Car Culture: Race Day

Race Day. Another set from Hot Wheels’ Car Culture series. As the name suggests, this set is filled with race cars. These are castings of race versions of certain models. Expect race liveries, roll cages, and big wings. Alright, so, not all race cars have big wings. But just to set your expectations, these are the cars that come with Race Day.

Race Day

’78 Porsche 935-78
Mazda RX-3
Porsche 914-6
Porsche 962
Acura NSX

A quick glance at this set will already get you excited. This is not as colourful as I expected cars with racing liveries to be. Maybe I was expecting them to have a loud presence like drift cars. I’m not saying that they are boring, just understated for what they are. I guess it’s also because they give off this retro racing vibe rather than a modenrn one. And that can be a good thing.

One would not immediately think of an RX-3 to be a race day car, but these small rotary rockets were proper racing machines in their heyday. It isn’t a surprise to find Porsches here, but again, the fact that Hot Wheels has chosen retro race cars is a good choice. Porsche has that heritage of racing in its DNA, and it’s good to see the grand daddies of racing Porsches. The NSX is the most modern looking of the bunch here. With production of the NSX starting in 1990, though, it isn’t as ‘young’ as you think. Still, this is a testament to a timeless design.

Let us take a closer look at these race day cars.

Race Day: Japan

’85 Honda CR-X

Again, the Honda CR-X in this series is the 1985 Honda CR-X. The first generation CR-X. It wasn’t nearly as good looking as the odd-looking second generation CR-X, but it was also full of racing potential for what it was.

’85 Honda CR-X

Honda tuning arm Mugen, saw this potential and built a mid-engine CR-X which is what this casting was based from. This explains the obviously 80’s inspired bodykit with those flares and vents and the rather understated wing. Even though it was inspired by the 80’s, thankfully, the paint job was rather tame. It does come in a bright orange hue, but this is immediately masked by generous swathes of black on the car’s roof, bonnet and lower half. This panda style is another 80’s theme and looks perfect on the CR-X. The black RR8SP wheels also really hit the spot on this car. Not to mention the car portrayed as right-hand drive. These details make it a perfect JDM car. And then you peak into the rear hatch and there is sculpted Mugen motor proudly sitting on top of the rear axles.

’85 Honda CR-X

I still prefer the second generation CR-X in terms of overall appeal. But the attention to detail on this casting is really very well placed. It is a definite keeper for the JDM fans. And it is a keeper for me as well.

Honda S2000

The Honda S2000 is a screaming convertible that was produced by Honda from 1999 to 2009. Under the bonnet was the F20C motor, a 2-liter DOHC-VTEC making about 250 bhp. The motor was in a front-midship configuration with a 9000 rpm redline where the VTEC screams like a banshee. It was one of the highest-rated normally aspirated engines of all time with a 124 HP per liter.

Honda S2000

The Hot Wheels version came out in 2011 and was designed by Ryu Asada. The casting was more of a tuner inspired version rather than an outright scale model of the original. Even by the Club Racer version standards, this Hot Wheels casting takes it to a new level. While there has been no re-tooling of the car since it was released, several versions of it have been going around and what I have for this entry is the Street Tuners version.

Honda S2000 front quarter profile

The Street Tuners was released in 2019 and the S2000 on this series came in a simple silver paint job. However, the casting is an original design that is inclusive of a body kit, a rear wing, front canards, vented hood, and even a front splitter and rear valance. Because of this, the uncluttered look of the plain silver simply accentuates the lines, edges, and bulges of the car. This, together with detailing for the headlights, taillights, emblems, and even the Honda nameplate on the rear, make for a very nice looking car. The black MCRR wheels are also a nice contrast to the rest of the car. This is overall a very nice package for the little Honda.

Honda S2000 rear quarter profile

I do have other versions of this car but this is the best of the bunch so far. A definite keeper, and not just for JDM fans.

TLVN Honda Civic Type R

The introduction of “Neo” in the Tomica Limited Vintage series paved the way for more modern cars in the TLV line up. This is where my first Tomica Limited Vintage Neo car comes in, and it has become an addiction.

The Honda Civic Type R is one of the motoring industries best motor vehicle. The EK9 Type R is based on the Japanese domestic market 3-door Honda Civic SiR hatchback, the EK4. However, to be elevated to the Type R status, some modifications had to be made. The EK9, in particular, is powered by the 1.6L B16B VTEC motor. This motor outputs only a mere 185 PS and 160 Nm of torque but is going to propel a car that only weighs a ton. This car had become every boy racers dream when it came out in 1997. The Type R was a track toy out of the box and it’s tuning possibilities were limited only by your imagination. And how deep your pockets were. But compared to other cars at the time, you didn’t really need very deep pockets.

I never had a Type R. I never had a Honda Civic, period. But this model from Tomica is just hard to pass up. And because I knew that I could never get it in retail shops in Singapore, I ordered online straight from Japan.

And here they are. Two Honda Civic EK9 Type Rs. One in Championship White and the other in Sunlight Yellow. That is if we were to assume that they are based on the actual official colours of the EK9.

As expected of a Tomica Limited Vintage Neo, the details are fantastic. The little Honda comes with plastic headlights and taillights. These come with proper signal markers and really look the part. Other than these, the cars also come with a rear spoiler, the sculpted body kit, and the white Type R wheels with the red H logo on the centre caps. The body is also stamped with the Type R badges at the hatch and the two sides. On the inside, you have red Recaro seats. As with most Tomicas, the suspension also works on this car. I don’t know if it’s just me though, but the quality of the damping seems better on this as well.

This is one of my favourites now. And whether or not they stay out of their box would depend on my mood. And probably whether or not I have space in the display cabinet to put them on. Enjoy the pretty pics.

Honda CR-X

The Honda CR-X is another small Honda that has a significant presence in the racing world. Much like its sister, the Civic, this generation of the CR-X had a reputation for reliability and bonkers performance for a reasonable investment. Hot Wheels also had another CR-X model that was based on the 1985 year model. For 2019, this new CR-X casting is based on the second generation car that was in production from 1988 to 1991.

Like most Hondas, the CR-X stable came in different flavors but the stand out model is definitely the JDM SiR model which was equipped with a VTEC B16A motor producing 150 PS. Weighing less than a ton and gifted with brilliant handling dynamics, this made for an excellent car to toss around the bends.

Like a lot of Hot Wheels’ recent JDM-inspired castings, this CR-X has been designed by Ryu Asada. Once again, props and thanks to this guy who brought us the 2017 GT-R (R35), the Nissan Skyline R30, and Honda S2000 among others.

The first mainline release of the Hot Wheels Honda CR-X is a red and black nostalgic back-to-the-eighties look. The casting made perfect sense with no additional bits and pieces on the casting. This was a pure Honda CR-X slapped on with a set of 5SP wheels. Not that great of a wheelset, but definitely makes sense if this Hot Wheels casting did come out three decades ago. This is a car waiting for a Car Culture release, and that needs to be soon.