The clamoring for an Exotic-themed set has been loud since the very beginning of the Car Culture Series. We are now at the third Exotic Envy set, but have we seen the set collectors really want? Let's have a look.
The thing I personally would most want out of a supercar set would be use of new/rare castings of weird supercars. Bring back the Vector W8, newly revamped Veyron, Maserati MC12. Make a 911 GT1 Straßenversion or road-going 959 since Porsche's so hot, or something else interesting like a Cizeta V16T, Spyker, Weissmann, Lexus LFA, the possibilities are endless. When are they going to make a new Lamborghini Diablo casting? There hasn't been one since the badly proportioned '90s one was retired in 2003.
Lexus LFA Great suggestion! Diablo as well...unreal they haven't redone that casting!!! And a nice 959 without huge wheels. Seems like they aren't putting much effort into the supercars.
just like the f n f black aventador, and dark knight, but they gave it wider rear wheels in the 2 pack. the simplest solution is to use the wide wheels in the back
Hey Lamley any chance you could talk or convince Mattel to open up an online store for premiums or hard to find sets. It’s a pain in the butt to always hit up a Walmart or target only to see empty pegs or some scalper running off with only case that store decides to order. I know hobby dealers are a thing, but sometimes there prices can get a little outrageous.especially with hot ticket items.
My ideal Exotic Envy set (using castings that already exist so they could potentially make it): 1. Bugatti Bolide 2. Lamborghini Countach LPI-800-4 3. Koenigsegg Gemera 4. McLaren Elva 5. Pagani Zonda R
man I just wish they did the Reventon in that signature matte grey that all the real ones came in. All 35 of the real Lamborghini Reventons are matte grey - never really been too keen on diecasts of super limited production cars done in colours which none of the real examples of said car have ever been painted in
The first 2 mixes of Exotic Envy were pretty good! This one… misses the mark. Exotic are my absolute favorite and between weird casting choices and… “unique” decos I’m not planning to get any of this new mix. Maybe the McLaren if I find it on pegs… but normally I order a whole case for Exotic Envy
I think Lamley makes a good point about the lack of Chrome/polished wheels that would look great on these ehh castings. The black/plain silver wheels look great on JDM. But that Mclaren in the Jay Leno set and this one would have been a home run with polished wheels. Just like that green Lambo in EE1.
I'm still waiting for like a 90's supercar set or like an FIA GT1 set with the Mercedes CLK GTR, Nissan R390 going premium, Porsche 911 GT1, McLaren F1, and like a new/updated casting like Lotus Elise GT1 or Diablo GTR.
Was replying to someone else that it's a fictitious decoration for that model, but it really does suit the car well. Eighteen were made & they were all mostly red, with one in blue. I will confess when the set was launched last year, I couldn't have cared less about the Tipo33 Stradale, but it's a nice model I've come to appreciate. That entire set from last year has been their only good one of the three EEs so far.
Any of the car selection suggestions in the comments of this video are better than what Mattel has come up with in this series. The most disappointing part for me is the lack of new castings or new to premium. With all the new exotics models they have been churning out in the mainline, you would think that they would have thought to bring some of them to this set, make it more current. But nope.
I agree, this misses the mark. A few of the cars seem out of place and don't fit the theme just like you outlined. Now, were I to have my pic, I'd swap out the M1 Procar (which is a great cast, but a Group 5 touring car isn't an exotic) for something hot and new like the Rimac Nevera. It needs some serious metal love to set it apart from the regular mainline variant. I saw another comment above saying about the Vector W8 TT, and that definitely would be a fantastic candidate (if the licensing isn't FUBAR, guessing it is since he passed away.) The Aston looks okay, fits the theme, wheels look silly. Too bulbous. When is the last time we saw the Saleen S7...?
Hey Mattel, these pieces cost more and the company could make a whole lot more money if you made more of these specials and could actually be found in stores or your website. In northern California, it is impossible to get any of these. Mainlines are almost impossible to get.
From this latest set, I would say the only one I like (& was fortunate enough to find last week) is the "Bean" McF1. Looks great in that maroon too. At a push, the M1 is one I might consider, but the rest aren't anything I would sweat over.
None of the real 18 Stradale cars were produced in that colour. Most of them were red (naturally) & one blue. As you quite rightly point out, it DOES suit that fictional livery well.
Hopefully, by Exotic Envy 2025, Mattel will finally have either the Ferrari license back or they'll finally sublicense a Ferrari or two from whichever diecast manufacturer it is that will have the license next year. This is the first Exotic Envy set that seems like it might be worth buying the "Shipping Cointainer" set should I never see it in stores, which is very likely. The highlight for me is the BASF BMW M1 Procar since BASF is an iconic livery that I don't think we've ever seen as a Hot Wheels before.
Chrome or matte silver D7RR wheels would have been a better choice for the M1 Procar, same ones as the Cars & Donuts release. In general, Mattel needs to lay off these RREURO wheels, the huge lip works on only a few vintage racing castings. Completely agree with the sentiment about matte black wheels, they cheapen most cars, and that's the antithesis of Exotic Envy.
I feel they really missed the mark with this set if I'm honest. It seems overall a little... inconsistent. I actually loved mix 2 because of the Essenza and the EB110.
