.
["Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car"]
- Whoa-ho!
- Buckle up for the ride of your life,
where car-loving loving Hot Wheels fans
will get the chance of a lifetime...
- * Get into my car *
- And step into a world of magical wonder.
- This is amazing!
Look at all this stuff, man.
- This is incredible.
- Transforming nostalgic cars from their past...
- Oh, my gosh! That's my exact car!
I feel just like I did when I was 16.
- Into the life-sized Hot Wheels of their dream!
- I started off as just a little boy playing Hot Wheels
to now being in a Hot Wheels competition.
Oh, my goodness.
It's crazy!
- Y'all get ready!
It's time to get to work.
- * Get out of my dreams *
- Our panel of car experts...
- Oh, my God.
- Will be joined by celebrity guest judges
Anthony Anderson, Jay Leno,
and Joel McHale.
- I want to see Hot Wheels as big
as our combined forehead space.
- * Get out of my dreams *
- 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!
Whoo! - * Get in the back *
* Foot on the floor *
* Get on the track *
* Get out of my dreams *
- Get ready.
Get set.
Go!
This is "Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge."
- * Get into my car *
* Get into my car *
[pop rock music]
- Welcome to "Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge,"
the biggest, baddest Hot-Wheelsiest car makeover
competition ever, where we take your favorite
nostalgic cars and turn them into life-sized Hot Wheels.
With over 130 new Hot Wheels car designs
introduced each year,
one superfan's ultimate Hot Wheels
will become an actual diecast car you can buy.
I'm your host Rutledge Wood.
Let's meet our superfans.
- I'm Kevin. I'm from Houston, Texas.
I'm a husband, dad, veteran,
and according to my wife,
I'm the sexiest cowboy in Texas.
[laughs]
I love cars like horses love hay.
When you say "Hot Wheels," I automatically think
American muscle.
- I'm Sheilah, I'm 67 years old,
and I'm from Cedar Hill, Texas.
I'm the social media granny of the car community.
I've never had passion before
until I went to a drift event with my son.
I saw some 350Zs drifting.
Four days later, I bought one.
- As Hot Wheels superfans and car lovers,
we all have that one car that got away.
Sheilah, is there a car that's dear to your heart?
- It was a 1970 yellow Volkswagen Beetle.
It was my first car ever, and I found
my independence and freedom in that car.
It was the beginning of a new life for me.
I really miss that car.
- Did it look like this?
[car engine revs] - [gasps]
Oh, it's my car!
I can't believe my eyes.
To see my Volkswagen Beetle again, are you kidding me?
Oh, my gosh.
My grandfather taught me
how to drive a manual in this car.
I can see him.
I can see him sitting where you are.
- Yeah. - I had a tough upbringing,
and my grandfather was always there.
He was my rock.
He believed in me.
When somebody believes in you, then all of a sudden,
you start believing in yourself.
And--I'm sorry.
Turning my Volkswagen Beetle into my own Hot Wheels,
it's beyond a dream come true.
- Kevin. - Yes, sir.
- For you, what was that car?
- That car was the 1977 Ford Thunderbird.
It gave me an opportunity
to spend a lot of time with my dad.
I had three sisters, and I was the only boy.
So having that time on the weekends
to work on that car, turn some wrenches,
it really changed me into the man that I am today.
- What happened to that car?
- My mom and my dad got divorced.
So we lost the house,
and we lost the car with the house.
And that's when my unfinished business started.
- So you really haven't seen that '77 Thunderbird since?
- I have not.
- Well, you know what?
Take a look.
[car engine revving]
- [yodels]
Man, that thing looks good.
Just bringing back so many memories.
I'm literally a ball of emotions.
I've not seen this car since I was 15 years old.
[sentimental music]
* *
- Cowboys don't cry, man.
- Hey, hey, real men do.
- Yeah.
Oh, man.
The smell of this car is like heaven.
- When your parents split up and the car was gone,
I mean, a little piece of you has been gone this whole time.
- Yeah, absolutely.
Transforming this '77 Thunderbird
into a Hot Wheels
is giving me the opportunity to finish unfinished business.
- Let's get our other incredible judges out here.
They're gonna help me make this thing legit.
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 an influencer in car culture,
not to mention a major player in the drift scene.
He's Hertrech Eugene Jr.
Let's talk about the criteria
we'll all be judging your builds on.
- I want to see iconic Hot Wheels design elements,
something showstopping, exaggerated features,
and something uniquely yours.
- When it comes to execution, from bumper to bumper,
I want to see the real deal--
a build that not only looks amazing,
but the average Joe will want to hop in and take a ride.
- Now, for originality, I want to see passion.
