1/16/20 20/100 1933 Ford Coupe

Now to something totally different for the Matchbox brand ever since it was acquired by Mattel in 1997 and one of its new relative brands is Hot Wheels who tends to do more hot rod stuff.  Then in 1998 Matchbox released this 1933 Ford Coupe hot rod and what a stunner it has been.  The purple clean look really looks good with the chrome engine and front end and those Goodyear racing tires originally developed for race cars in the Matchbox line back in the 1980’s.  The chrome grille is where the headlights mount, the V8 motor has lots of detail from the supercharger down to the exhaust headers that lead to the sides of the vehicle, to the clean cab profile with slight rake and rather plain rectangular taillights at the rear.  It’s a looker for sure!  One must wonder about the base with the exhaust leading out to the rear:  was it intentional or was it a mistake?  The interior has a typical bench and flat dashboard with steering wheel, but nothing impressive, while performance is good despite the lowered front-end knicking the curbs.  In 2018 the ‘33 Ford Coupe went for a massive overhaul that went for a more saltflat racer look with covered engine, lower headlights, rounder grille, and knobby rear tires, yet the car got smaller and more nimble meaning fun to toss in the corners and the interior has unexpected lovely details.  Even though the new ’33 Ford Coupe is better than this old one, you can’t replace the engine details and hot rod look of the classic.

Specifications:

· Engine: 221 CID V8 est.

· Transmission: 4-speed manual est.

· 0-60 mph: 5.0 sec. est.

· Real vehicle price: #8,000 est. 1999

Rating:  4.8 out of 5 stars