Carabo

Carabo
Debut series	1970 Hot Wheels
Produced	1970, 1974 - 1979
Designer	Marcello Gandini (Bertone for Alfa Romeo) Ira Gilford (Hot Wheels)
Number	6420

Description

The Carabo is a Hot Wheels casting which debuted in 1970. It is based on the real-life concept car by Bertone for Alfa Romeo. 

The real-life Carabo was designed by Marcello Gandini at Bertone who later designed the Lamborghini Countach. It was built on an Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale chassis and was powered by the 1995cc V8 engine. It was inspired by the Carabidae beetle, known for its iridescent green and orange coloring. The Carabo featured iridescent green paint, bright orange nose highlight, copper-infused glass and vertical opening doors similar to the wings of the beetle. It debuted at the 1968 Paris Motor Show and still exists today.

The Hot Wheels version was designed by Ira Gilford and debuted in the 1970 Hot Wheels range of vehicles. It featured the orange nose highlight and vertical opening doors just like the real car. This was Hot Wheels' first and only time using this style of opening door, the metal on the door is very thin and if treated roughly will completely break in half. It is not uncommon to find Carabo's in poor condition with missing or broken doors. It came with a matte black painted rear engine cover and a gloss black painted base. It was produced at both the Hong Kong and USA factories and was painted in various 'Spectraflame' colors. Hong Kong produced cars came with blue tinted glass and USA cars came with clear glass. They are usually found with dark colored interiors (Hong Kong: Dark Brown / USA: Black) but some cars are found with the rare and desirable white interior. It was commonly packaged with a metal 'Collectors Button' but some came with a plastic Collectors Button.

Due to inconsistencies in the Spectraflame painting process, the existence of some colors receive skepticism by collectors. Some collectors believe that Carabo's in Spectraflame Light Blue are in fact the regular Spectraflame Blue which has faded. 

The Carabo was featured in artwork on a plastic drinking cup from Jack In The Box restaurants.

It was also produced in Mexico by CIPSA. These versions are very hard to find and are often found in poor condition (more information below).

The Carabo was released again in 1974 in the Flying Colors series. Gone was the Spectraflame paint which was replaced with enamel paint, so was the black painted base and engine cover. The 'Capped' wheels were replaced with the new style 'Through-Hole' Redline wheels, although some can be found with Capped Redline wheels on the rear. Commonly found in Light Green, it was also produced in yellow which is much harder to find. The green version was also released in Italy in a cardboard box marked 'Mebetoys Flying Colors' and in Japan in a red cardboard box #36. The green version was also produced with blackwall wheels in 1977 and 1979.

The Carabo has not been seen since 1979.

Hong Kong Versions

The Carabo has come out in the following versions:

Year	Series	Color	Sticker	Base Color / Type	Window Color	Interior Color	Wheel Type	Toy #	Country	Notes / Variations	Photo
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Blue	None	Black / Metal	Tinted (Blue)	Dark Brown or White (Rare)	RL	6420	Hong Kong
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Aqua	None	Black / Metal	Tinted (Blue)	Dark Brown or White (Rare)	RL	6420	Hong Kong	Hard To Find
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Green	None	Black / Metal	Tinted (Blue)	Dark Brown or White (Rare)	RL	6420	Hong Kong
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Light 'Apple' Green	None	Black / Metal	Tinted (Blue)	Dark Brown	RL	6420	Hong Kong
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Yellow	None	Black / Metal	Tinted (Blue)	Dark Brown	RL	6420	Hong Kong
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Magenta	None	Black / Metal	Tinted (Blue)	Dark Brown or White (Rare)	RL	6420	Hong Kong
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Red	None	Black / Metal	Tinted (Blue)	Dark Brown or White (Rare)	RL	6420	Hong Kong	Hard to Find

USA Versions

The Carabo has come out in the following versions:

Year	Series	Color	Sticker	Base Color / Type	Window Color	Interior Color	Wheel Type	Toy #	Country	Notes / Variations	Photo
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Light Blue	None	Black / Metal	Clear	Black	RL	6420	USA	Rare
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Blue	None	Black / Metal	Clear	Black	RL	6420	USA
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Green	None	Black / Metal	Clear	Black	RL	6420	USA
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Light 'Apple' Green	None	Black / Metal	Clear	Black or White (Very Rare)	RL	6420	USA
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Yellow	None	Black / Metal	Clear	Black or White (Very Rare)	RL	6420	USA
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Red	None	Black / Metal	Clear	Black	RL	6420	USA	Hard to Find
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Pink	None	Black / Metal	Clear	Black	RL	6420	USA	Hard to Find
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Rose	None	Black / Metal	Clear	Black or White (Very Rare)	RL	6420	USA
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Magenta	None	Black / Metal	Clear	Black	RL	6420	USA

CIPSA Versions

In the early 1970's, the Carabo was manufactured by CIPSA in Mexico for the Mexican market. These versions differ from the regular versions in a couple of small ways. The interior is a stark white compared to the creamier white of the regular versions, the glass is a pale blue tint instead of tinted blue or clear. They also lack the black painted engine cover and black painted base. They have Capped wheels like the 1970 versions. Despite being manufactured in Mexico, they are still marked with 'USA' on the base.

The Carabo has come out in the following 1/64 scale versions:

Color	Stickers	Base Color / Type	Window Color	Interior Color	Wheel Type	Country	Notes / Variations	Photo
Enamel Yellow	None	Unpainted / Metal	Tinted (Pale Blue)	White	RL	USA
Metallic Red	None	Unpainted / Metal	Tinted (Pale Blue)	White	RL	USA
Metallic Blue	None	Unpainted / Metal	Tinted (Pale Blue)	White	RL	USA
Metallic Green	None	Unpainted / Metal	Tinted (Pale Blue)	White	RL	USA

Flying Colors Versions

The Carabo has come out in the following versions:

Year	Series	Color	Tampo	Base Color / Type	Window Color	Interior Color	Wheel Type	Toy #	Country	Notes / Variations	Photo
1974	Flying Colors	Enamel Light Green	Orange & Blue Stripes	Unpainted / Metal	Tinted (Blue)	Black	RL (Capped Rear)	7617	Hong Kong
1974	Flying Colors	Enamel Light Green	Orange & Blue Stripes	Unpainted / Metal	Tinted (Blue)	Black	RL	7617	Hong Kong	Also released in Italy 'Mebetoys Flying Colors' Cardboard Box and Japan Red Box #36
1974	Flying Colors	Enamel Yellow	Orange & Blue Stripes	Unpainted / Metal	Tinted (Blue)	Black	RL	7617	Hong Kong	Hard to Find
1977	Flying Colors	Enamel Light Green	Orange & Blue Stripes	Unpainted / Metal	Tinted (Blue)	Black	BW	7617	Hong Kong	Also released identically in 1979.

Gallery

1974 Flying Colors version