After winning the Chilean tour stop as part of the worldwide 2024 Hot Wheel Legends Tour, La Liebre has now secured the overall global win and will be inducted into the Hot Wheels Garage of Legends. This, of course, means the home-built race car will be transformed into a 1:64 scale model for collectors and fans to buy.

The award was originally launched in 2018 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Hot Wheels and has grown from a series of US-based Walmart events to one of the largest travelling car shows in the world. The 2024 Hot Wheels Legends Tour travelled through 13 countries with 11 regional stops in the United States and new stops in Colombia and the United Arab Emirates. Over 5,000 vehicles were entered, with millions attending the events.

La Liebre

The winning La Liebre (the hare in English) project was started by Giuseppe Casagrande and Maurizio Moschini as a way to promote Cars and Coffee Chile, a nonprofit organisation designed to grow car culture in Chile.

The duo - along with fellow members of the Cars and Coffee Chile team Pablo Olmos, Omar Aguilar, Nicolás Orellana and Jose Ignacio Barra - acquired a Falcon and installed a custom-built 600hp Chevrolet 350 engine mated to a Saenz 910 five-speed transmission. The chassis was modified by Baufer Garage and is comprised of a tubular frame and roll cage. A custom fibreglass body, developed to maximise aerodynamics, means the whole car weighs just over 900kg. Hot Wheels said the car was a “blend of classic style and modern performance” and impressed judges “not only with its looks but its role in the Chilean automotive community.”

How did the UK do?

The UK’s winning car was the ‘Mentley’, a custom build 1983 Austin Mini. As a selection for the Global Grand Finale, it became the fourth consecutive British entrant to reach the final stage.

Owned by Dominic Whittle, the project was built to evoke vintage Bentley racers and first began life as a track day car. A TVR V8 developing 320bhp mated to a Range Rover gearbox replaced the old BMC A-Series engine and, through nitrous-assisted exhausts, could hit 0-60mph in just three seconds. The Mentley beat 179 other entrants to win the UK award and Whittle was presented with the trophy at the NEC Birmingham Gravity Show in August.

The British Racing Green finished car has also served as a grand tourer, transporting Whittle and his musician friends across Europe to raise funds for the Save the Children charity.

words: Mike Booth
pictures: Hot Wheels