Custom Corvette

Custom Corvette Description

The Custom Corvette was one of the first cars released in the original 1968 Hot Wheels line-up.

According to lore, because of the fact that Harry Bradley worked for GM shortly before moving to Mattel, he snuck out copies of the blueprints for the real '68 Stingray and used them as a base for the Hot Wheels model. Since he was a designer there, he knew exactly where to get the materials for designing these new "hot wheels" in 1967.

When the first 16 Hot Wheels debuted in the summer of 1968 (the Custom Corvette was one of them), the cat was out of the bag, as Chevrolet's 1968 Corvette was not due out for another few months still. This worked out in a good way, as it created more hype for Chevrolet and the Stingray from both kids and adults alike.

The Muky Toys Co. of Argentina purchased (or illegally acquired) the old tools and dies for this casting when they were retired by Mattel and used them to make their plastic-bodied line of Hot Wheels clones in the 1970's, only sold in the Argentinan market

All USA versions had Clear glass, a steering wheel that was inserted in the dashboard and the end of the car was part of the base.

The Hong Kong versions on the other hand had Tinted (Blue) glass, a steering wheel that was part of the interior and the end of the car was part of the body.

USA Versions

The Custom Corvette has come out in the following versions (colors are desending in rarity from common to rare):

Year	Series	Color	Base Color / Type	Wheel Type	Country
1968	1968 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Red	Unpainted / Metal	RL	US
1968	1968 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Olive	Unpainted / Metal	RL	US
1968	1968 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Green	Unpainted / Metal	RL	US
1968	1968 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Blue	Unpainted / Metal	RL	US
1968	1968 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame Rose	Unpainted / Metal	RL	US
1968	1968 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame orange	Unpainted / Metal	RL	US
1968	1968 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame purple	Unpainted / Metal	RL	US
1968	1968 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame antifreeze	Unpainted / Metal	RL	US
1968	1968 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame aqua	Unpainted / Metal	RL	US
1968	1968 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame gold	Unpainted / Metal	RL	US
1968	1968 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame magenta	Unpainted / Metal	RL	US
1968	1968 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame windex blue	Unpainted / Metal	RL	US
1968	1968 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame light blue	Unpainted / Metal	RL	US
1968	1968 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame yellow	Unpainted / Metal	RL	US
1968	1968 Hot Wheels	Spectraflame brown	Unpainted / Metal	RL	US

Hong Kong Versions

The Custom Corvette has come out in the following versions (colors are desending in rarity from common to rare):

Year	Series	Color	Base Color / Type	Window Color	Wheel Type	Country
1968	Sweet 16	Spectraflame Red	Metal	Blue tint	RL	HK
1968	Sweet 16	Spectraflame Olive	Metal	Blue tint	RL	HK
1968	Sweet 16	Spectraflame Blue	Metal	Blue tint	RL	HK
1968	Sweet 16	Spectraflame Aqua	Metal	Blue tint	RL	HK
1968	Sweet 16	Spectraflame Green	Metal	Blue tint	RL	HK
1968	Sweet 16	Spectraflame Purple	Metal	Blue tint	RL	HK
1968	Sweet 16	Spectraflame Brown	Metal	Blue tint	RL	HK
1968	Sweet 16	Spectraflame Orange	Metal	Blue tint	RL	HK
1968	Sweet 16	Spectraflame Gold	Metal	Blue tint	RL	HK
1968	Sweet 16	Spectraflame Creamy Pink	Metal	Blue tint	RL	HK

Retooled versions

The retooled Custom Corvette has come out in the following versions:

Col #	Year	Series	Color	Tampo	Base Color / Type	Window Color	Interior Color	Wheel Type	Toy #	Country	Notes / Variations	Photo
5	2005	HWC.com: Neo Classics	Spectraflame Pink	Pink Ghost Flames on Side	Unpainted Metal	Clear	Tan	RL	H2924	China
4	2007	Red Line Club Rewards	White	Light Blue Graphics, Black "4", Sponsor Logos	Unpainted Metal	Light Blue Tint	White	RL		China