Hot Wheels is a brand of toy car. It was first introduced by the American toy company Mattel, Inc., in 1968. Since then, billions of Hot Wheels toys have been sold. The original Hot Wheels were die-cast (molded metal) cars made at 1:64 scale. At this scale, the toy’s length, width, and height are 1/64 that of a real automobile. Hot Wheels were not the first toy car to be made at this size. But, Hot Wheels improved on existing designs. For example, they made use of thin, flexible wire for the axles to reduce friction. This and other improvements enabled the cars to roll faster than competitors and to withstand rougher play. Most Hot Wheels have no internal motors or other means of propulsion. They may be pushed by hand or shot along a plastic racetrack by a mechanical launcher. 
Elliot Handler, one of the co-founders of Mattel, Inc., led the development of Hot Wheels. The cars were created to appeal to young boys, complementing the company’s Barbie doll, which was popular with girls. Handler recognized the appeal of some die-cast toy cars he had purchased on a trip to Europe. Mattel hired Harry Bentley Bradley, a designer for the American car company General Motors, to design its version of the toy. Bradley based his original designs on highly customized muscle cars (high-performance cars with powerful engines). The first 16 cars were unveiled at the 1968 New York Toy Fair.
A wide variety of Hot Wheels cars have been released over the years, and the toys have become popular with collectors. In 2002, Mattel launched The Hot Wheels Red Line Club. The club offers exclusive toy releases and connects collectors around the world. In 2018, Mattel launched the Hot Wheels Legends Tour to mark the toy’s 50th anniversary. The tour is a traveling automobile show at which contestants can compete to have their real-life custom automobiles immortalized as Hot Wheels toys.
