels' "Power, performance and speed" credo. The final cars would also have to go around "the loop," the classic circle of Hot Wheels track.
The final set of seven toy cars, which will go on sale in the spring, will include the six cars designed by outside sources and a seventh, shown here as a sketch, from Hot Wheels.
