.
[tires screeching]
- Whoa!
Buckle up for the ride of your life...
where car-loving Hot Wheels fans
get the chance of a lifetime...
- * Get into my car
- I love Hot Wheels.
Whether you're 5 years old or 50 years old,
you can play with these things.
- And step into a world of magical wonder...
- It's amazing. Look at all this stuff, man.
- Where their imaginations can run wild.
- I want to transform
my car into a Hot Wheel dream.
- This car is the Buckaroo.
So we going to buck this thing. - [laughs]
- Transforming nostalgic cars from their past...
- I feel like a little kid.
- My grandfather taught me how to drive in this car.
- Into the life-sized Hot Wheels of their dreams!
- I've waited almost 40 years to be able to skateboard
on my dad's Caddy,
and I'm finally going to make that a reality.
all: Oh!!
- Are y'all ready? [all cheering]
Good luck. You're going to need it.
- * Get out of my dream
- So I want to change this van into the biggest,
the baddest funeral van that's ever existed.
- Our panel of car experts...
- This build is bangin'.
- Will be joined by celebrity guest judges.
It's Terry Crews. - Rut.
- Anthony Anderson.
- We are so fired up to see some life-size Hot Wheels.
- And Joel McHale.
- I want to see Hot Wheels as big as our combined
forehead space. - [laughs]
Oh!
To crown a winner, who takes home $25,000
and a key to our finale, where one lucky superfan will get
their design made into an actual Hot Wheels diecast
that you can buy.
- * Your nonstop miracle, I'm your man *
* Get out of my dreams
- Get ready, get set, go!
This is "Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge."
*
- * Get into my car
[engine turning over, revving]
*
- Welcome to "Hot Wheels: ultimate challenge."
I'm your host, Rutledge Wood,
and I'm so glad
being a grown man
that still plays with Hot Wheels
finally paid off.
From NASCAR to "Top Gear" U.S.
and everything in between,
my whole life has been about cars.
Now, finally, I'm taking it back
to where it all began for me-- Hot Wheels.
I'll be driving this competition
where nostalgic cars are transformed
into life-size ultimate Hot Wheels
that embody the magic of the toy brand
that's kept kids, adults,
and car culture captivated since 1968.
Let's get our superfans out here already.
[dramatic music]
- I'm Jim. I'm 58 years old.
I'm from New Jersey, and I'm a custom van outfitter.
And now I'm here, and I'm going to build a Hot Wheels.
Doesn't get any better than that.
- I'm Jadejha. I'm 24 years old.
I'm a cybersecurity engineer, and I'm from Houston, Texas.
I love Hot Wheels.
When I was younger, the whole house
became my track, and everyone had to watch out for us
while we were playing.
- You know, I grew up with Hot Wheels just like you did,
and then I started making life-size Hot Wheels
on my own. - Okay.
- So this is my dream, too, you guys.
Now, everyone's got that one car that holds a special place
in their heart.
Jadejha, for you, what is that car?
- It's my aunt Lois's 2009 Chevy Camaro.
When I was 16, it was very chaotic at home.
My dad basically was like, look,
you got to go live back with your mom,
or you need to figure it out.
So I called my aunt.
She dropped everything and came and got me
and picked me up in that Black Camaro.
I didn't know how much that car was going
to mean to me until I became an adult
and I realized that everything that me and my aunt
shared in this car was going to be worth it.
- Oh. That's really special.
- Yeah.
- I know the type of car you're talking about.
- Mm-hmm.
- Did your aunt's car look something like this?
- [laughs]
Oh, my God.
[laughs]
[engine revving]
Oh, I'm shaking. [laughs]
No way.
It is 100% the same.
- What about these notes that were on the dash?
- "Beautiful." "Keep your head up."
When I would get in the car,
there were always, like, handwritten notes from my aunt.
I really needed this reminder, because I wasn't
feeling like I was loved. - Sure.
- I didn't know it in the moment
that, like, who I am today was all going to start
right there in that car.
- Now, let's see what you're up against.
- Yeah, I'm ready. Let's see it.
- You got your hands full now. - [laughs]
- Jim from New Jersey, tell me about the car
that's still racing around your heart.
- Man, I'm telling you, the car I had
is what I consider the ultimate hot rod--
'69 Dodge Charger.
The first time I laid eyes on my '69 Dodge Charger,
the car was in bad shape.
But my dad said, why don't we restore this car together,
you and I?
We'll transform it, you know, into our own version
of a Hot Wheels by painting it yellow.
We named her Old Yellow, man.
Me and my dad working on that car every night,
that was our bond.
We always talked about the Charger.
- Guess what.
We found one just like the matte-black one
you started with.
Take a look.
[engine revving]
- Damn.
