For more than 50 years, Mattel‘s Hot Wheels has helped promote, influence, and create automotive design, driving car culture for fans of all ages through its diecast model cars and toys in various forms. This year it was involved in two high-profile efforts—the Polestar Design Contest with Swedish performance EV partner Polestar and its own Hot Wheels Legends Tour—that just culminated in its latest global search for the next “hot wheels.”

Futurride covered the launch of this year’s Polestar contest here. Earlier this month, the Geely-owned brand announced the winner of its 2024 Design Contest held in collaboration with Hot Wheels, for which invited contestants were asked to submit designs inspired by its 1:64 scale and Polestar’s distinctive design language. The four-judge panel included representatives from Polestar and Mattel

Shashank Shekhar, a professional designer from India, won first prize for his rugged Polestar TRX off-roader. The concept, defined by exaggerated proportions, sleek surfaces, and a bold interpretation of Polestar’s design language, will become the first Polestar to be included in the Hot Wheels toy car series. The die-cast collectible will be available for consumers in the summer of 2025.

“This will be the first design in my career to be produced, so it’s a big deal for me,” said Shekhar. “I never thought that someday, something I have created would end up as a Hot Wheels car. It has been a great journey, and I’ve had an amazing time so far. Something like this gives you a lot of confidence as a young designer.”

Italy’s Powei Chen took the runner-up prize for his Cyber Shaker, which has nods to both past and present with its cyberpunk design. Roman Moor’s classic Le Mans submission from Germany received an honorable mention for the Polestar Track Toy concept.

Polestar has established a history of supporting and collaborating with aspiring student and professional vehicle designers through its design contests. The connection with the Polestar Design Community provides guidance and encouragement for all entrants before the Polestar Design team engages in one-to-one coaching with the shortlisted finalists to refine their designs towards final selection.

Now in its fourth edition, the Polestar Design Contest has highlighted top talent around the world, with many of the students going on to work for the Polestar Design team or in the wider professional design industry.

“We were looking for innovative ideas with this theme, and the submissions definitely exceeded our expectations,” said Juan-Pablo Bernal, Head of Interior Design at Polestar and curator of the @polestardesigncommunity Instagram account. “We saw some of the most daring designs to date.”

The 2024 contest attracted over 1200 participants from around the world, making it one of the largest editions of the annual competition to date.

“This year’s winner accepted the challenge and was inspired by both Hot Wheels and Polestar, bridging the two brands together,” said Ted Wu, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Design of Vehicles and Building Sets at Mattel. “We are looking forward to seeing the Polestar TRX in a 1:64 scale and welcoming this die-cast to be included in our Hot Wheels history.”

In November, parent Mattel announced the 2024 winner of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour, its own contest, but for full-scale designs. Since its launch in 2018 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Hot Wheels, the tour presented by Mobil 1 has grown from a U.S.-based series of local Walmart events to what is said to be the world’s largest traveling car show, bringing in builders and automotive fans through both virtual and live events.

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 U.S. 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 5000 vehicle entries with millions of event attendees around the world.

After taking the top spot during the 2024 Chilean tour stop, a home-built race car, nicknamed La Liebre, secured the global victory. It will be inducted into the Hot Wheels Garage of Legends, and the Hot Wheels design team will transform the life-sized car by Giuseppe Casagrande and his team into a die-cast car for collectors and fans to enjoy in 1:64 scale.

In 2013, Giuseppe Casagrande and Maurizio Moschini co-founded Cars and Coffee Chile as a nonprofit organization to grow the car community and culture in Chile. The La Liebre project began as a method of promoting their organization and engaging local automotive enthusiasts.

A blend of vintage style and modern performance, and designed for speed, the La Liebre impressed and inspired the judges not only with its looks but its role in the Chilean automotive community.

“The mission behind the La Liebre built by Cars & Coffee Chile was emblematic of what the tour is all about,” said Wu. “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.”

After acquiring the 1968 custom build based on a Baufer-modified Ford Falcon chassis, the Giuseppe Casagrande team installed a custom-built Chevrolet 350 motor producing 600 hp and mated it to a Saenz 910 five-speed manual transmission with straight-cut gears. The La Liebre weighs under 2000 lb thanks to a tube chassis and custom fiberglass body developed to maximize aerodynamics.