Is this your new favourite toy?

The 2023 Hot Wheels Legends Tour has been run and won, with New Zealand’s Chris Watson winning over the judges with his custom 1990 Mazda Miata (aka MX-5).

Known as ‘The Cyberpunk’ Wilson’s homemade Mazda is far from stock and impressed the local judging panel that including Australian rally star Molly Taylor and New Zealand drift legend, ‘Mad’ Mike Whiddett. Wilson and The Cyberpunk will now compete in the Global Semi-Final for the right to be turned into a 1:64 scale Hot Wheels toy.

Wilson made the car himself specifically with the Hot Wheels contest in mind, saying: “everything on this car has been hand made by me in my shed in rural Northland NZ. I started out by designing the ‘Kaido Racer’ inspired fender flares along with my own 15x10j turbofan wheels. From here I’ve been constantly evolving it over the years and the latest additions have been the custom fastback and carbon fibre shark fin spoiler and the cyberpunk rear light bar.”

It worked with the judging panel praising his efforts in creating a unique and interesting car that can translate to a toy and become a favourite with kids and collectors alike.

“It’s such a cool take; everytime you look at it, you see a new detail and I hope that can all translate into a die-cast,” Taylor said. “They’ve made it look like it’s almost alive…it’s kind of ugly and kind of pretty. The way the styling has been done is loud and subtle at the same time… and I absolutely love it.”