Detailed taillamps, pale pink, red & maroon stripes, "RS2000X" & "RED" on sides, "HWS RS2K" license plate The Escort made its bow as #221 in the 2015 mainline, in a blue-and-white scheme that we’ll see plenty more of in the listings to come. I’d have liked to see the white stripe extend right across the arches, but it still looks brilliant. What a start!

The RS1600 returned to the mainline in 2018 as part of the Hot Wheels 50 th Race Team set. There were 10 different castings in all, some of which came in multiple colours, including the Escort, which had both a regular release in matt French blue and a Super Treasure Hunt issue in a darker, spectraflame shade. As you’d expect, the Super is a real beauty –one of the very best of all the RS1600s. I was fortunate to get it in a trade. The first STH item for 2024 is the Ford Escort RS2000! Fraser Campbell designed this casting, first appearing in the 2023 Retro Racers series. The First Edition release is the most beloved, with its mismatched wheels and simple livery. Mattel came up with three designs in 2023, and it was only a matter of time before a new one emerged. As with many recent Hot Wheels castings, the RS1600 has had plenty of mileage as a licensed Fast & Furious movie model. The real car was driven in Fast & Furious 6 by Brian O’Conner, played by the late Paul Walker. We’ll step through all 16 versions of this beautiful Escort in a minute, but first some notes on its creation from designer, Fraser Campbell.The Ford Escort is a small family car manufactured by Ford of Europe from 1968 to 2000. Frequently the best selling car in the United Kingdom, the Escort was also used for motorsports, especially rallying to great success. Many drivers such as Björn Waldegård, Hannu Mikkola and Ari Vatanen used Escorts and won numerous races with them.

If you tuned in to the Lamley IG Live last month with Hot Wheels designer Mark Jones (IG @designspeed744) then you’ll have seen the first pictures of the upcoming ’78 Ford Escort RS1800 Mk2. This model will be released in the Ford Car Culture Premium set later this summer. This pair brought a race-style deco to the RS1600 for the first time. Both Broadspeed and Zakspeed raced Castrol-sponsored RS1600s in the 1970s so the choice of Castrol here is spot on. The hood of the white car in particular is very close to an actual Broadspeed livery.Two years have passed since I last found an STH item, and it felt like it would never happen again. Short cards are tough to find; only some people ever find two in a year. Most collectors would agree that the Evija is in the Top 5 best Super Treasure Hunts in the 2023 series, and this is one collectible I don't think I will ever sell. Alas, Mattel is already rolling out the 2024 collection, and today, we'll be looking over the highlights of Case A.

With the exception of the Super, I’ve been fortunate that all the Escorts issued so far have been relatively inexpensive to find. I’ll continue to hunt down future versions of the RS1600, too. The real cars were raced and rallied so extensively that there are still plenty of untapped ideas for future decos. I’m getting a little tired of the recent Gulf overload, but there was a real racing Escort in Gulf colours that would make a great model, for example. The distinctive Alan Mann racers in gold and red would look fantastic, too, as would one of Ford’s most famous rally machines, Hannu Mikkola’s London to Mexico World Cup Rally-winning car from 1970. How about it, Hot Wheels? Another authentic 70s Escort colour is the basis for the last mainline release to date. The fictitious rally livery isn’t the best and the model has warmed the pegs in my local supermarket for some months.As an Escort fan, a rally fan and a Mark Jones castings fan I am excited to see this model in the metal, but until then, Mark was kind enough to send through some close-up pictures.

The following year saw another premium release of the Escort, this time in the best of the Fast & Furious versions seen to date. It’s a special model, with great detail printed all around the car (including the correct London license plate at the rear, YLV 7J), fantastic weight from the metal base and some well-chosen Minilite-style wheels. All it needs (again) is a continuous white stripe! Mark also sent this shot of the Mk2 with Fraser Campbell’s Mk1, which is already one of my favourite Hot Wheels castings (see my earlier Collection Update article for the full rundown on this model). The two Gumball 3000 issues from 2019 are nicely done. I especially like the off-white version, which has a vintage rally look about it and would make a good basis for a custom rally car, if I had the time and talent! I was instantly taken with the Hot Wheels ’70 Ford Escort RS1600 when it first appeared in 2015. The casting has fantastic proportions and a great stance – something that can’t be said for the Fast & Furious Escort that Mattel made in 1:55 scale. Add in the Mk.1 Escort’s incredible rally and circuit racing pedigree, plus a high-profile movie connection, and it’s a winning recipe.I was probably the one who added the Escort as a model submission prior to when the movie license was even considered,” remembers Fraser. “When the project was started, I think the license deal for the movie was still in the works. Getting the Ford license was no big deal so first and foremost, the reference we used had to be from an RS1600 – just in case we couldn’t get the movie license. That explains some of the differences from the movie car. Detailed taillamps, eggshell blue, mid blue & navy blue stripes, "RS2000X" on sides, "HWS RS2K" license plate You’ve seen this one before, right? Well, kind of. With its 5SP rims, it’s very similar to the debut release and has a lot in common with both the earlier, metallic Fast & Furious car and the Car Culture edition. Note that this one has tinted windows compared to the mainline debut’s clear ones and there’s no Hot Wheels logo ahead of the rear arches.