*
Damn. You guys nailed it.
*
[voice breaking] Thank you, Hot Wheels.
Seeing that car again, I feel like I'm 18 years old, man.
I'm humbled to sit in this car. It feels great, man.
- Well, I'm excited to see what you're going to do with it.
- Oh, boy, I can guarantee you one thing--
it gonna to be yellow.
- Come on. Time to get to work. - [chuckles]
To build this car, if it's got to come back,
you might as well do it as a Hot Wheels.
- Before we drop the green flag on this competition,
let's meet the other judges
helping me determine our winner.
- Coming to us from Detroit, aka Motor City,
she's our resident Hot Wheels brand ambassador,
a former Hot Wheels Legends Tour judge,
and a groundbreaking designer for the Ford Motor Company.
It's Dalal Elsheikh.
And he's a major influence in car culture
and makes some of the most insane cars you've ever seen.
He's Hertrech Eugene Jr.
Now, Dalal and Hert, what are you going to be looking for
as the judges in this competition?
- I am your Hot Wheels brand ambassador.
I'm going to be focused on hotness.
I'm talking flames, vibrant colors,
exposed engines, you name it.
- I'll be focused on execution.
I'm coming from the drift world,
so I want to feel a sense of speed from your builds.
It needs to look cool,
but the finish on it needs to be money.
- I'll be looking at originality.
You know, I started out as a Hot Wheels superfan.
So I want to know,
is this a design we haven't seen before?
All right, you need to design your ultimate Hot Wheels.
Our superfans have three steps to produce
their dream Hot Wheels.
Step one is design.
The Chrome Zone is a one-stop shop
packed with thousands of legendary Hot Wheels cars,
logos, and images.
It's the perfect place to conjure up a winning build.
- This is crazy.
- It's the most amazing room I've ever been in.
- Let's talk about your '69 Charger.
- Okay. - What are you thinking?
- The number-one thing on my list is the yellow color.
- Something like this?
Now, I know this is a Super Bird,
but something bright yellow, really jumps out.
- Exactly. And the car is going to pop a wheelie.
- Oh.
- Because I always dreamt of popping a wheelie in the car,
and we could never get the tires off the ground.
We just couldn't do it. I see something.
It looks like it pops a wheelie right there.
- Okay, Poppa Wheelie is pretty perfect.
But the key to Poppa Wheelie is what?
- The weight. - The weight.
- Mm-hmm.
- So what are you going to do to get the weight right
so you could actually pop a wheelie?
- I'm gonna put a big old Hemi motor in the back of the car.
- So are we talking like Bone Shaker here?
- That's cool, but that motor is not going to work.
I'm already eyeballing one up here already.
- What are you thinking? - Look at the size of this.
I'm thinking we roll with this motor.
Look at that motor. - Now, that's massive.
- That's what I want.
- What are you thinking for the inside?
- I want to have my copilot, which is currently my son.
But I want to think about my dad being there,
so I'm putting the two seats in the car.
It's going to be the coolest Hot Wheels ever made.
I want this Charger to be bigger
and badder than anything that's ever been built.
- What do you want to create in this life-size Hot Wheels?
- I think it would be cool if I took what I currently do,
cybersecurity, and tie it to represent
that same security and protection
that my aunt gave me. - Okay.
You want to keep that Camaro vibe
but really take it to the future.
- Yeah, so I'm thinking bright colors, like this one.
I could do something with lights like this.
- Okay, it's got like a fancy "Tron" vibe.
- Exactly, futuristic, cyberthreats.
I need something that pops.
And then I want a big body.
- Oh, you're thinking maybe a wide body?
- Yes. - Oh, okay.
I mean, the very first Hot Wheels was a Camaro.
Notice--wheels are a little bit bigger.
- They are. - Right?
- I like the way the wheels are bigger but they still fit.
- Sounds like you got some great ideas.
It's time now head back to the garage.
- Oh, I'm excited.
I would have given anything
for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,
like, bringing my Hot Wheels car to life.
[laughs]
- Jadejha, Jim, you got your designs.
Now, you guys know exactly how to turn a car
into a life-size Hot Wheels, right?
- [chuckles] Absolutely not.
- Oh, that's where our Car Pools come into play.
These are some of the best
car builders in the business.
They're going to help you turn
your Hot Wheels dreams into reality.
- Here for the W, baby. I'm here to win.
- Jadejha, you'll be working out of the Red Garage.
What is the name of your build?
- I'm calling my bill the Cyber Slicker.
[all cheering]
- Jim, you're going to be working
out of the Blue Garage.
What is the name of your build?
- I'm going to call this build Power Charged.
- Let's go! [all cheering]
- All right, teams, it's race time.
You each have one week to transform these everyday rides
into totally awesome, one-of-a-kind,
life-size ultimate Hot Wheels.
