HotWheels "Elite" series 1:43 Ferrari F1 Cars

I have till now all the La Storia's. And they stopped a couple of years ago. Do they stop again?? If anyone has an update about this please give us the (bad) news!!!

 

The La Storia did not stop two years ago. Last model came out about 2 months ago, if that.

 

The La Storia line has always been a huge endeavor. The first Vitesse run was slated for about 50 cars, but stopped at 14. Then Mattel made 5 cars around 2001/02 and stopped. Now IXO has the line, but may stop short of the 50 or so planned due to licensing. If IXO does stop, I think it would be hard for anyone to pick it up and make all of the ones planned, since it takes a few years (actually more than a few) to get them all out on the market. Mattel seems focused on 1:18, and I do not think they would do the entire project. I think it would be feasible and (in my opinion) more attractive, if they did away with the unique boxes that Vitesse and IXO used. Less effort in the packaging and more in the cars. Though I do like the small booklets that both included with the cars. Some dealers took payment for the entire run of IXO, so they may be refunding a lot of money.

Maybe Mattel will have the IXO factory make the rest of the La Storia cars under Hot wheels, but I don't think so. A couple of dealers said they have not been great sellers, mostly due to the expense of the fancy box.

I do not want to see IXO lose all of thier Ferraris. I have all of the street and LeMans ones and a few of the new La Storia ones (but hate the boxes), and really like the cars they choose.

Time will tell.

 

Orobably most of what you say is true. However I don't believe the boxes have anything to do with how fast the models are coming out. IXO came out with so many never before released street cars in such a short period of time, yet they came out with only 12 F1 cars. I personally love the boxes and I think they were a really clever touch. Imagine if you have all the F1 cars to date. You would have a great "library". I hope that the licensing issues are not going to affect the IXO line and they are going to finish what few have attempted before, but no one could finish.

 

Is there an elite series for the Hot Wheels 1:43 F1's? I've been collecting the Hot Wheels racing series Ferrari F1's in 1:43 and was under the impression there is only one set of these quality wise.

 

I think the "book" boxes are unique, but I don't care for them since I can't see the cars, but I did buy some of the cars I really like. It would be impressive to have them all, if someone can conquer that task. I don't think the boxes slowed down production, but sure raised the price. It is interesting that they churn out the street and LeMans cars much faster than the La Storia. The street and LeMans are unique new castings, but the F1 cars are the same list as the original La Storia, so I would not be suprised if there is some Vitesse in them (either blueprints or moulds). And who owns the "La Storia" name and logo? I just looked at my Andretti, and it only says Hot Wheels on the inner and outer boxes. The only IXO logo is on the bottom of the car. Maybe there is hope still.

Speaking of boxing, the street cars now have different bases, almost like Kyosho flat ones, and the cars are now mounted at an angle.

 

There was a mention of 1:43 Elite in another thread, but nothing official. Right now only the standard current Ferrari F1 cars and La Storia. Minichamps still makes 1:43 F1s but no Ferraris.

 

So from the link in the last post I see here, I can expect that now we are going to have crappier cars without the cool boxes for just $5 less. I would much rather have the better models from IXO in a cool box and pay just $5 extra.
And about not liking the boxes because you like to display your models..... Well you either display your models or you keep them in their boxes.
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Those are the the same ones in the original Vitesse list and the IXO list...third time's a charm. Maybe a combination of all three attempts will get the complete series.

 

Just for fun and nostalgia, here are the original 14 La Storia (bottom rows), 4 Mattel releases (on top), and the Schumacher release (for 5 total Mattel), which only said La Storia on the cardboard box.

LSF 01 FERRARI 500 F2 Ascari GP France 1952
LSF 02 FERRARI 312T Lauda GP Monaco 1975
LSF 03 FERRARI 156 Bandini GP Monaco 1962
LSF 04 FERRARI 641 Prost GP Grande Bretagne 1990
LSF 05 FERRARI 312 T Regazzoni GP Etats Unis 1976
LSF 06 FERRARI 375 Gonzalez GP Grande Bretagne 1951
LSF 07 FERRARI 625 Gonzalez GP Grande Bretagne 1954
LSF 08 FERRARI F93 A Alesi GP Italie 1993
LSF 09 FERRARI 500 F2 Ascari GP Grande Bretagne 1953
LSF 10 FERRARI 156 Hill GP Italie 1961
LSF 11 FERRARI 312 T2 Lauda GP Allemagne 1977
LSF 12 FERRARI F1-89 Mansell GP Brésil 1989
LSF 13 FERRARI 625 Trintignant GP Monaco 1955
LSF 14 FERRARI 312 T3 Reutemann GP Etats Unis 1978
HW50215 DINO 246
HW50216 312 F1
HW50217 312 B2 F1
HW50218 126 C2 F1
HW55572 F1-2000 SCHUMACHER
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All of the originals were Vitesse / Onyx / Quartzo models except the Schumacher, which was Mattel. I think the new ones will not be very "Elite" and mostly castings that already exist. Still the originals were not too bad. In fact, my IXO SF07/71, 312B2 Mario ANDRETTI 1971 German GP Nurburgring looks the same as my Mattel La Storia HW50217 312 B2 F1, just a number "5" instead of "4".

 

BBR <---------> IXO
200 euro's <----> 35 euro's.

Well see the difference ;-) It's like a Fiat Panda compared to a BMW 7 series

 

IXO lost its sub license from Mattel. 1:43 diecast will now be made by Mattel.

 

The announced Elite and the announced IXO are the same cars...I think IXO will be making them for Mattel.

 

Will IXO continue production on Ferrari´s or not?
I am confused...

 

I think your comparison is a little extreme. It is more like a Rolex and a Cityzen. There are crappy Rolexes that you pay for the name and they are great Cityzens that don't cost that much. It is the same with the BBRs. There are some pretty crappy models they made in the past, that still hold up thir price just because of the name and because they are rare. Do you really believe that the UT Ferrari355s that cavalino models sells for $250 are better or equal to the CMC models you can find for less?
Ixo has made some great models that look just fantastic. Not quite like a BBR of later years but definitely not that much worse.

 

Seems like one of those threads where everyone has an opinion on the matter but no hard facts.
I know that the 1:43 1966 Batmobile was ended about 10 months ago, and have heard more and more that 1:18 scale cars will be focused on more by Mattel in 2008. This is due to lack of interest from big retailers and the demand Hot Wheels is getting for better and more 1:18 scale cars.
If they would stop the build of such a famous car (the Batmobile) in 1:43, I would bet Ferrari and any other 1:43 they had plans to make are going to be pushed back as well.

 

Comparing the market potential of a Batmobile which would attract mostly American comic book geeks, with the market for Ferrari models which attract anyone from collectors and owners to 1st graders worldwide, is pushing it at the best.
By the way here are some facts for you guys. The whole hoopla about the license for Kyosho and everyone else actually started with IXO. They were the reason behind it. The '96 F1 of MS that they released under the "La Storia" collection had Marlboro markings printed on their rear wings. Then they had just a little sticker kind of covering, which could be easily rubbed/peeled off. The Marlboro/Ferrari guys found out and chewed up Mattel as the models were released under their sub-license. So Mattel was in a heep of a trouble and wants to stop all sublicensing. I would really be surprised if IXO continues to make the F1 cars.
I think that the "La Storia" collection would go under HW name and IXO (at best) are going to continue making the road cars (lets hope).

 

Hope so, too. Just got the latest batch; the TR and Auto Avio are excellent. It does look like the Kyosho 1:43s have dried up, though.