Hot Wheels 2009 and 2010 Camaro Pace Car's

In the past Mattel has released many various colors and wheel designs for certain models, but when it comes to two different toolings or related designs to switch mid-year it was impossible.  Not anymore!  In 2011 Hot Wheels released two different Nissan Skyline GT-R toolings split by half a year, and in 2010 Hot Wheels released two different pace cars from the same Indy 500 race and the same 2010 Camaro.

The Indinanapolis 500 is an endurance race of 500 miles that started as a dirt road in 1911 leading up to the paved track of today.  Over the years as cars created dangerous and fatal crashes that left other drivers without a clue what was going on until the last minute, Pace Cars were designed to remedy that situation.  The pace cars were designed to lead the pack of race cars from pit lane onto the track to warm up the tires and prepare for racing, to move cars off the track if rain starts, and most importantly to guide the field through the hazdards that come when a caution flag comes out.  Over the years various cars from production to even a few concept cars have paced the field, with most of them sports cars like the Corvette and Camaro.  In 2001 Oldsmobile provided the first SUV pace car for the Indy 500.  Since then General Motors has taken over the pace car duties and every year it seems like the Camaro or Corvette would be pacing the field.  In 2009 it was an honor for Chevrolet to allow their new and revived 2010 Camaro to pace the Indy 500, then again in 2010, and again in 2011 for the convertible model.

The 2009 version was the first release in the 2010 mainline that has silver paint with red bricks that kick up from each wheel and Indy 500 badges on the doors.  The front grille is painted black and I added details to the headlights, rear taillights, and side marker lights to finish it off.  The basic look was similar to the 2009 First Edition release in silver, right down to the same 5-spoke wheels.  The wide stance and deep grille are some of the excellent details on this Camaro casting that migrated from the 2007 concept car.  For the second half in 2010 the same car was used, this time in full red with dual white stripes and Indy 500 badges on the doors.  While the 2010 casting never had this red color, it was used on the recolor of the 2007 concept.  In addition to the badges on the doors smaller badges can also be found below the CAMARO name on the front fenders.  I was disappointed that the blacked-out grille design was not carried over from the silver one so I had to add that detail even if it was a bit sloppy.  Oh, and unlike a few other Camaro's these two were never offered to the public as special pace car models.