When the lights flash green, it's time to get to work.
Are y'all ready? [all cheering]
[countdown beeping]
- Oh, this is happening. It's happening right now.
Go!
- Go! - Oh!
[engine revs]
- So the game plan is to get the highest wheelie we can get.
- Right.
- We want this car to go, I'm thinking, at about this angle.
- Okay.
- Jim's design is bonkers.
It's all about the highest wheelie we can get.
We're going to have to build some serious framework
in the back for this engine and these wheelie bars, man.
It's just going to be taking a lot torque through that.
- We'll run some structure
within the structure to reinforce it.
This way, when it comes down,
because it's going to come down hard,
it won't snap in half.
We need this thing to be a wheelie machine,
and we need it to stay 12 o'clock.
- If the wheelie isn't huge, we might as well go home now.
- It's going to be very much tech savvy,
super, like, cybersecurity thing going on.
Okay? - I'm digging it.
- I think we've got to see
if we've got a body kit for this car.
- You guys are going to be more the experts in the body kit,
but, like, any brackets, any of that metal fabrication,
I got you covered on that.
I love the design.
She's got some great ideas, but I'm a little worried.
We have so much body work on this vehicle.
- You ready to get your hands dirty?
- Oh, yeah.
- But I hope that once we get all these lights,
we get all these little details put on to this Cyber Slicker,
that it just pops.
- Nothing is, like, going to pop out and hit me, right?
- [grunting] - There we go.
- Are you off? - Go on, Jim.
- Coming through.
- Stay tuned for wild and magical rides.
- If this doesn't work right, there is no wheelie.
- No, no, no, no. Off, off, off.
- You don't want to miss a thing,
especially not our celebrity guest judge, Terry Crews.
- I want to see those cars as shiny as my head.
- Jadejha, let's see that car.
- Oh, my gosh!
.
- Well, yeah, I know the stakes are incredibly high right now,
Ms. Klum-- are you kidding?
Wait, you know exactly what this premiere needs?
And you sent me a gift?
Oh, you're the sweetest.
Wait, you took this from "AGT"?
Okay, well, I got to go. Thanks.
Tell everybody I said hey.
Okay. I love you, too.
Wow.
I wonder if this works.
In step two, The Car Pool teams
transform their wild designs into life-size Hot Wheels.
- Coming off like butter. - More like molasses.
- [laughs] Slow and steady.
- I want to get to building it.
First we got to get all this nonsense out of our way.
[tool grinding]
- So the builds are under way.
We've got Jadejha in the Red Garage,
Jim in the Blue Garage.
How do you think it's going so far?
- Well, Jim has this 1969 Dodge Charger.
He really wants to literally elevate this build
and make it do a wheelie.
- Jadejha and the Red Garage, they got a 2009 Camaro.
She grew up in this car.
Her aunt Lois took her in
and just made her feel safe in this thing.
- That thing is dusty. [laughter]
- Time to get dirty.
- I think the hardest part will be finding
that extreme factor that makes it stand out above the rest.
- So light, isn't it?
- The best way to personalize your own car
is to add a body kit.
- See, that's fits. - That'll fit nice, yeah.
- It widens the front and rear of the vehicle
as much as you want.
It adds a lot of style, a lot of pizzazz.
But body kits are very hard to install.
- Wow, look at that. I'm seeing progress.
- Can you see the vision?
- Yeah, it's starting to look like a different car.
- Oh, that--
I don't know about--
- I've got a massive amount of gap.
- Yeah, I do, too.
- It doesn't even fit onto the wheel.
- No, it doesn't. And it's like a funny angle.
- I don't think this is going to work.
- Oh, boy.
- Like, I'm not going to lie, this looks terrible.
- We're just going to have to fabricate
something from scratch.
- One thing you run into with custom body kits
is they don't always fit, and that's the case here.
So they're going to have to modify this
to work on this vehicle.
They might have to cut some things.
- This is how we do it.
- They might have to add some filler.
But, ultimately, they're going to have to smooth over
the gaps so that the body kit fits with the original body
so it looks good.
- There isn't a better way to do this.
- Yeah, there is, but it'd take time.
[chuckles] You know?
- What happens when you've got that much fiberglass on a car?
- What they're doing is a dangerous game.
Molding everything together doesn't leave a lot of room
for error.
- The body kit is so big,
it also means the real key element is fitting the wheels.
- Right. - Now, what's crazy to me is,
I would have started with the wheels
and built everything around that.
- I'm concerned that the wheels that we're putting on,
they won't flush out with this body kit.
So I'm taking some measurements now
in case we have to make some type of custom
wheel adapters or spacers.
It's a lot of work and a lot of math.
I'm not good with math.
