Chevrolet Camaro Hot Wheels concept

The Koreans starred, the Japanese mounted a comeback, and One Ford hit the headlines with an extended family of Focus-based newcomers that it is certain to make a big hit in Australia. But it was one car and the commitment of its company chief that made the most impact as America fought back on the opening day of the 2011 North American International Motor Show.

Chevrolet makes toys for grown ups who believe they can act like kids, so the combination should produce an enthusiast's dream car.

Chevrolet and Hot Wheels have created a life-size concept that revisits the motor show circus in Detroit this week after its first showing at last year's debut at the SEMA show in Las Vegas.

The Camaro Hot Wheels concept is inspired by Hot Wheels' Custom Camaro, the finger-sized Spectraflame 1:64-scale toy that was part of the original 16 Hot Wheels cars released in 1968. The project was a collaborative effort between the General Motors Design studio in Michigan and the Hot Wheels Design studio in California. Each sketched its own ideas of a life-size Hot Wheels Camaro, compared notes and refined their visions until the concept hit the right note for each group of designers.

"The Camaro has been a mainstay in the Hot Wheels lineup since 1968,'' says Phil Zak, GM design director. "Several generations of car enthusiasts grews up playing with Hot Wheels Camaros, while dreaming of driving the real thing, so this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make that dream a reality.''

There was a similar buzz of excitement in the Hot Wheels studio.

"The Hot Wheels and Camaro brands have been paired together since their inception,'' said Felix Holst, vice president of design for the Mattel Wheels Division.

"As part of the brand's historic sweet 16, the Camaro was the first Hot Wheels car ever produced. The Spectraflame paint and redline tires of those first Hot Wheels cars have been the dreams of guys for generations, and it was thrilling to inject these elements into a Camaro for real.''

The full-size result creates a car that is instantly identifiable as a Camaro with styling cues - including flat-black graphics, red-line wheels and the metallic green paint - that are classic Hot Wheels.

The original Hot Wheels cars debuted with their metallic Spectraflame paint finishes, and the Camaro Hot Wheels Concept features a chrome-style finish created in a similar manner - that is, a tinted top coat over a shiny base.

The reflective finish was created using Gold Touch Inc's Cosmichrome product, starting with the application of a primer coat on an immaculately prepared surface. The primer coat was then sprayed with a liquid-metal solution to create the mirror-smooth, silver-chrome base coat. Then the green tint was applied in several layers until the right colour effect was achieved.

"It may sound pretty straightforward, but no one had ever tried using this process to paint a whole car,'' says Zak.

"The bodywork and paint team experimented with several processes before spraying the first body panel. There were so many variables that contributed to getting the finish perfect, from the drying time to the air pressure of the spray guns - none of which was known before this project - and the team absolutely nailed it perfectly."

Additional features of the Camaro Hot Wheels Concept include:

• Over Chrome Green paint with ghosted Hot Wheels logo on the quarter panels
• Satin black ground effects (splitter, rocker and rear fascia-side extensions)
• Satin black wheels with milled face and Torch Red stripe: 20x10-inch (front) and 20x11-inch (rear)
• ZL1 grille with Hot Wheels badging
• Hot Wheels badge on the decklid
• Euro-style taillamps with new inner smoked lens
• Euro-style rear fascia with new diffuser and exhaust bezels
• ZL1 rear spoiler
• Chevrolet Accessories Modified Satin Black Stripe
• Black aluminum CAMARO fender badges with milled face
• Black aluminum hood insert with milled hood vent extractors
• Chevrolet Accessories Synergy Series gill decals
• Black leather-wrapped IP and door inserts with Torch Red accents, and cut-and-sew flames
• Hot Wheels sill plates
• Hot Wheels cut-and-sew embroidered logos in the front seatbacks
• Chevrolet Accessories pedal kit
• Chevrolet Accessories footwell and cup holder lighting (red)
• Brembo brakes: six-piston front with two-piece rotors and four-piston calipers (Chevrolet Official Licensed Product)
• Suspension lowering kit by Pedders (Chevrolet Official Licensed Product)
• Chevrolet Accessories strut tower brace
• Chevrolet Accessories black engine cover
• Chevrolet Accessories exhaust system.

Under the hood is the all-aluminum 6.2-litre LS3 V8 backed by the Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual transmission.

Hot Wheels is making a collectors edition 1:64-scale model based on the full-size concept.

It will be the 18th 1:64-scale Hot Wheels Camaro model produced since 1968, all with a variety of colours and configurations. During the past 44 years, literally millions of Hot Wheels Camaro models have been produced.

The original Custom Camaro from 1968 remains one of the most valuable Hot Wheels toys among collectors. That year, Hot Wheels produced all the Custom Camaro models with Spectraflame paint - except for one version in white enamel.

Today, examples of the Spectraflame Custom Camaro in excellent condition can sell for $150 or more. Only 15 white enamel versions are known to exist, and none are in their original packages.

The value of a white enamel Custom Camaro is upwards of $3000, says Holst. But if one still existed in the package, the value could be tens of thousands of dollars.