Ford Falcon-based home-built V8 project car to be die-cast as Hot Wheels Global Legends Tour winner
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A wild customised racer – with a V8 Chev engine under the bonnet – will be immortalised in 1:64 scale after talking out Hot Wheels' annual contest.
It may look like something out of Batman but this wild-looking car nicknamed 'La Liebre' – Spanish for 'The Hare' – has won the 2024 Hot Wheels Global Legends Tour.
Owned and built by Giuseppe Casagrande and Maurizio Moschini – founders of Cars & Coffee in Chile, South America – with their crew, the La Liebre project will be immortalised in 1:64 scale as a Hot Wheels die-cast model after winning the global competition.
The prize also means the racer will sit alongside the contest's former winners in the Hot Wheels Garage of Legends.
The 2024 Hot Wheels Global Legends Tour travelled through 13 countries, including the United States (US), as well as visiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Colombia for the first time.
MORE: Turn your custom car into a diecast model with Hot Wheels
Described by the die-cast toy-maker as 'The world's largest travelling car show', the competition was first held in 2018 as a way of celebrating car culture as Hot Wheels celebrated its 50th anniversary.
In taking out the Chilean leg of this year's event, the La Liebre project went on to the virtual final on 16 November where it was declared the global winner.
The La Liebre project kicked off as a way to promote Cars & Coffee – aiming to foster car culture and community in Chile – and began as a Ford Falcon (year model undisclosed) before the crew let their imagination run wild.
The team built a one-off tube-chassis with custom-made fibreglass panels to give the racer strength, an aerodynamic body as well as a unique look all while keeping weight down to a mere 900kg.
That helps get the most out of the specially-built Chevrolet V8 petrol engine – hooked up to a five-speed manual gearbox and feeding 600hp (447kW) of power to the rear-wheels.
While no performance figures were shared, this gives the La Liebre a power-to-weight of 497kW/tonne, more than the Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale and the Porsche 911 GT3 RS sports cars.
"The mission behind the La Liebre built by Cars & Coffee Chile was emblematic of what the tour is all about," said Ted Wu, senior vice president and global head of design, vehicles and building sets at Hot Wheels’ parent company, Mattel.
"Not only is it an extremely impressive build, but it was created to help grow the car community in Chile and inspire others to participate. That's what makes this vehicle, and the team behind it, deserving of the win and entry into the Hot Wheels Garage of Legends."
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