- I hope it's going well. You got six days left.
- I feel exhausted already.
[giggles]
- I think we just need a little bit more in here.
I think I am the best for this job
because the amount of creativity I have.
Being a woman in generally a male trade,
it's been so exciting for me to be able to show people
what I can do, show people my abilities,
and just really teach women that they can do
anything that they want to do.
Like, what you do is male-dominated.
- Oh, yeah.
As soon as I say, oh, I'm a cybersecurity engineer,
everybody's like, how do I get to do what you do,
especially women?
- No, it's a good feeling.
I mean, I've been doing this for 25 years.
So I've always hoped, like, if I could impact,
like, a small percentage of the women who come to me--
- Right, that's all it is,
because it's like a snowball effect, right?
- I think Jadejha and I have definitely
formed a connection.
It's sad to hear the things that she's gone through,
but it's amazing to see how she wants
to incorporate this new life of hers into her car.
We had a little bit of a hiccup there,
but we kind of got a little bit of time back.
- Okay, Mama Rach, I see you, girl.
[laughs] - All right!
- This is probably one
of the most important parts of this car right now
is getting this motor out.
Whoo-whoo! Whoo-whoo!
- There you go.
- To make this car pop a wheel,
we got to take all the weight out of the front of the car.
- We're going up high speed.
- We got to transfer that weight
from the front to the back.
- All right, we're clear.
We're going to come forward, nice and slow.
Just keep it from rocking.
- That's how you take a motor out.
- What's going on, everybody? - What are we doing, man?
We got lunch dates or something?
- Hey, Jim, this is what a winner looks like.
[laughter]
[rock music]
- What's up, my brother? - How you doing?
- I told the guys, I pushed them to make a 6-foot wheelie.
- You're talking about 6 foot of clearance
between the front end and the ground?
- Yes. - [laughs]
- Doing this wheelie is mega.
We've got to try and move this whole car,
and it's a lot to move.
You're standing that whole car up,
so we just need to make sure it's the strongest it can be.
- Jim's car looks like it's going to be really cool.
But if it doesn't wheelie, it's not spectacular.
I mean, they're putting all their eggs in that basket.
So I really hope it delivers.
- I feel a little bit bad
that I'm pushing them as hard as I am.
It is a competition,
and I would love to win the competition.
- Good luck. - It's happening.
All right. Back to work.
[dramatic music]
- Wow, look at this.
Have you guys fitted the new wheels
to see how everything looks?
- No, so that's what we're going to end up doing next.
I'm sure a problem will arise during that, too.
- Well, it's possible.
[upbeat music]
- Ready? - Give the command, brother.
- Let's go. - Oh, boy.
This is the moment I've been waiting for back here.
- So, over in the Blue Garage, they're about to attach
their wheelie bar.
- Down a little bit.
Okay, eyes. - Eyes.
[torch whirring]
- Normally you'll see a wheelie bar
on a high-horsepower drag car.
High-horsepower drag cars often find themselves
pointing at the sky.
So they put wheelie bars on them
to stop them from doing that.
- One... both: Two, three.
- It's there, man. - We got us a wheelie bar.
- What if, when they go to wheelie it,
it looks like Vin Diesel's car in the first "Fast and Furious"
'cause it's just torquing that frame so much?
- It could have a nice, cool look to it,
but it could also tip over the car.
- Right.
- What do you think, Jim? - I think we got a problem.
- You don't like it? - I don't got a problem here.
How are we getting the motor in?
- Wait, what? - Jim's got it, man.
How are we going to get the engine crane in through here?
We're not going to be able to do it.
- So this thing has to come out?
- We're going to have to cut it off.
- We're going to have to cut this back off.
- Oh.
- We're taking it off, all right?
- We don't have time, man. - Oh, guys, guys.
.
- Jim, we've got a big problem.
We can't get the engine crane in with this on.
We're going to have to cut this back off.
- Blue Garage is having a massive issue.
You know that huge wheelie bar they were working on?
Well, it turns out they really attached it well,
so well they, in fact, now can't get
to the trunk to try and put the engine in the back.
- Better get the grinder.
- Hey, Blue Team! How's your wheelie going?
- Eh? Eh? - Eh?
[laughter]
- What's happening over in the Red Garage?
- They spent so much time making the body kit fit,
they haven't done much else.
They still need to get the new wheels on
to give their Camaro
that perfect low and wide Hot Wheels stance.
- Let's talk about stance real quick.
In this situation, I'm really hoping their wheel
and tire setup meets their fender pretty perfectly,
otherwise it might look silly if the wheels
stick out too far or if the wheels are sunken in.
- We're going to do a quick test fit,
making sure that this tire is flush with this body kit.
We tried over and over and over again
to try to make this body kit fit.
