This year marks the 100th-anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 and Mattel will be making its mark on the day with a spectacular stunt being coined as “Fearless at the 500". Approximately 1 hour before the start of the race, a custom built 1:1 scale vehicle will be released from a nine story, live size Hot Wheels track.

The track itself is being placed in the infield area of the speedway’s fourth turn and will take approximately 3 weeks to construct. An artist’s rendering of the track and tower can been seen to the right. The identity of the truck’s driver will remain unknown until the completion of the stunt at which point it will be revealed. The stunt itself has been designed to be a record breaking jump of 302 feet with a landing area somewhere near the speedway’s short chute near turns three and four.

Promotional tickets with prime seating for the stunt in the grandstand facing the landing are being offered up for $80 and $90. The ticket package includes a Hot Wheel replica, discounts and a $5 coupon for IMS merchandise.

Check out the teaser video below.

Those who have to deal with a daily commute to and from work probably notice new billboards every now and then, but tend to ignore them as time goes on. However, citizens of Bogata, Columbia certainly won’t be able to ignore this amazing new life-sized loop-de-loop that was constructed on an overpass.

The idea was for the billboard was conceived by ad giant Ogilvy and Mather’s Columbia branch. Its curious that South America was chosen for the debut location, but certainly doesn’t make it any less cool!

Attendees of the first-ever Canadian Diecast Convention will now have one more exciting event to attend as the 1:1 scale Hot Wheels Ford Mustang Color Shifter will be making at stop in Niagara Ontario on Saturday, September 11th.

The Mustang is covered in the very same thermochromatic paint that is used on 1:64 scale Hot Wheels Color Shifters and will change from blue to white when exposed to hot or cold water. The Mustang’s appearance is part of a cross-country tour that stops at more than 50 festivals and events across Canada to promote the Hot Wheels Color Shifter products.

This event will give convention goers and children a chance to water down the full-size car and see its color change before their very eyes. Perhaps even Hot Wheels Designer Larry Wood will get a chance at shooting the water canon at it!

Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this fantastic new event at the first-ever Canadian Diecast Convention coming to the Sheraton at the Falls on September 9-12, 2010! Information on tickets and accommodations for the convention can be found on ToyCarConventions.com.

Its been a long time since I’ve featured a picture of someone “out in the wild” showing their love of Hot Wheels, so I was stoked (yeah, I said stoked!) to come across this picture of this awesome 1:1 scale Hot Wheels pickup! Special thanks to Loretta Parker for snapping the picture and sharing it on Facebook!

Have you seen someone proudly displaying their love of Hot Wheels? Reach out to me via the contact form and we can share your picture with the rest of the collecting community!

I’m sure those who attended the GMP Experience during the Hotlanta convention would agree that it was quite possibly the highlight of the weekend. The event was spectacular from start to finish. Everything was top notch – from Tom Long’s (GMP’s President) gracious hosting, to delicious the BBQ and the amazing parting gift. Oh, did I mention the cars!?! Attendees got a first-hand look at almost every model that GMP makes. I think more than a few collectors left with a future GMP purchase on their brains! Not too shabby for a $25 premium event!

If that weren’t enough, the trip also included a side excursion to Milton Robson’s private 1:1 scale car collection. Getting a first-hand look at his spectacular award-winning collection of muscle cars and classics was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Here are some photo sets of both the GMP Tour and the side trip to the Robson collection. Enjoy!

The GMP Experience

Milton Robson’s Private Car Collection

Tire manufacturer Dunlop recently teamed up with UK car enthusiast TV show Fifth Gear to accomplish a real life “loop-the-loop” world record – without the use of a safety net! As collectors, we can only reenact this amazing stunt with the help of plastic track and our trusty die-cast cars. It appears that the stunt organizers actually did the same while working out the physics needed to complete the stunt. Here are a few select videos from the series. Visit the official Dunlop “Loop-the-Loop” site for the full run.

The Teaser

Working out the physics

The Stunt

[via dunlop.eu]

Its been a while since I’ve featured a 1:1 scale car here on diecastAUDIO. I introduced the category last year to showcase concept cars that may or may not become production vehicles, but often become miniatures after being picked up by one of the mainstream die cast brands. In fact, the post I did last year about the 2011 Pontiac Trans Am has become one of the most popular posts on the site!

