Japanese Red Box

In the late 1970's in Japan, Hot Wheels were sold and packaged in numbered red cardboard boxes. The 'Japan/Japanese Red Box' vehicles are identical to their regular counterparts, but the inclusion of the original packaging makes them hard to find and desirable. Although they are only numbered up to 80, a total of 89 vehicles were packaged this way.

There were two versions of the box, both had the Mattel Logo and 'ミニカ' (minika/minica). Some had an picture of the car with a printed number, and others were plain red with no picture and a small white box into which the number was stamped. On some vehicles, the picture was different to the actual one inside.