Cover Image: Lodahln, CC BY-SA 2.0
Did you know the rarest Hot Wheels car is the one that's named "Python," but says “Cheetah” on the bottom? Here's the reason for the name confusion: Back in 1968, the very first Hot Wheels car was originally called "Cheetah" during development. But when the company discovered a real car with that exact name, they changed it to "Python" to avoid legal trouble. Only about 10 were ever made with the "Cheetah" name, making it the rarest and most valuable Hot Wheels toy car out there.
The real Cheetah that caused Hot Wheels to change the toy’s name? I am here to tell you the story. Believe you me, there's a lot to process. Here we go.
Conception, Design, and Build
The real Cheetah was an American sports car that used only USA-made components, built by race car builder Bill Thomas between 1963 and 1966. Thomas got the support of Vince Piggins, then head of the GM Performance Product Group, to develop the Cheetah as a concept vehicle. Private investors financed the project, and parts were supplied from Chevrolet, such as the 327 Corvette engine, NASCAR-spec Chevrolet brakes, and other bits and pieces from the GM parts bin.
Image: Mr.choppers, CC BY-SA 3.0
The body and design came together based on the simple drawings of Thomas's head fabricator, Don Edmunds. The drawings only stated the crucial measurements of the parts under the Shell, so the design process was nothing Professional. Although Bill Thomas' company was focused on race cars, the Cheetah was never intended to be a competition machine. It was instead a cruiser, and a showcase of the level of work Thomas' company was capable of, to score additional contract work from General Motors.
However, in the construction process, Thomas had a change of plans and thought the car could also compete in races. The car wasn't designed for racing initially, so the chassis was not rigid enough for competition. This was to be found out later on.
After California Metal Shaping built the first two prototypes in aluminum, the production models used fiberglass bodies. Initially, two companies produced test bodies: Fiberglass Trends and Contemporary Fiberglass, and Bill Thomas chose the latter to proceed with the production.
The body looked cartoonish because the engine sat so far back on the chassis. The nose was endlessly long, the cabin entry was through gull-wing doors, and the rear end was basically nonexistent. But the awkward shape and the engine placement resulted in almost a 50:50 weight distribution, close to a mid-engine sports car. The sacrifice was driver comfort (or safety, in that matter): The hand-made headers were so close to the driver's and passenger's legs that it resulted in a very hot cabin under hard driving. Another reason the car was fundamentally not suitable for racing.
Persistence for Racing and Limited Victories
Even though they were not suitable for racing, some cars were used on racetracks for competition. Most of them were unlucky, but the third-produced car, owned by Ralph Slayer, was raced in the 1964 Challenge Cup at Daytona in the '64-'65 season. The car was converted to a roadster and won 11 events in the season, becoming the only successful Cheetah in motorsports.
Image: Matthew Lamb, CC BY-SA 2.0
The main reason the Cheetahs weren't good at racing was their handling characteristics. The car was originally designed as a concept and lacked the chassis rigidity to cope with the high-speed weight transfer in winding race tracks. Besides the chassis not being on par, the Corvette-derived suspension was also not engineered for competition, rendering the car simply difficult to handle on the track.
However, aside from handling, the car's straight-line speed was almost unmatched—few cars could catch it on the long straights, thanks to its fuel-injected Chevrolet small-block V8 and featherweight body.
Demise and Ongoing Legacy
Racing rules in the USA changed in 1964. Until then, builders and manufacturers needed to produce 100 cars to homologate for racing. But in '64, that became 1000, and GM decided they would no longer support the Cheetah Project. True mid-engine race cars were dominating the racetracks anyway.
Another major reason that killed the project was the fire that destroyed Bill Thomas' factory in Anaheim, CA, in 1965. He decided to end the Cheetah and move on to other projects. However, one last Cheetah (ordered in late 1965) was completed and delivered in early 1966.
Thomas allowed Fiberglass Trends, one of the two companies he commissioned for the initial test bodies, to continue with the body production. Fiberglass Works offered the Cheetah under the name G.T.R., with the prominent A-pillar being the only major design difference. The Fiberglass Works G.T.R.s were offered well into the 80s, and they were used for drag racing, making good use of the car's straight-line speed.
There is no official information on how many original Bill Thomas Cheetahs were made. Besides the first two aluminum-bodied cars, Bill Thomas delivered nine production Cheetahs. It is known that 33 fiberglass bodies are believed to have been made, and Thomas and Edmunds constructed 19 chassis. It is completely unknown how many of these bodies and chassis were used as spare parts or replacements for racing Cheetahs.
Collector Status and Modern Replicas
It is rare to see an original Cheetah surface in the classic market, but it demands over half a million bucks when one pops up. However, a company based out of Grafton, Ohio, named Cheetah Evolution offers custom-built-to-order Cheetahs, and they even offer body-only or complete kits if you're a hardcore DIY-er. They offer all the creature comforts, custom interiors, air-conditioning, and, of course, a crate LS engine under the hood, because, you know, LS is always the answer.
Pricing starts as low as $9,500 for the body-only DIY package and $65,000 for the complete DIY kit. There is no official information on the price of a complete finished build, but currently the company lists one finished Cheetah replica for sale for $75,000. There is also a bright orange one that was recently sold at a Bring A Trailer auction for $65,000.
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Images: Bring A Trailer
Just as the rarest and most valuable Hot Wheels toy car, the remaining original Bill Thomas Cheetahs only appreciated in value. The whole project was aimed at the Shelby Cobra, but nothing went as smoothly as planned. This is precisely what the classic car market loves: When a story is sad enough, the prices will only go up.
Oh, and the Cheetah being a rare piece of American motorsports history? That's quite a rational reason, too.