When thinking of James Bond and the all the cars that have appeared in the films, images of BMWs, Lotus Esprits and Aston Martins might come to mind. This time around we’re taking a look at Ford’s new European model, the all-new Ford Ka. The “peppy-looking” little car will make an appearance in the highly anticipated new James Bond film, “Quantum of Solace.” While it might not be a sleek and sexy sports car, its sure to command attention with the film’s leading lady, Olga Kurylenko behind the wheel!

Many of the James Bond cars have been replicated in die cast over the years. Brands such as Corgi, Johnny Lightning and ERTL have all produced replicas of classic Bond rides in a variety of scales. The Ka has a mild amount of sportiness to it in its stock form, and I can almost picture it as a part of a James Bond themed Johnny Lightning release. It might even take on a whole new life with the addition of larger wheels, low-profile tires and a body kit.

Its hard to say if the Ford Ka will ever make it to die cast form. I feel chances are slim that we’ll ever see it come to any of the mainstream brands. What do you think?

Its been quite a while since I’ve done a 1:1 Scale post, and this one certainly makes a fine addition to the category. While out doing errands this past weekend, I spotted this excellent custom Jeep when it cruised by me here in Massachusetts. As it turns out we had the same destination, so I pulled out the camera phone for a quick “photo-op!” As you can see by the second picture, the owner is proudly displaying his love of Hot Wheels! Click either image for a closer view.

If you’ve spotted someone publicly displaying their love of Hot Wheels (or any other diecast for that matter!) we’d love to post about it! Send your pictures and related information to blog [at] diecastaudio.com and we’ll post it up!

As car enthusiasts, we’ve been able to enjoy drawings and photographs of it. As diecast collectors, we’ve been able get our hands on it from manufacturers like Jada Toys and GreenLight Collectibles. Now, AUTOBLOG.COM lets us know what its really like to experience one first hand!

Last week the folks at Autoblog got to spend time with the Hugger Orange hued Camaro Convertible Concept that GM brought out to California. The result is a great article with plenty of juicy “tid-bits” about what will present in the final production run of the car as well as an amazing photo gallery containing 52 shots of the beauty! Click the link below to make the jump over to their site for the full story.

[via autoblog.com]

We know the diecast version rolls – now we get to see the real one in action! Time to save your pennies kids cause there’s 49 of them up for grabs!

[via webridestv.com and the JLFT MySpace Blog]

Poster WLCollector over on HOBBYTALK.COM shares this magazine scan of the new 2011 Pontiac Trans Am. Rumor has it that this concept will be used for a new Knight Rider movie some time in the future!

Use the links below for additional information and pictures.

[via hobbytalk.com]

Since the Hot Wheels version of the Bugatti Veryon is the only one that any of us will probably own, I thought this little piece on someone who owns a real one might be of interest – especially since he destroyed it! Here’s the picture and text from AUTOBLOG.COM:

We only know of one other time a Bugatti Veyron has been wrecked, and that was during the car’s development when a prototype was destroyed doing a high-speed test. There there was the time a preproduction Veyron performed a very public spin-out at Mazda’s Laguna Seca Raceway during the Monterey Historics. These incidents actually delayed the debut of the production car, though perhaps it should have stayed in the oven a bit longer if its designers were worried about stability at speed.

We should end this post with that greatest of car wreck jokes: “Think that’ll buff out?” No. No it won’t.

[via autoblog.com]

Introducing the Toyota FT-HS – a hybrid sports car concept revealed at the 2007 North American International Auto Show. To summarize what this cool concept aims to be you’ll have to imagine having a car that is much faster than a Porsche, Mercedes AMG and any M series car from BMW all while costing just 1/4 the price! This sleak 4-seater sports a retractable roof similar to a targa top, but will essentially reduce to a 2-seater when the top is rolled back.

Toyota hasn’t had a real sports car since 1997′s Supra so this will certainly put them back in the game rather quickly if it ever comes to production. diecastAUDIO is thinking that this will probably make it as a Hot Wheels casting first! More pictures after the jump!

[via trendpimp.com]

Gallery: Dodge Demon Concept

[via autoblog.com]