And now there's a big chance that the wheels
won't fit correctly.
And it's scary, because if we mess this up, that's it.
Competition's over.
- That looks a little bit out.
I thought we might get away with it,
but I've messed it up.
- The body kit didn't extend out
as far as we thought it would
whenever we finally put the tires on.
So right now Paul is filling the gap
that we had around the tires.
- What I'll do--I'll grind all this back and smooth this out.
They're still going to stick out a bit.
And I'm worried about the fitment.
[dramatic music]
- Yo, Jim. Got a little gift for you.
- Just rip the Band-Aid off.
Oh, you got to be kidding me, man.
The Hemi engine is the most powerful,
most beautiful-looking motor Chrysler has ever made.
That is insane.
My dad would be so excited to see this.
We always talked about putting a Hemi inside the Charger.
We just couldn't find one,
and we definitely couldn't afford one.
- Yeah, that'll do, man.
- I can't believe this motor's fitting in this good.
- Well, we've not got it fit in yet.
- I don't want to jinx it. You're right, yeah.
Last time I celebrated, look what happened.
We had to cut it off.
- This is getting real.
There's only one thing missing.
- This next act is going to blow your mind.
- Look, it's Terry freakin' Crews.
- Oh, my gosh, it's celebrity judge and Hollywood icon
Terry Crews!
- Sorry, Rut, that button also is how they get me to "AGT."
- This is so exciting.
So what's up, man? You want to hang or--
- I'm going to go hit up the studio gym.
- We don't have a studio gym.
- I can make a gym out of anything.
[sighs] - All right.
Well, I'm going to go see what's going on in the garages.
Have fun, Terry. - All righty, take care.
[drill whirring]
[laughs]
[upbeat music]
- I hope it's going well. You got four days left.
- Ooh, that's pretty. - Jim, how are you doing, man?
- I got to tell you, these seats are beautiful, man.
I just can't wait to sit in them, man.
I want to be comfortable when I'm looking at the sky,
you know what I mean? - [laughs]
Jim's a great guy, and funnily enough, my dad is called Jim.
My old man owns a garage.
But we were always heavily involved in drag racing.
And that was when it really started to kick in for me,
being into the cars.
With my old man, it was no choice
to grow up in the workshop.
And then I'd go in, you'd just find loads of stuff to do,
take old cars apart.
That's where we're very similar, I think.
- I could see he kind of still got that little spark
when he talks about his dad, and I feel the same way, man.
It's putting a bond with us
that's really, really nice right now.
- So what did your old man do, then?
- He built custom cars in the '50s.
But when he got married to my mom and had a family,
he really stopped working on cars because he concentrated
on the family. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Did you have clubs and stuff, then, round where you were?
- My dad always had the club.
The name of the club was Let the Good Time Roll Cruises.
- Let the Good Time Roll?
- And my mom and dad started that in the late '50s.
- That is awesome.
Hearing Jim talk about his family's car club
has really inspired me.
I think it would be a lovely touch to try and feature
the name of that in the build.
*
[horn blaring]
- What the deuce?
- Oh, boy.
- What's with the lights?
- Come on.
- Everybody stop what you're doing.
This gigantic angry machine behind me
is The Inspirationator 5000.
And like every great Hot Wheels track,
it's full of twists and turns,
and it's about to throw you for a loop.
- Oh, no. I don't like this.
*
- There it goes. - There's a car coming down.
- Yeah, it's nuts, man. Look.
- Yes. - Oh.
- Ooh.
- Now, that is an awesome Hot Wheels.
All right, Dalal, pop quiz--
what can you tell us about this car?
- Oh, man, this is one of my favorites.
The Hot Wheels Bad to the Blade is
a gravity-defying futuristic IndyCar
from Hot Wheels' design dynamo Fraser Campbell.
Its design represents the fusion
of a fighter jet and a dragon.
And the aerodynamics create a downforce up top
that make it basically stick to the track.
We've got a spoiler, a nose-cone feature,
side air intakes.
It lives in the Hot Wheels Garage of Legends.
- In order to win this challenge
and move on with a key to the finale,
your team is going to have to incorporate
at least one element from this design
into your ultimate Hot Wheels.
[laughter]
- What? - Yeah.
- Like we don't have enough designs.
- Jadejha and Jim, get with your team, make a plan.
Good luck. You're going to need it.
You ready? [buzzer sounds]
all: Go!
- I'm seeing a lot of aero.
Let's get a big wing on that boot,
creating some real downforce.
- Put a huge wing, more skirts,
more aero, more everything.
- Yeah.
- We can take your design and amplify it.
- Right. Everything's bigger in Texas.
- I think we can make some sort of wing spats
on the side, some wing spats that would go...
