On November 16, during the virtual Global Grand Finale, Mattel revealed the 2024 champion of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour
On November 16, during the virtual Global Grand Finale, Mattel revealed the 2024 champion of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour, the largest traveling car show in the world. After winning at the 2024 Chilean tour stop, a custom-built race car named La Liebre claimed the global title and will be added to the Hot Wheels Garage of Legends. The design team at Hot Wheels will now convert this life-sized car into a 1:64 scale die-cast model for collectors and fans to treasure.
This year’s Hot Wheels Legends Tour Global Grand Finale, hosted by motorsports ambassador Jarod DeAnda, highlighted 10 outstanding builds from across the world. Tasked with choosing the entry that best represents authenticity, creativity, and garage spirit, and they included:
• Jay Leno, TV host and car enthusiast
• Dalal Elsheikh, automotive experience designer
• Larry Chen, Renowned automotive photographer
• Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, actor and comedian
• Toni Breidinger, NASCAR driver
• Juca Viapri, Mexican automotive influencer and car customizer
• Hot Wheels Design Team
In 2013, Giuseppe Casagrande and Maurizio Moschini co-founded Cars and Coffee Chile as a nonprofit to foster the car community and culture in Chile. The La Liebre project was initiated to promote their organization and connect with local automotive enthusiasts. After acquiring the Falcon, a custom-built Chevrolet 350 motor producing 600 horsepower was installed and mated to a Saenz 910 five-speed transmission with straight-cut gears. The chassis, extensively modified by Baufer Garage, now includes a tubular frame and roll cage. Weighing under 2,000 pounds, the La Liebre’s lightweight design is attributed to the tube chassis and a specially crafted fiberglass body, optimized for aerodynamics. Combining vintage style with modern performance aimed at achieving pure speed, the La Liebre captivated and inspired judges, not just with its appearance but also for its significant impact on the Chilean automotive community.
The Cars and Coffee Chile team behind La Liebre includes: Giuseppe Casagrade, Maurizio Moschini, Pablo Olmos, Omar Aguilar, Nicolás Orellana, and Jose Ignacio Barra.
“This year’s Hot Wheels Legends Tour brought out so many incredible builds, making it difficult to select just one, however, the mission behind the La Liebre built by Cars & Coffee Chile was emblematic of what the tour is all about,” said Ted Wu, senior vice president and global head of design, vehicles and building sets at Mattel. “Not only is it an extremely impressive build, but it was created to help grow the car community in Chile and inspire others to participate. That’s what makes this vehicle, and the team behind it, deserving of the win and entry into the Hot Wheels Garage of Legends.”
Celebrating car builders and enthusiasts around the world in their drive to be legendary, the 2024 Hot Wheels Legends Tour traveled through 13 countries with 11 regional stops in the United States. New Tour stops for 2024 included visits to Colombia and the United Arab Emirates. The Hot Wheels team and local automotive personalities evaluated more than 5,000 vehicle entries with millions of event attendees around the world.
Since its launch in 2018 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Hot Wheels, the Hot Wheels
Legends Tour presented by Mobil 1 has grown from an U.S.-based series of local Walmart events to the world’s largest traveling car show, bringing in builders and automotive fans through both virtual and live events. Previous champions include the inaugural 2018-winning 2JetZ™, 2019-winning THE NASH™, 2020-winning 1970 Pontiac® Firebird™, 2021-winning 1969 Volvo P1800 Gasser, 2022-winning “Texas Toot,” an ultra-custom 1992 Autozam Scrum micro truck and last year’s champion, a one of a kind 1990 Mazda MX-5 roadster nicknamed “Chimera.”
