Hot Wheels Corvette C6.R and C7.R

Here’s another one of those not again moments for Hot Wheels with those chin-up ‘real’ race cars that started with the Lotus Evora GT4.  The Corvette C7.R looks great until you get to the front.  When will the madness end?  When will Hot Wheels start to go back to traditional race cars like the C6R back in 2006?

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Just by looking at the crossed-flags you can tell the Corvette was born for racing, but in fact the Corvette was just another sports car in 1953.  Thanks to Zora Arkus-Duntov’s racing skills he started to change that around by racing Corvette’s in 1956, and it was that experience that improved the Corvette for each and every generation.  Today the Corvette goes after the American LeMans series, as well as the famed Le Mans racing circuit.  Since the C5R the Corvette has been a successful champion, with the C6R continuing the pace and the C7R the latest.

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The Hot Wheels C6R looks great in yellow, silver 2006 recolors or the 2013 Boulevard line with meal base and rubber tires.  The body is nice and smooth, no chins up here!  The hood has a lower cave for the radiator flow exit, larger front grille, separate rear spoiler, quad taillights, revised headlights with larger driving lamps in a yellowish tint, and racing decals on the sides.  Sitting on new OH5 wheels it looks great, if a bit plain.  One of my chief concerns about this casting is the lack of further body details, not to mention the lower bumper looks odd without the foglights.  All Corvette racing models are based on the ZO6.  The interior has only the similar dash layout as the stock C6, modified with a digital gauge cluster, switches in place of the radio, roll cage, and seating for one person.  The engine is a 7.0L V8 modified for racing duty that produces 590 hp. Through a rear-mounted 6-speed auto-manual.  The chassis uses a tube frame with coil-over shocks, and component location changes like the brake master cylinder behind the front seat from optimal weight distribution.

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As the new 2014 C7 Corvette arrived, so does a C7.R race car.  The new one has much sharper curves shared with the C7.  The front headlights use quad lights instead of the single-beam and LED running lights, lower grille that is wider to house brake cooling ducts, and a lower spoiler with the fang cut outs (OH THAT CHIN!!!).  The hood vent for the radiator exit flow is higher and flows with the hood bulge, now part of the interior base. The sides have a few more sharp angles with racing graphics, side exhausts below the doors, wrap-around windows, and fenders that have some odd cuts that make them look unfinished.

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Like it or not the rear spoiler is metal now, while the taillights that are based on the road C7 is much sharper now and joins the lower separate bumper piece with lower lip spoiler.  The wheels are blacked-out and look great on this yellow car.  It is also good to note the rivet mounts for the rear windows and larger rear fender scoops.  While I do like the look of the car, aside from the front chin I think it also looks a bit too small and awkward from some angles.  Like the C6R the interior has the same dashboard as a stock C7 with the gauges and radio removed for racing switches and digital gauges and room for only one driver.  Note that the passenger area gets more racing gear than the C6R despite losing the rollcage for cost reasons at Mattel.

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The C7R uses the same tube frame, suspension, and component central layout as the C6R, with added improvements, to a 6-speed automated manual.  The big difference is the racing engine to the road ZO6 car: Due to racing regulations on engine size and restrictions on blown engines, the C7.R uses a 5.5L naturally-aspirated V8 that produces 491 upgradable horsepower.  So for the first time the race car lags to the production car, as well as this Hot Wheels C7.R to the C6.R despite the added body lines.