I want to see the fun.
'Cause when you hold a Hot Wheels as a kid,
it lets you dream.
It lets you use your imagination.
So I want you to really transform back into that kid
and let your imagination take over.
All right, it's time.
Onto the Chrome Zone!
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.
Kevin, welcome to the Chrome Zone.
- This is absolutely amazing.
- What do you want this car to say?
- Well, in Houston, we have this thing called the SLAB--
Slow, Loud, And Banging.
- Ooh. - And I see this here.
- This is the Limozeen.
This thing's got some presence.
- It does. - Riding slow. Metallic paint.
- This color blue is what I would want
to change that gold color to.
The color blue means a lot to me
because, one, it's my favorite color.
And then, two, my daughters love the color blue.
- I mean, that thing would be right at home in Houston.
- You see this right here? - The Mig Rig.
- See how the top is literally just chopped off?
- Are you gonna cut the top off?
- We gon' chop it off. - Come on!
- What I'm thinking is to add a hydraulic suspension,
as if the car was bucking like a horse.
- You ever been bucked off a horse?
- Actually, I have. [both laugh]
It's not fun.
- What do you want to do?
- A monster. - Ooh.
- Tough, strong, rugged.
- Okay, like this Baja Bug right there?
- Yes! I love the engine.
I want a huge engine.
- Now, the Baja is named that because people would race it
in the Baja 500 and the Baja 1000.
But it doesn't scream "monster."
- Oh, we're gonna have a beast.
- Oh, you want a beast? - Yes.
I want to do something similar to this.
- I remember this one.
This is Vampyra.
You see the big old arms on there?
- Oh, I love the face on the front.
- You're a Texas gal.
What do you think of when you think of, like,
tough Texas monsters?
- The Texas horned lizard.
I want it to have horns, and I want it
to be kind of scaly-looking.
- Oh, really? - And it looks tough.
- I think you got something special there.
- I think we got this.
- All right, come on.
- I can't wait to build my Hot Wheels.
I want to show my grandkids you can conquer the world.
- Sheilah, Kevin, my two Texas tornadoes,
you've got your car design.
Now, how much do you guys know
about building a real-life Hot Wheels car by yourself?
- Nothing.
- Well, it is a good thing
we have our Car Pools.
These are some of the best car builders in the business.
And they're gonna help you
turn your Hot Wheels dreams into reality.
- Honey, we didn't come here to play.
We came here to win. [laughs]
- Sheilah, you'll be working out of the Red Garage.
What's the name of your build?
- Monster Bug. - Okay!
Kevin, you'll be working in the Blue Garage.
What's the name of your build?
- The Buckaroo. - All right!
You each have one week to transform these OG rides
into the life-sized ultimate Hot Wheels.
When the lights flash green, it is time to go.
Are you ready? [all cheering]
I said, are you ready?
Are you ready? [all cheering]
Well, good news-- I can tell you...
go!
- We're gonna go monster-big!
- Yeah! Roar!
- I want a huge motor.
Instead of putting it in the back,
let's put it in the front and make it massive!
- I like it. I like it.
- Yes, you're talking our language right here.
- Like he's ready to chew up the road!
[laughs]
- We have to build a frame underneath it
to hold that big, massive engine.
That's the way to do it. And that is my specialty.
- [speaking Italian]
- The name of this car is the Buckaroo.
So we going to buck this thing down.
- Make it hop. - I want this car
to represent me as a Texas cowboy.
- Oh, it definitely will. It definitely will.
- I want to add a hydraulic suspension
to make it a real-life buckaroo.
So we have to make it look like I'm literally breaking a horse.
It's going to be candy-blue paint
with horses on the side.
We gon' chop the top completely off.
I need space to jump in as if we're hopping on the saddle.
It's gonna be a cowhide interior.
Really, really slick.
- Oh, that's too easy for me, baby.
[laughter] - I came here to make magic.
Are you guys ready? - Let's make magic.
Let's do it. - Okay, let's get ripping out.
- Oh, my baby!
- We'll take good care of it.
- We won't.
- We're just gonna chop it up!
- Stay tuned for a Texas showdown...
- There it is! - Whoo-hoo-hoo!
- My worst nightmare happened.
The whole car kind of bent in a U-shape.
- With builds as big as the Lone Star State...
- Whoo-hoo-hoo!
- With Hollywood legend Anthony Anderson...
- Don't disappoint my mama.
- And his mama Doris...
- Now get back to work!
- And epic transformations.
.
- Hey, Hert, do you know how to hotwire a car?
- One time, I hotwired a Chevy Mustang GT500.
Chased by the police through some alleys.