- It sort of has that look. - Up through here.
- Cool. Yeah. - I think that's it.
- I could knock this up a front splitter.
It needs to look good.
Let's keep it simple, and let's keep it cool.
*
- Wow.
So how are you guys incorporating
some of the elements from Bad to the Blade?
- We got a wing over there. - Oh, you got a wing?
- We're going to wing it.
- This is just like the warm-up wing.
- I love it.
- Everyone's excited about adding a wing to the car.
- I'm getting, like, "Mad Max" meets "Tron."
- That's exactly what's happening.
*
- Oh, boy. - Hey, how you doing?
- Hi, guys. - It's the judges.
- Talk to us about the inspiration
you took from Bad to the Blade.
- That Hot Wheels, it was a complete opposite design
of what we have.
It's just all sharp edges.
But one thing I did notice is that
there was almost, like, these wings that covered
right before the rear tire.
So what we thought we'd do is, we would use them
to our advantage to put them on the side of the car.
We want subtle touches.
- Talk to me about the elements you're incorporating
from the Hot Wheels Bad to the Blade vehicle
on the front of this car.
- The design of the '69 Charger to me--it is iconic.
And I didn't want to touch the front end of the car.
So, if you're looking at it from the front,
it's basically going to look
like a stock original '69 Charger.
- I'm still waiting to see more of that Hot Wheels element
here in the front.
- Just putting the pressure on me.
- That's what this competition is all about.
- I don't think that the judge is that impressed
how I incorporated design from the Bad to the Blade
into our car, but I'm telling you--
I know this is going to pull together once we get there.
We're just not there yet.
.
[upbeat music]
- We only have two days left,
and The Inspirationator 5000
threw both of these teams for a loop.
- Yes, the Red Garage has these two
amazing wings that they've got on their '09 Camaro.
It's very exciting.
- I'm starting to feel like the Blue Garage isn't taking
the twist serious, because the elements they've added
are kind of minimal.
- And, soon, the superfans will be sent away
when the cars get painted,
and The Car Poolers are going to be totally responsible
for getting these builds done and over the finish line.
*
- Hello, guys. - What's up? What's up?
- Oh, judges. - How's it going?
- How are you going to make it wheelie?
- Check out this right here. - Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
- My friend, this is Hot Wheels.
- All right.
- So we don't just want to make a wheelie,
we want to hold the wheelie. - Okay.
- So we got hydraulics over here,
and when we hit the magic button...
[imitates whirring]
Two rams will lift it right up, and to the sky she'll hold.
Hydraulic rams
take fluid that's pressurized
to exert force.
That ram will take all the weight of the car
back onto the tires.
And before you know it, the car will start lifting up.
- Very confident that these hydraulics are going to work.
Feeling pretty good.
- Do you want to see my toy?
- What is this?
- I really wanted to incorporate
that cyber, technical feel into this car.
So I decided to code my aunt's affirmations
onto the interior.
I created a code that says "keep your head up."
- Whoa.
- So it serves as, like, a little reminder
every time you look down. - Yeah, that is dope.
- So I'm going to have this laser cutter
etch that into this template.
And then we're going to put it inside the car
and illuminate it. - Ooh.
- I've completely programmed this laser cutter
to put in my code.
Now the magic happens. - Yeah.
- So, boom, you have it like this.
- That's it. "Keep your head up."
- Mm-hmm. - Oh, give me some.
- Yeah, you like it? It's cool, right?
- I like it! [laughs]
- We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming
to bring you this.
- This is an important term in the Hot Wheels handbook.
The crooze is one of the most-- - Did someone say Crews?
- Oh, hi, Terry Crews.
Actually, it's crooze like C-R-O-O-Z-E.
- Oh, my bad.
- Crooze refers to the style of car
from the Hot Wheels first editions line.
These castings are characterized
by long, exaggerated, smoothed-out rear ends.
- Did someone say smoothed-out rear ends?
- This has been the Hot Wheels handbook.
- We're running out of time.
I have to see if the wheelie works.
We got to test now.
All right, man. I'm going down.
[engine revving]
- Whoa, whoa, whoa. - No, no, no, off, off, off.
- I see the car going up crooked, and I'm terrified.
Stop, just stop, because I don't want it to tip over.
- That was nuts. What's wrong with it?
- Yeah, what is the problem? - Yeah, I have no idea.
- Winning this competition is all about that wheelie.
So, somehow, we're going to have to make it right for Jim.
- All right, teams!
Listen up!
You have been at it for almost a week.
But guess what. It's time to paint.
Jadejha and Jim, you have been instrumental in getting
the builds to this point,
but now it's time to let your Car Poolers do their thing
and get these builds to the finish line.
- We won't let you down.
- Next time we'll see you is at the big reveal.