Not a bad set,I being a little older think of exotics as the Alfa Type 33,Porsche 356,Jaguar D Type, Lamborghini Muira and Mercedes 300SL all HW castings,with Lamborghini Reventon,Bugatti's etc as being Supercars,previous cars are now classics and therefore exotic
The best group of cars for this imo would be the: Lamborghini Aventador SV Rimac Nevera Bugatti Bolide Porsche 718 spyder Ferrari F40 And the chase car would be the Rimac in black.
My problem with Car Culture sets is paying $7 average per car. I love collecting but they keep making the same castings with different liveries. I've just started collecting the model I like now instead of the whole sets. Same with the mid-premium ( $3 average)
I've said it before and I'll say it again......we need more Real Riders tooled up. That's very evident especially with Exotics. Many of the wheels in these first three sets just don't work. If we had better wheels for some of these that would just change many of these from Meh to Great. Wheels are a very important part of the look and aesthetics of not only real cars, but diecast cars as well. It can make or break the look of the entire car.
The rear wheels on the Lamborghini Reventon look to be small wheels compared to the rear. They don't fill the wheel wells out like the front does. Had I l not paused to make a comment, I would have learned why it looks the way it does. Never Mind.
This is a 2024 set, you can tell based on the purple banner on the bottom on the card. Pretty dreadful mix to be honest, was super stoked when I heard the Reventon was coming to Premium. But man, not only are the axels disappointing, but the orange does not fit. That car was designed to be a fighter jet, in matte grey for the coupe and silver for the roadster. Any other colour is fantasy in my book. Not a fan.
My ideal Exotic Envy set based on all Hot Wheels released so far (minus Ferrari) is: 1. Koenigsegg Jesko (or a new Model Koenigsegg Gemera) 2. Lamborghini Reventon/Veneno 3. McLaren P1 4. Porsche 918 5. Bugatti Veyron For the new model, they can add: Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Bugatti W16 Mistral Bugatti Centodiecci Cadillac Ciel Concept Koenigsegg CCXR Koenigsegg 1:ONE Lamborghini SC18 Mercedes Maybach S-Class Mercedes Project ONE Mercedes AMG GT Black Series Pagani Huayra BC Pagani Utopia Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta Pagani Zonda F
If Mattel really wanted to master the Exotic Envy series, they would have to bring back the licensing agreement with Ferrari. Imagine what Ferraris can be on there, like the F40 & 50, SF90, Enzo, the list goes on.
The best set brand-wise would be (assuming good castings): 1 Bugatti, 1 lambo, 1 McLaren, 1 koenigsegg, and 1 Pagani. None of the racing deco nonsense just modern, high performance/price super cars
I liked the 1st set best, but I didn’t like the sennas colour much. Looked a bit like plastic to me. 2nd was cool too. Loved the Essenza 3rd is meh for me.
This is by far the weakest set for me. Want I wanna see for the next set are: 1. the new Bugatti Veyron casting from Fast and Furious 2. Lamborghini Sesto Elemento in matte black 3. McLaren P1 in burnt orange or volcanic yellow 4. Lamborghini Aventador Miura Homage in black and gold 5. Koenigsegg Jesko The Bugatti Bolide would be great as well!
'Exotic' is such a loose word, they really need to dial in the focus a bit more. As it is there's something for everyone but few people are going to be into every one. Are we doing high value legendary racing cars (BASF M1, '71 911)? Are we doing classic supercars(F1)? Are we doing modern track toys (AM V12 Speedster)? Are we doing super limited run rare cars (Reventon Roadster)? What about modified super cars like the LBWK Huracan/R35 GTR? Or even how about original HW designs like the El Segundo Coupe, Dimachinni Veloce, Glory Chaser, La Fasta? All these are given values of 'exotic' and you could pull enough together to make a 5-piece set. EDIT: Also the greatest thing they could do for exotics is to get the Ferrari licence back again, like them or not it can't be denied that the lack of Ferrari leaves a massive hole in any exotic collection.
You say the rims on the BMW aren't bad but for me personally, I can't stand those plain cheap "premium" rims. They are the ugliest ones imo 😆 Also the Aston would've been better in plain Jane, this dots just don't work for me either. What are those about anyways? I think the first set was best so far
Exotic Envy has been disappointing because of the cars they have chosen in these mixes, the colors/decos they have chosen, and also some of the castings just aren't up to par. I definitely expect that to change with Ron Wong now at the helm. He loves the exotics, so I certainly expect to see some more accurately done exotic castings being done going forward.
Im going to continue to say this unitl adressed, but is mattel cheaping out on tampos!? The new premiums look cooked with their granny ass decals....please Lamley ask someone at mattel cause this is some bs.
Honestly the premium chase models are all very boring.. All black cars.. You have lots of non chase cars that are painted all black, the only thing that makes it special is simply because hot wheels says it is a "chase car". They should've done something else to make it actually special chase car.. Maybe like use spectraflame black or metal wheels or something. Moving parts maybe?
Car culture hasn’t delivered in the past couple of years. Repeat castings and theme’s, poor distribution, and now the whole “it’s gold” thing is just stupid. Mattel really needs to just focus more on quality than quantity. Porsche looks like an adventure force car. Only one I’d have any interest in is the Procar
Not only do some need better wheels but also need side mirrors when they are not there. I quit buying any casting from any maker that does not have side mirrors.
I think this is the most disappointing Exotic Envy set so far. Only 2 out of the 5 cars (Aston and McLaren) really score good points for being "exotic" AND being good castings along with it. The others don't really do it.
