Formula Fever

Formula Fever / Thunderstreak
Debut series	1983 Mainline / Real Riders
Produced	1983 - 2002
Designer	Larry Wood
Number	3985 (Formula Fever) 9545 (Thunderstreak)

Description

The Formula Fever is a Hot Wheels casting based on a Formula 1 car. It was first released in the 1983 Mainline where it could be found with either Blackwall or Real Rider wheels. It was only called "Formula Fever" for its 1983 releases and was renamed "Thunderstreak" for its next release in 1985 and every release thereafter. Although the castings were the same, with the name-change came a casting number change from 3985 to 9545.

The casting was significantly modified in 1992 for the Pro Circuit series. The changes are most notably the larger and taller rear spoiler which was moved from the base to the top of the body with the new casting reflecting a more modern Formula 1 design. This version of the casting is sometimes called "Thunderstreak Indy" to differentiate it from the older version as for a short time both castings were simultaneously in production. The new version was integrated into the Mainline after the conclusion of the Pro Circuit series and would be used until 2002.

The Thunderstreak was playable in the 2001 video game Hot Wheels: Mechanix under the name 'F1 Racer', although no such casting would officially be named 'F1 Racer' until 2009.

Versions Formula Fever

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

Year	Series	Color	Tampo	Base Color / Type	Window Color	Interior Color	Wheel Type	Toy #	Country	Notes	Photo
1983	Mainline	Yellow & Red	Black, Yellow, White "12"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Red	BW	3915	Hong Kong	Also appears in Truck Co
1983	Real Riders	Yellow & Red	Black, Yellow, White "12"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Red	RR Gray	3915	Malaysia or Hong Kong
1983	Real Riders	Yellow & Red	Black, Yellow, White "12"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Red	RR White	3915	Hong Kong
1985	Real Riders	Red & White	Orange, Red, Yellow "8"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	White	RR Grey	9545	Malaysia	Named Thunderstreak
1985	Real Riders	Red & White	Orange, Red, Orange "8"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	White	RR Grey	9545	Malaysia	Named Thunderstreak
1987	Real Riders	Maroon & Purple	Orange, Red, White "8"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Purple	RR Grey	2540	Malaysia	Named Thunderstreak
1988	Mainline	Maroon & Purple	Orange, Red, White "8"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Purple	BW	2540	Malaysia	Named Thunderstreak
1989	Leo Hot Wheels	Red & Yellow	Red "KRACO" & '18' on Sides	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Yellow	BW		India	Named Thunderstreak
1988	20 Year Anniversary 3-pack	Blue & Yellow		Unpainted / Metal		Yellow	BW	4603
1989	Mainline	Blue & Yellow	Blue, Yellow, red "18" "KRACO" "STP"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Yellow	BW	3915	Malaysia	Also found in Park 'n Plates 2199 Possible Variation: No STP Logo
1990	Mainline	Blue & Yellow	Blue, Yellow, red "18" "KRACO" "STP" No STP Logo	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Yellow	BW	3915	Malaysia	Named Thunderstreak
1989	Ziploc Promo	Blue & Green	Red, White "Ziploc" "1"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Green	BW	3999	Malaysia	Mail Order only Named Thunderstreak
1991	Park 'n Plates	White	Blue "Claforan" "(cefofaxime sodium)" Red "500"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	White	BW	3999	Malaysia	Named Thunderstreak
1994	Mainline	Blue & Olive	Red, White Hot Wheels Logo "1"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Olive	BW	3999	Malaysia	Named Thunderstreak
1994	Mainline	Blue & Olive	Red, White Hot Wheels Logo	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Olive	BW	3999	Malaysia	No front tampos Named Thunderstreak

Versions Thunderstreak (Indy)

There was a new tool & die made for this casting in 1992 for the debut of the Pro Circuit racing series. The new casting was integrated into the mainline after the Pro Circut series ended.
Both iterations of the Thunderstreak share similar castings, with the difference being the larger tail and the rear spoiler moving from being attached to the base to being attached to the top of the body. Both versions of the castings were produced simultaneously.
Thunderstreak was Playable in Hot Wheels: Mechanix under name F1 Racer. The Game was 2001, but There's no F1 Racer casting in 2001, F1 Racer casting was 2009.

