HOT WHEELS, LIFE-SIZE

Chevrolet is offering up a life-size Hot Wheels car in its limited
edition Camaro, introduced at a trade show in Las Vegas on Monday. 
This special edition will be available in Canada, the U.S.,
Mexico, Japan, Korea, Europe and the Middle East.

By Aly Thomson, The Canadian Press - An automaker and toy company have teamed up to unleash the inner child in muscle-car-loving adults.

Chevrolet is offering up a life-size Hot Wheels car in its new limited edition Camaro, introduced at a trade show in Las Vegas on Monday.

As part of a $6,995 US upgrade package, the beaming metallic blue car combines the high performance of the Camaro ZL1 with some recognizable mainstays of Hot Wheels dinky cars, including redlined wheels, a thick matte black stripe on its hood and flame graphics, a news release said.

The car -- available with V6 and V8 engines in coupe or convertible -- also features 21-inch wheels, a rear spoiler and black leather interior equipped with red embroidery.

And of course, the famous Hot Wheels logo is brandished throughout the vehicle, including on its front seats, body and grill.

"For it to appeal to the guys who have grown up with the brand of Hot Wheels, it needed to be a little bit flashy," Felix Holst, vice-president of design for Hot Wheels, said from Las Vegas on Monday.

"The designers at (General Motors) really did a phenomenal job of capturing the flare and the excitement that a Hot Wheels car should have in it ...

"The car oozes Hot Wheels performance and attitude and makes a very, very cool statement."

The project which started two years ago, fulfilled many childhood dreams, said Dave Ross, Chevy's design lead for specialty cars.

"The designers really connected to it based on the fact that most of us played with Hot Wheels when we were kids," Ross said from Las Vegas.

"Anybody that's a car guy, anbody that's a Hot Wheels fan, anybody that's a Camaro fan is going to flip out over this car."

The company said the car will only be produced in the first quarter of 2013 and dealers will start taking orders on Thursday.  For Canadian orders, the car will be produced at a factory in Oshawa.

It's not the first time Chevrolet has offered a playful upgrade.

Both the 2010 and 2012 Camaro featured an option for a bright-yellow-clad version of the vehicle made famous by the Autobot Bumblebee in the Hollywood blockbuster Transformers.

The special edition Hot Wheels Camaro will be available in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Japan, Korea, Europe and the Middle East.

The Camaro was one of the original 16 Hot Wheels cars produced in 1968, and remains one of the most valuable of the company's toys among collectors, a news release said.