Although it’s certainly stylish, the Volvo P1800 is more of a GT than a face-ripping sports car. At least, that’s the case in its original form. Put the P1800 in Cyan Racing’s hands, for example, and you’re left with a true restomod performance car. And if you give one to the UK’s Johnstone family, you get a gasser hot rod.

For 2023, the Hot Wheels mainline is numbered 1 through 250 with color variations not receiving a new number. Treasure Hunts and store exclusives are numbered. For the listing by series see List of 2023 Hot Wheels (by Series). This Volvo P1800 Gasser is going to be a Hot Wheels die-cast car after being chosen as a finalist during The Hot Wheels Legends Tour!⁠ https://t.co/cP4XdanKXg— HOT ROD Magazine (@hotrodmagazine) October 25, 2021These cars have certainly made it to the history books, and above all else, to the shelves of Hot Wheels collectors around the globe. Judges on last year's panel included Jay Leno, Henrik Fisker, Mad Mike, Sara Choi, and Mattel's big-wigs, Ted Wu, and Bryan Benedict. After competing in drag races in the UK, the Johnstone family entered their Volvo P1800 gasser into a different kind of competition. It’s an international one called the Hot Wheels Legends Tour.

This casting is based on a 1969 Volvo P1800 Gasser built by Lee Johnstone, based in the United Kingdom. The car is named Ain't No Saint and competes in drag racing at Santa Pod Raceway in Bedfordshire. The car was the winner of the 2021 Hot Wheels Legends Tour, it being the first winner of the show from outside the United States. The Volvo 850 Estate is loosely based on the race winning Estate that was entered into the 1994 British Touring Car Championship Car (BTCC). It only ran for 1 year due to regulation changes which caused Volvo to switch the vehicle to the saloon version in 1995. I have those, I get on the computer and map everything out, with the wheels being my anchor points. Then I’ll adjust the shape and scale it so that it looks roughly 1:64. Obviously we already have cars that are made to 1:64 scale, so we will compare new ones against them to see if they look right.”Now in its fourth year, the Hot Wheels Legends Tour gives custom car builders a chance to show off their wild creations. The cars go head-to-head across several rounds judged by various panels of automotive experts. Once the best 10 are selected, they head off for one final judging round. And as in years past, Hot Wheels makes a diecast car modeled after the winning build.

This award-winning five door 850 came with a 5-cylinder in-line engine, all-wheel-drive, and was an immediate sensation.If you’re into cars, then diecast models are likely to have been a major inspiration in early life. Enthusiasts of a certain vintage will have collected Dinky Toys, and later came Matchbox and Corgi Toys, but in 1968 an American upstart arrived in the shape of Hot Wheels. For 2021, the Hot Wheels Legends Tour received over 10,000 entries from 14 countries scattered across five continents. So, the Ain’t No Saint faced stiff competition just to get into the final round. But it won the UK leg—judged by, among others, famed designer Ian Callum—by a unanimous decision, Hagerty reports. And it ended up being one of four finalists not from North America. The Johnstones’ Volvo P1800 was originally a rusty shell that was too far gone to restore, Hagerty reports. So, the family put in a full roll cage, beefed up the chassis, added some Ford axles, and installed a custom suspension setup. And, as is traditional for gasser hot rods, the Ain’t No Saint has a high front end and a low rear end. That, combined with the suspension setup and the high, rear-set engine, is all to facilitate rear weight transfer during launches.