Rutledge Wood shows how much of a car guy he is with a new show airing on NBC later this year.
Hot Wheels is well-known for hosting the annual Legends Tour, but it's now adapting the concept and taking it bigger than ever with a new TV show called Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge. Instead of touring the country to find the ultimate Hot Wheels-inspired build and eventually announcing the winner at the end of the year, Mattel Television will put two Hot Wheels fans head-to-head in what it's calling the “Chrome Zone.”
Basically, the Chrome Zones are fully-equipped, high-tech garages that will provide competitors with everything they need to create a life-size Hot Wheels car.
The ultimate prize is getting their design made into an official Hot Wheels die-cast car. That's almost the exact same recipe Mattel uses for the Legends Tour, but the TV show will add a twist via something called the “Inspirationator 5000.”
Not much is known about the Inspirationator 5000, but if we look at the basics of reality television, it will likely give the two competitors a reference theme. You can't have two contestants go head-to-head, with one building a Doof Wagon-inspired Wrangler (from Mad Max: Fury Road) while the other produces a Speed Racer-inspired roadster on a Miata platform. If we had to guess, both competitors will receive the same theme provided by the Inspirationator 5000. Alternatively, maybe they will work on the same car with different themes. The winner of each episode gets $25,000 in cash and the chance of being in the season finale. The final episode will be a three-way battle with $50,000 up for grabs.
Rutledge Wood, former host of Top Gear America, NASCAR analyst, and host of the hilariously terrible Hyperdrive on Netflix, will bring his friendly charm to this all-new NBC venture.
According to Mattel, the new show will debut in primetime on NBC later this year. We also expect it to debut on at least one streaming service for global viewers once the run is completed on NBC.
“For over 50 years, Hot Wheels has stood at the forefront of pop culture through incredible products and collaborations in the toy, gaming, content, and live events spaces,” said Fred Soulie, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Mattel Television. “As the brand maintains momentum following a record-setting 2022, we could not be more excited to partner with NBC, Endemol Shine, and Workerbee to bring an all-new Hot Wheels experience to fans all over the globe.”
Not much else is known at this stage, but we expect the production value to be relatively high. Mattel is worth $5.94 billion, which makes it more valuable than quite a few life-size automakers like Aston Martin.
Expect some zany creations far beyond what you usually see at Legends Tour events.
Keyword: Former Top Gear Presenter To Host New Hot Wheels Head-To-Head Show On NBC