The Thunderstreak (Indy) came out in the following 1/64 Versions:

Col #	Year	Series	Color	Tampo	Base Color / Type	Window Color	Interior Color	Wheel Type	Toy #	Country	Notes	Photo
	1992	Pro Circuit	Green & White	Quaker State Logos, Buick, & '26'	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	White	PC6		China
	1992	Pro Circuit	White & Green	Fuji Film Logos, Red Stripes, & '2'	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Green	PC6		China
	1992	Pro Circuit	White & Black	Texaco & K-Mart Logos, & '2'	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Black	Gray PC6		China
	1992	Pro Circuit	White & Black	Texaco & K-Mart Logos, & '1'	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Black	Gray PC6		China
	1992	Pro Circuit	White & Dark Blue	Valvoline Logos & '3'	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Dark Blue	PC6		China
	1992	Pro Circuit	White & Orange	Penske Logos & '4'	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Orange	PC6		China
	1992	Pro Circuit	White & Orange	Penske Logos & '5'	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Orange	PC6		China
	1992	Pro Circuit	Yellow	Pennzoil '8'	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Yellow	PC6			Prototype
	1992	Pro Circuit	Black	Gold Rahal	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Black	Grey PC6			Prototype
	1992	Pro Circuit	White	Red	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Black	Grey PC6			Prototype
153	1992	Mainline	Yellow	Black "PENNZOIL", Red "4"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Yellow	BW	3999	Malaysia
	?	Leo Hot Wheels	Blue & Yellow	Red "KRACO" & '18' on Sides	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Yellow	BW		India
	1994	Aquafresh Promo	Turquoise	Red, White, Blue "61", "Water Pik"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Turq.	BW	9545	Malaysia
	1994	Aquafresh Promo	Turquoise	Red, White, Blue "61", "Aquafresh"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Turquoise	BW	9545	Malaysia
	1995	Hormel Foods Promo	Red & White	Green, Red, "Hormel Foods"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	White	BW	9545	Malaysia	mail order only in baggies
402	1996	Dark Rider II 3/4	Metallic Black & Chrome	N/A	Black / Metal	N/A	Chrome	7SP	15245	Malaysia
	1997	Racing World 5-Pack	Yellow & Black	Purple, Yellow, White, "ZAP RACING", "8"	Purple / Metal	N/A	Black	5SP	9545	Malaysia	Possible Variation: SB
								5DOT		Thailand
								7SP
			Black					5SP		Malaysia
1057	1999	Mainline	Metallic Dark Red & Blue	Black, White, Yellow "THUNDERSTREAK"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Blue	Black Goodyear Eagle 5SP	24071	Malaysia
135	2000	Virtual Collection	Metallic Purple	White, Orange, Blue "6", "SUN"	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Purple	LW	27102	China
131	2002	Mainline	Metallic Dark Blue & Black	Red, White Hot Wheels Logo	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Black	LW	55016	China
131	2002	Mainline	Metallic Blue & Black	Red, White Hot Wheels Logo	Unpainted / Metal	N/A	Black	LW	55016	China

Notes

• Three versions from the 1992 Pro Circuit series were planned but are unknown if they were ever released. They were themed in Penzoil, Truesports and Rahal liveries.

Gallery

Luis Montesdeoca Prototype (named Turbo Streak)

Luis Montesdeoca Prototype #2

Larry Wood Prototype

Larry Wood Prototype #2

Pro Circuit Prototype

Larry Wood Collection Prototype for the Pro Circuit series

Larry Wood Collection Prototype for the Pro Circuit series #2

Lot of Prototypes and Larry Wood collection cars

Formula Fever collection

Pennzoil F1 Racer (pre-'92 casting) prototype (Brian-Anna.com)

In the 90s, HW bought alot of Corgi castings and used them under the HW label. This is a rare instance where Corgi used a HW car!

Thunderstreak drilled base

Drilled 2

1993 MAXX 25yr card 18 (1985)

Thunderstreak was Playable in Hot wheels mechanix PC 1991 Claforan Park n Plate

Thunderstreak was Playable in Hot wheels mechanix PC Unknown years.

Thunderstreak was Playable in Hot wheels mechanix PC 1999 Hot wheels

Thunderstreack 1989

Park 'N Plates 2199

Dark Rider series Short Card

Dark Rider New! vs Coolest! Card

...still with toothpaste

Truck Co. 1983