We turned a VW Beetle into a Hot Wheels car

16 hours ago

Connor Bennett,in Guyhirnand

Elliot Deady

News image — Ray Ramsay (right) completed the project with the help of his friend Ben Tuckwell

Connor Bennett/BBC A green car parked outside a workshop. On the left is a man crouching down with his elbow resting on a tyre, wearing a cream polo top and jeans. Standing on the other side of the car is a man smiling and wearing a dark grey hoodie, holding a boxed Hot Wheels car in front of him. — Ray Ramsay (right) completed the project with the help of his friend Ben Tuckwell

A car enthusiast has transformed a Volkswagen Beetle into a life-sized Hot Wheels model.

It has an aerial made from an old kitchen whisk, chrome trim from kitchen door handles, and its plastic roof dome came from the ceiling of a school toilet.

Now the pimped up classic is in the running for an international award and could be made into a collectible miniature.

Ray Ramsay, 64, who runs a workshop in Guyhirn, Cambridgeshire, said the 1972 vehicle – named the Riddler – was never intended to look like the tiny model cars: "It's just evolved into that."

Ramsay's creation won the UK leg of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour, held at Silverstone in Northamptonshire, and will now go up against other vehicles built around the world.

Mattel, which manufactures the iconic toy cars, will turn the winning design into its next miniature collectible.

Connor Bennett/BBC A close-up of a green car with many household objects attached to it, such as a whisk in place of an aerial. — Repurposed household items were used as part of the build

It was a project four years in the making and Ramsay said it was inspired by some US car models from the 1960s.

"They built some crazy, crazy stuff and I always knew I'd want to build something like it," he said.

"It's obviously not the most sensible thing to drive, but it's not about that.

"Every time someone sits in it or sees it, it just brings a smile to your face. Practicality is zero, but the fun and smile factor is off the scale."

More from Cambridgeshire:

Mattel A green car alongside a backdrop which appears as an oversized Hot Wheels box. — The Riddler won the UK leg of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour

Ben Tuckwell worked alongside Ramsay on parts of the project and said his friend was known for doing "radical stuff".

"Nothing with Ray is normal," the 49-year-old said.

Hot Wheels spokesperson Nick Bailey said the car was a "phenomenal build".

"As soon as the judges saw it, they knew that it was a car worthy of becoming a Hot Wheels finalist," he told the BBC.

The judges – including former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond – also had the choice of a reconfigured 1989 Fiat Panda and a 1951 Tempo Matador truck that used to deliver potatoes in Australia.

Ramsay said he hoped to sell his masterpiece after the final of the competition to raise funds for a cancer charity, after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

"It is a frightening thing," he said. "When we all hear the word 'cancer' we all think that's it, we're going to die.

"I've had fantastic support – I really, really have. So this is just a way of me saying 'thank you very much'."

Spending time in his workshop building the Riddler had been a welcome distraction from his treatment, he added.