| Japan is known for its electronic products, Japanese Anime, and its fuel-efficient popular cars. Toyota is one of the carmakers that have expanded their reach all over the world through their affordable cars, and competition in motorsport through their TRD (Toyota Racing Development) program to Gazoo Racing.
There’s no doubt, Toyota is one of the global brands from Japan that is seen all over the world not only commonly populating Asian streets, but also in Western countries as well. Hot Wheels have taken that advantage in producing more iconic models in die-cast form including the very first generation of the Toyota Celica. |
The Toyota Celica is a popular car produced from 1970 to 2006 spanning seven generations. But this featured model is the original introduced in 1970, the GT variation of the Toyota Celica coupe is also the flagship car for this range that was sold in Japan only. Well, until 1971 when they started importing the car the following year with various trims and engines.
It might be considered one of Japan’s most popular muscle cars in Asia that has become known to the automotive community. There’s one out of ten car owners out there that might still be kept maintained despite being a fifty-year-old car.
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Heavenly Celestial Ride
The Celica’s name derives from the Latin word coelica meaning heavenly or celestial, which by design it is quite that vehicle that has an appropriate name. The Hot Wheels version was introduced from 2013 to 2016, and won’t be available in the mainline again until 2021 as the last appearance was not even sold in a single card. But it was only available in selected multipacks (3-pack and 9 packs).
This 2021 edition is the second colour following an earlier release in Metalflake Mint Green. It took almost 7 years for the casting to return to the mainline and then end up again as a multipack exclusive the following year. By 2023, it will be included in the Japan Culture theme multipack that’s a bit more expensive than the regular release when it’s not even sporting rubber tires or a premium paint job
Key Features of the '70 Toyota Celica below:
- Year Release: 2021 | J-Imports Subtheme
- Base Color: Chrome | Plastic
- Window: Tinted (Smoke)
- Tampo: Orange & black stripes on hood & sides, "KAIDOHOUSE" on the hood, HW logo, 吉田軽工 "Yoshida Light Industry" & "Celica" on sides | Unpainted Rear details
- Interior: Black
Size Matters Celica
The 2021 card art is as impressive as the actual product in Metalflake Teal with unpainted wheels that makes the colour pop. It’s one of the difficult castings to acquire due to the popularity of the JDM models in the Asian market. Despite its prominence in the collecting community, its casting is undersized.
There have been other competing brands that produced a similar model that’s more appropriate for its scale that even have opening doors. But the size doesn’t matter to any die-cast collector as long as it’s a JDM as some are hyping it as a must-have for its monetary value not for the way Hot Wheels have been appreciated for its design and concept as well as its heritage inspiration from the real car.
There have been ten times this casting was produced, and each of that releases has been met with high demand due to the popularity of the JDM cars regardless if it’s this Toyota Celica or other Japanese-produced cars from Honda, Nissan, and other carmakers from the land of the rising sun. But if you’re talking about the car itself, the Toyota Celica is one such iconic car, and the first-generation model is rarely seen on local streets in Asia. But can only be found in local car meets or displayed in a car show some just appreciate it for the aesthetics and not for how it put Toyota as the car anyone can afford.
For the Hot Wheels model, its translation into a die-cast model looks seamless and Jun Imai did a terrific job capturing the contours of the car. But still, it is undersized for its scale and would have been a little bit bigger as the real car is not that small next to a Mazda Miata or any roadster out there.
’70 Toyota Celica is part of the HW J-Imports segment series 3/10 and overall 151/250 released for the 2021 year, which was acquired at Ollie & Co in Glorietta Mall in Makati City for ₱ 119.75 Pesos ($ 3.45 AUD | $ 2.33 USD**). Hot Wheels is distributed in the Philippines by Richprime Global Inc.
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NOTES:
The photos used for this article and review were produced but unpublished from 2021
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