Fss..
Sounds like you got a great deal on the Lary's Garage cars.Too bad they didnt make a shelby cobra 427 inn that line... I know Larry personally , and those cars truely represent his Favorite rides , some of which are his personal ones.Last year , i had the distinct honor and pleasure to have gone on Hot Wheels 40th Anniversary Road trip last year.
I had sold a Hot Wheels collection i had , and bought my Superformance Cobra with some of the Proceeds about 9 years ago.Well , fast forward to last year , and the HW's team had heard of my story , and had their
PR firm call me to see if i would like to join their caravan across country last year.Well , without any hesitation at all , i packed up the old girl and headed out from Tenn to El Segundo Ca , and met up with the HW's Design staff and headed out for 3 weeks across the country.
We started the tour with a stop at Bonneville Salt Flats where we were met with Loads of HW fans and fellow Hot Rod nuts , and had a Great time.Then we headed off to Speed Ks (Town of only 50 , YES , 50 people...) where 10,000 people showed up and perticipated in a Day of Hot Wheels events , and a Car show.Thats where i had the Biggest surprise , HW's had arrainged to have me come up on stage where everyone sand Happy Birthday to me , of which i turned 44 that day.
After that , we headed out to Indiannpolis and stopped and the Indy 500 track , where we had another day long HW event and thousands of people again showed the love of HW's.While there , the Indy staff treated us to a trip around the track , and then..... The BIGGEST surprise , they let us Kiss the Bricks and stand at the Winners podium.WOW!!! was that an eventfull day...
Then , we packed up the 3 tractor trailers and RV , and headed out to the Motor City , where we had another Great turn out for the HW event that was held at Fords Proving ground test facility.Boy , did Ford step up with be such wonderful hosts....After there, we headed out to Watkins Glen NY , where Hot Wheels was going to be the Host of the 60th Anniversary of the Glen , and in combination with HW's 40th anniversary , we helped celebrate 100 years of Racing and Auto Racing at one of the most Famouse tracks in the World.
I bet , there must have been 50,000 people there that day.We had one H*** of a great time there.After the event , i had the pack the old Cobra head back to Tenn.But, when i left , i headed straight into a Huricaine , and 16 hrs of non stop water and much flooding of the inside , but i too it slow , and made it home just fine.
I was the only Non Hot Wheel employee that went the entire 6800 miles in my own car.I was with the HW team everyday , every moment for 3 weeks... BOY , it wasd so much fun , and.... Then i had the 2nd BIGGEST honor to come to me and SPF086 , While at Watkins glen , the President and Head Design team for Mattels Hot Wheels brand asked me if they could replicate my SPF into a 1 off hand made HW , to Thank ME (?) for going on the tour....
Well , to be very honest , i never really thought they would ever do something THAT cool , well.... 4 days before Christmas of last year , and HUGE box came for me from the Head designer at Mattels HW's line , in it , were 4 , Hand made , 1 off EXACT replicas of my SPF , right down to the Licensee plate , color ( Guardsman Blue w/White stripes) , all my logos , and even (This is the Best part) replicated the Superformance Logo on my windshield and the part where it says, "Dedicated to the Memory of Bob Olthoff"...
3 of the cobras they made were for 3 of my children , 1 was for me.The 3 for the kids were in , individual lexan cases , and the 1 for me was in a Big Lexan case , with Everyones signature from Mattel and the Hot Wheels team... All that for me just wanting to show Mattel , what they have done for me , and thousands of other kids thru the years..They also sent me 3 , 1:18 scale Ferrari Elite Prototypes and a letter about them and the Cobras they made for me.
Not sure about why they sent the Ferraris ( So , if anyone would like to add some VERY Rare Ferraris to your collection , get ahold of me..) but it was a great gesture just the same.Now , you have to understand , this is the 2nd time , my SPF was replcated by a Toy company.Back in 2005 , Johnny Lightning replicated my SPF in one of their lines called "American Beauties" after winning one of their 1:1 car shows at the 05 JL convention i went to.
So , should you ever get onto E-bay and see the Johnny Lightning American Beauties line listed , look for the Blue cobra... Thats mine.The line ran for about a year , till they retired the line , but every "Top up" cobra from 2005 on , is patterned after my SPF... So i have had the VERY BIG honor of having 2 , Die cast companies replicate my SPF into a Toy...
The HW's and JL's that i kept are from the late 60's ( 1968-1984) thru the mid 80's.But , all i collect now are strictly Cobra 427 die casts or models , and then the cars from my childhood....
So , should anyone have any Old HW's , or HW play sets , please contact me as i would love to put them into my private collection. The 1:18 ( 3 ) Ferrari Elite Prototypes i have available are a F430 Challenge car (#28-Bruno Senna ) , a Black Michael Schumacher FXX and a Red FXX Evoluzione.All are Boxed and in MINT condition.
Take care everyone...
Frank