- I can't wait.
*
- Step three is all about finishing touches--
adding wild colors and decorations
before the cars are reassembled.
It's the last day of the build,
and the Car Pools have a matter of hours to finish
Jim and Jadejha's builds.
- Oh, there's no lasers. - We need lasers.
We had to kind of come up with a different idea,
putting that strip of lights in the front of the car,
which I think is going to look so cool.
- It's not coming on, and I don't know why.
- Jadejha could potentially win this $25,000.
That puts a lot of pressure on us
in order to get this car exactly what it needs to be
in order for her to win this.
- Right, we need to go.
The wheelie is everything in this.
- Yeah, I'm trying to figure out this remote.
Hang on.
In my mind, it's more important that it does the wheelie.
- We don't have time for this.
- That's where I want to put the focus.
Looks like we got a little bit of air in the lines.
We're going to have to bleed it.
- Focus, Chris. - Come on.
- Okay, five minutes left, people.
- You heard Terry. Five minutes.
- Okay, let's bolt the wheelie bar on.
- This is going to be tight up this ram.
- Yeah, so the first panel goes in all the way first?
- I got you, man. - Yes, that's in. It's in.
It's in. - Yeah, that's it.
- 60 seconds, aka one minute left.
- We got to get this done, baby!
- I want to see those cars as shiny as my head.
- No hands on the car. - And that's shiny.
That's real shiny.
- Here you go. - Three...
- Come on. both: Two...
- Go, go, go. Get the pipes clean.
both: One. - Ah!
both: That's it! - Oh.
.
- The car transformations are complete.
It is time for the big moment.
Let's look at some ultimate Hot Wheels.
We need our superfans out here.
Jadejha, come on down.
Yeah, girl.
Jim, get out here.
- Let's go, big Jim. - What's up, my man?
What's up? - Oh, man.
- It's time to see if your hard work has paid off.
- I can't wait to see it.
- What I'm looking for is originality,
execution, and hotness.
- Well, Jim, let's look at the car
that you and your team created.
- I waited 40 years, and I'm gonna see Old Yellow, man.
Excitement level is beyond the highest it's going to go.
This is it.
[engine revving]
Oh, man.
- Oh, it's so loud!
[revving continues]
- Oh, my God. - The noise!
- That is insane.
- How's it going, Jim? How are you, man?
- There they are! There they are!
- What's up? How awesome is that?
- How do you feel? - Take that in.
- Yeah, take it in. - Oh, take it in.
This is what we've been waiting for, baby.
- [crying] That means everything.
- Oh, yeah. - Whew!
- Old Yellow's back, badder than ever.
- Jim, tell us about this incredible creation.
- Here we have a beautiful '69 Charger of my youth.
Hot Wheels was in my mind when I designed it.
Big motors, big tires, crazy paint, and love--
those are all the things I have in my design.
I've always wanted to pop a wheelie.
And back in the day, I never had enough power to do it.
And my dad would actually stand out on the street,
and he kind of would lie to me, man.
He said, I think I seen the tire go up.
I seen the tire-- It never went up, man.
And then we took this beautiful Hemi engine
and put it in the back of the car.
- Listen, it's been 40 years in the making.
- I know.
- Are you ready to see your Charger do a wheelie?
- I am more than ready at this point.
[dramatic music]
- Blue Garage, let it rip.
*
- Go, baby! - Oh!
all: Oh! - Look at that!
- Oh!
- It worked! - Whoo!
- That is insane. - That was amazing.
- It's been a 40-year journey,
and I finally got to see that wheelie.
The car went up perfect.
- Jim, what's on the bottom?
- Oh.
[voice breaking] You guys put that on?
That's my mom and dad's car club.
They started that in 1959.
[clears throat]
And when they died, they left it to us,
and now it's on the car.
- Your story was so good, Jim, we had to get it in the build.
- Thank you, guys.
I can't believe they did that. It's unbelievable.
I know he's looking down on me,
but if my dad was here today,
he'd be smiling from ear to ear.
- It's beautiful, man.
When it rose up and did its wheelie,
come on, man, it was absolutely monumental.
- Thank you, Terry. Thank you.
- When you guys started this build, told us your ideas,
I thought to myself, you guys are insane.
And I still think you're insane.
[laughter] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Absolutely love the paint, absolutely love the motor.
I wish that you guys did a little more work
with the Bad to the Blade inspiration.
I wish you would have just made these side splitters,
that front chin splitter just a little more crazy.
But overall execution, I think you guys killed it.
- Well, Jim, you're getting a lot of love.
And you should. You deserve it.
But there are some issues that I'm seeing with this car
right now.
Obviously, you came in with an iconic vehicle,
so you have these great character lines.
But the silhouette is still largely unchanged.
