(Mattel, 1968) An extremely rare vintage Hot Wheels store display from the legendary toy line’s inaugural year of manufacture, featuring the complete “Sweet 16” set of Redline cars produced by Mattel. Released to immediate popularity, Hot Wheels have been ubiquitous since their debut in 1968. Unlike the more faithful scale models of everyday vehicles produced by Matchbox, Hot Wheels drew on the eye-catching designs coming out of the California car customizer scene. This innovative design was coupled with superior performance thanks to a torsion bar suspension, low friction wheel bearings, mag wheels, and slick tires, which allowed Hot Wheels to leave their competitors in the dust. Consisting of a multi-tiered cardboard Mid-Century auto show style display, the first row of cars are arrayed under arches printed with their model names, the second tier are arranged on a stage with model names printed below, and three cars sit on platforms, one on either side of the structure and one at the pinnacle. The cars include Beatnik Bandit, Custom Barracuda, Custom Camaro, Custom Corvette, Custom Cougar, Custom Eldorado, Custom Firebird, Custom Fleetside, Custom Mustang, Custom T-Bird, Custom Volkswagen, Deora, Ford J-Car, Hot Heap, Python, and Silhouette. The display measures an impressive 10"x26" and 9" deep and is in very fine condition, with minor reinforcement repairs made to the platforms and a new plastic cover applied for a stunning clear presentation. This rare store display is nearly impossible to find in any condition, with one such as this surviving as a true relic of Hot Wheels history. This item may require special shipping arrangements, please inquire for details and estimates.