Get Hotcars Premium. Start your free trial today

This Volvo P1800 hotrod gets immortalized as a Hot Wheels model after winning the 2021 Hot Wheels Legend Tour.

Hot Wheels is not only one of the most popular diecast toy makers in the world; the brand created an impact among car enthusiasts and diecast scale model collectors, influencing automotive and pop culture with iconic car designs that also pack high-performance engines under the hood.

Having collaborated over the years with fashion, entertainment, luxury, and motorsports, Hot Wheels drove itself to the top, becoming the #1 selling toy in the world. And with over 8 billion of these toy vehicles sold, the brand has reached the homes of many, thanks to its affordable price range. Hot Wheels engages enthusiasts of all ages via exciting global competitions, world-class digital gaming, theme park attractions, NFTs that sold out in no time, and television content.

After having announced a wild Volvo as last year's winner of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour, that attained 'Legend' status by being immortalized as a diecast car, the Hot Wheels Legends Tour is now looking for more cars in the UK that could eventually be one of the sixteen Hot Wheels cars sold every second, and possibly becoming a part of the remaining 25,000 Hot Wheels cars that have been pulling at the heartstrings of collectors since 1968.

We are going to give you a closer look at the Legends Tour-winning 1969 Volvo P1800 "Ain't No Saint" Gasser hot rod which can now be had as a 1:64 scale Hot Wheels car across 150 countries by the end of the year. Lee Johnstone from the UK, along with his three daughters, were the creative minds behind this wild creation.

Related: These Are Some Of The Coolest Hot Wheels Collections

Lee's Volvo P1800 "Ain't No Saint" Gasser was registered new, back in 1969, but in the hands of a different owner. The 71-year-old custodian (a mechanic by profession) had bought the rusty, old car, and then restored it, modified it, further transforming into a quarter-mile dragster. The Volvo features a Chevrolet 454 big block, capped with a 671 GMC supercharger and double four-barrel carburetors.

It looks beautiful in that shade of Volvo green. It features a custom-made grille, stainless steel headlight covers, no bonnet with its massive large blower sticking out, and four exhausts jutting out of the front fenders, on either sides. At the front, this hotrod gets 10-spoke wheels that are skinner than the chrome wheels at the rear.

The "Ain't No Saint" stickers on the sides are evident, and merely looking at the thing, this is a dragster we can genuinely call pretty, despite its slightly uncanny stance.

It is even reported that Lee's three daughters: Eleanor, Sarah and Victoria, and his wife Sue, can also be found driving around in the car. The wheels are wrapped in Mickey Thompson rubber up-front, and Hoosiers at the rear. The car does indeed, look a bit cartoonish, but that's how a lot of Hot Wheels look, and that's even one of the reasons it qualified as a winner last year.

The car is capable of pulling off a 10-second quarter-mile run. The P1800 Gasser has emerged a winner on and off the track, spanning five continents and now becomes one among the champions, like the inaugural 2018-winning 2JetZ, followed by the 2019-winning The NASH, and then the 2020-winning 1970 Pontiac Firebird.

These cars have certainly made it to the history books, and above all else, to the shelves of Hot Wheels collectors around the globe. Judges on last year's panel included Jay Leno, Henrik Fisker, Mad Mike, Sara Choi, and Mattel's big-wigs, Ted Wu, and Bryan Benedict.

Related: Everything You Need To Know About The Hot Wheels Legends Tour

For a lot of us, Hot Wheels were the only cars we could get our hands on as toddlers, and as we grew up, we understood that most of which were thrown into a toy bin or given away to someone, was pure sacrilege. With the most recent Volvo P1800 Gasser, we are reminded that we must start collecting again!

The Hot Wheels design team will have a few top-notch car industry personalities as judges on the panel. Helen Stanley from Goblin Works Garage and Jonny Smith from The Late Brake Show will be present. Even Ian Callum, the man behind the Jaguar F-Pace and I-Pace, and the Aston Martin DB9 and a lot of other models, will be present too.

The winner of the upcoming event will be announced in October this year. The panel will pick two winners: one overall winner, and the other, a regional finalist. Both the owners' cars will be produced as diecast cars, further giving room for a UK entrant to see his car boxed up as a dinky toy. Entries are open until 31st August 2022.

Source: Hot Wheels UK Legends Tour

Rehan got published for the first time at the age of 17, having written a feature on a Triumph Herald in print. He uses his writing as a tool to express his fondness for all things automotive even today, aged 28. Collecting scale models is a hobby close to his heart, and he wishes to sprinkle pixie dust on them only to see them grow into full-sized cars. He now represents HotCars.com.