- The team spent a lot of time on the back half of the car.
It was a risk. I know it's bothering the judges.
We should have put more into the front of the car.
- But Jim's goal was to wheelie.
Did it wheelie? - Mm-hmm.
- Absolutely.
I am so impressed that y'all got that to work.
I think the little stuff, to me, is
really what makes it special.
Man, seeing your family's car club underneath,
making sure that you had a second seat
to make Pops proud is...
[voice breaking] Man, that's so special.
Who's cutting onions? Was that you?
[laughter] Sorry, I got three kids.
I cry a lot.
- I never had a really good relationship with my dad.
And when I see the emotion,
the joy in honoring him in this way,
this is what the whole Hot Wheels tradition
is all about--it's bringing families together.
- Thank you so much for saying that.
- Blue Garage, you did it. Congratulations.
All that hard work paid off. - Wow.
- Now it's time to go check out your competition.
- I think the judges were impressed.
There's a lot of emotions flowing over here.
- Bring it in.
- I hope it's good enough for the win.
I want a golden key to the finale.
*
- Now, we've seen Jim's unbelievable car.
Jadejha, are you ready to see your ultimate Hot Wheels?
- Oh, my gosh. [laughs]
- Oh, here we go.
- I'm a little scared,
because I know what it should look like.
- Yes, yes. - [laughs]
.
- Jadejha, let's see that car. - [laughs]
- Here we go. Yes, yes.
[laughs] - Oh, my God.
What?
Do you see this?
Aah!
[laughs] Oh, wow.
- Oh, man. Oh! - Oh, wow!
- Look at that! [all cheering]
*
- Yes, team!
Whoo!
Hey, y'all! We did it!
Yeah!
Wow.
I am blown away.
My car is 100% Hot Wheels.
It is fresh. It is the future.
- Jadejha, tell us the story behind this incredible build.
- We took this 2009 Chevy Camaro
from a thing of the past to the ultimate security car,
the Cyber Slicker.
We put on a brand-new ultra-futuristic body kit,
and inspired by Bad to the Blade,
we added a rear spoiler
to really give that car the ultimate look.
- What would your aunt Lois think of this car?
- I honestly think she'd be really impressed,
because it represents who I am and the memories of my aunt.
- Rachel, I'm not seeing much of a light show.
When does that start?
- You want to see a light show? - Yeah, I want to see it.
- Well, you got to get in there.
- Oh-ho-ho-ho! - Ooh!
- Whoa. - There we go.
- Amazing.
Yes, yes, yes.
This is exactly what I wanted-- lights, lights, lights.
Go, Red Team.
- First of all, I love, love, love the lights.
This right here is the future.
It looks like
it's going 300 miles an hour standing still.
The only thing that was a con on it
would be the tires.
Just--they jut out a little far for me.
- Dalal, what do you think? - This car is a head turner.
It is really hitting
a lot of those Hot Wheels design elements
that we talked about--
crazy wings, amazing lighting elements.
And I love the way that you took all of the elements
of your story and really incorporated it
into every part of this build.
- It's a wild machine,
definitely fits the Hot Wheels mantra.
I think you guys executed the twist
with Bad to the Blade very well.
That gave you the inspiration to do the front splitter,
the side splitters, and that huge wing.
Without those things,
I don't think this car would be what it is.
- What a huge amount of work
to come together as a team and do all of this in a week.
I think my favorite thing about this car
is seeing your story come through
in the choices you made
and just thinking about that time
with your aunt Lois in this car.
That's really special.
Jadejha, Jim, with the help of some
of the most creative minds and talented auto artists,
you transformed an important part of your past,
this car, into an instantly iconic life-size Hot Wheels.
The superfan who inspired
our favorite ride this week is...
[dramatic music]
*
Jim! Congratulations!
[cheers and applause]
- Yes! Yeah, Jim!
Yeah, Jim!
- Yay, Jim! - Yes, Jim!
- Congrats, Jim. Congrats.
- Good job. - Yeah!
- Jim won because the car did a wheelie.
That is so cool, so unique, and so original.
They completely reimagined what that car would look like.
- I feel amazing that I won this thing.
I just feel honored to be given this opportunity
to build Hot Wheels.
And it means everything to me.
- Jim, you did it. - I know.
- You got $25,000 and...
a key to the finale. - Oh, my God.
- Come and get it, buddy. [cheers and applause]
You'll compete against the rest of this season's winners,
presented by Xfinity,
to see if your next creation
will become a real Hot Wheels diecast.
- My kids are going to be able to look back some day
and go, my dad built a Hot Wheels,
'cause Hot Wheels are going to go on forever, man.
["Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car"]
*
[singers vocalizing]
*
- * Get it into my car
* Get into my car