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.
