2018 Chevrolet Camaro SS Hot Wheels Edition: Review

To see one of these on the road will be a rarity. Because just like the little die-cast collectible toy car it represents, the 2018 Chevrolet Camaro SS Hot Wheels Edition is best left in its packaging. This is a collectable toy car, albeit a full scale example, and its primary function is to be an appreciating asset for whoever buys one. And that’s the paradox. Because this thing rips.

The sixth-generation Camaro SS Hot Wheels Edition is equal parts show and go, with an orange “Crush” hue that’s as loud as its 6.2L LT1 V8 exhaust note. Its wheels grab your hard-to-earn attention just as well as the Brembo brake pads grab the rotors. It is seen, it is heard, and it’s a magnet for casual judgement by strangers. That’s the price one must pay, along with the $4,995 for the package, to show off so abundantly.

Commemorated to mark 50 years of tiny toy cars, what makes the Camaro Hot Wheels Edition worth the money is the attention to detail. Specifically, the 20-inch wheel design. Mimicking the actual Hot Wheels cars, the tires, spokes and center cap all look they’re a singular piece, and are exclusive to the Hot Wheels Edition Camaro. The lower grille insert is unique to the collectable trim package, as are the orange brake calipers, retro Hot Wheels badging, black bowtie badges, and illuminated door sill plates, also with the Hot Wheels logo. Dealer-installed accessories include a body-color wing spoiler, satin graphite racing stripes, and ground effects package. The interior is jet black with orange inserts to match the Crush exterior paint, sueded steering wheel, and sueded shift knob.

Our tester also came equipped with a $495 navigation package and 8-inch diagonally measured touchscreen, $895 dual mode performance exhaust, and $1,695 magnetic ride control. Tack on the $995 destination charge, and this 2018 Camaro SS Hot Wheels Edition comes in at a novelty $51,075 – $10-grand shy of a 650 hp Camaro ZL1, which doesn’t offer a Hot Wheels package. We find this to be strange, as the most bonkers version of the Camaro would pair well with such a vivid kit.

Driving this particular version of the 2018 Camaro SS is just as good as the of the less carotene color combinations. It’s possesses what we think has to be an exhaust system that is louder and more full of character than that of even the Corvette Stingray, and it’s continues to astound us how well it is to just get in and drive fast. Despite things like a tight interior and visibility issues, the handling limit of the Camaro SS can be discovered by just about anybody, and the gradually increasing curve of intensity to discover that limit is a rewarding journey for the senses. You just can’t help but grin like an idiot just about every time those bimodal exhaust valves open, or when the car continues to stick around corners at speeds normally reserved for products that demand at least $20,000 more in what’s presumed to be hard earned cash. And with that Crush hue, the 2018 Camaro SS Hot Wheels Edition can be seen just as quickly as it is heard.