Hit 160 in a storm drain.
A perfectly placed ramp was there.
I hit it, jumped over a bridge, and landed safely.
- Wow. - Did you fall asleep
watching "Gone in 60 Seconds" again?
- Mm, I did.
- I hotwired this Mustang.
- I'm sorry? - Excuse me?
- I'm gonna take it back.
Like a leave a penny, take a penny,
but it was a Mustang. - But did you leave a Mustang?
- No, I left a note.
I left an IOU.
That's as good as money.
[sirens wailing]
I'm gonna take it back.
In step two, the Car Pools transform
their superfans' wild designs into real-life Hot Wheels.
- It's hard work, this.
- We're like surgeons right now.
Dissect the car.
- It's Texas versus Texas.
And these builds are gonna be big.
Over in the Red Garage, we've got Sheilah,
who is transforming her '70 VW Beetle
into the Monster Bug.
She's trying to incorporate the Texas horned lizard
and turn this into something we have never seen before.
- We are dissecting a Beetle to make a lizard.
- Oh, my God, dude. - [laughs]
- We got a lot of work to do.
We are not just customizing an existing car.
We are building a car from scratch.
- If they want to move that engine from the back
to the front, they're gonna have to build
a whole new chassis.
- I completely forgot how small this motor is.
- But you want a big engine.
- No, we're gonna have a monster.
- Now, that is a little tiddler.
- Monster motor.
- We need some room for that V8 engine.
So we got to chop off the front.
Okay. - All right!
Oh, my God.
- Bye!
- Another Texan is Kevin, the army veteran,
who's trying to change his '77 Ford Thunderbird
into the Buckaroo.
That's right. - Yeehaw.
- I want it to buck with the hydraulic suspension.
And I really need the roof off to have space to jump in.
- We're taking this. This is gone.
- 100%. - We're gonna get rid
of all the back of the car here.
- 100%.
- Structure-wise, cutting the roof all the way off,
I'm a little concerned with that.
Especially with the car bouncing and moving around,
there needs to be some kind of structure to it.
- Let's go!
[machinery whirring]
[rock music]
* *
- Whoa!
- So taking away the roof is like
taking the roof off of your house.
If they don't strengthen the rest of the car quickly,
it's just gonna fall apart.
- Now, give me that before you cut the whole car up.
[laughter]
- If we look at the head...
- I really like the big--
the two big horns. - The big horns, yeah.
- But I don't want it to look like a longhorn.
You know what I'm saying?
- Oh, yes.
I am from Miami, Florida.
I'm a full-time artist, painting murals, sculptures.
I hope to create a car that was never seen before
and is pretty frickin' cool.
I love lizards.
I'm just enamored with your design.
- The reason I decided on a Monster Bug
is, I had a really rough childhood.
My goal as a child was to be
independent and strong enough to be able to leave.
- This car means a lot for Sheilah.
The way to independence, you know, to her strength,
to stepping into her power.
Ah, I'm gonna-- [gasps]
I--like, I resonated with that.
- The Monster is like me breaking free, you know?
- What you're talking about right now,
I feel it very strong, so wow.
The first step is taking the sketch that I did.
And I'm getting ready to cut the foam.
I know right now, it might not look like
what it's gonna look like later.
It's fun, but it's also really risky
because the moment you cut the wrong way,
how are you gonna go back?
Yeah, okay, so we have to cut all of this.
And it kind of goes like this too.
It's a big responsibility
because if the head doesn't look right,
the car is not gonna look right.
- Okay.
- Little by little, baby. It's gonna get there.
This is gonna take a while.
- What's up, Red Garage?
- Hey.
- I am working on a chassis.
Got to make sure we got room for the motor,
everything like that.
- So you're gonna make a new frame for the car
that the body is gonna sit on.
- Yes. - It's real ambitious.
I mean, it's got to be measured perfectly,
and you have less than a week.
- Yeah, yeah, starting from scratch.
But, you know, this is what we do.
We can pull it off.
- Just bump it up, and we'll see what it's doing.
[metal screeching and clunking]
Damn it.
It just moved everything.
The whole car bent.
[tense music]
I saw the windshield post move.
And the minute we cut it, the car just kind of--
and now we have a big gap in the doors.
- What's up, Blue Garage?
- My worst nightmare happened.
The whole car kind of bent in a U-shape.
[door slams]
- Oh, dude, look at the gap
at the top of the door versus the bottom.
- Yeah, so it's not just straightening the car out.
We need to over-stiffen the car now
so it can buck like he wants it to buck and not bend again.
- Not just fold totally--
- Yes, correct. - Which could happen.
- Yeah, it could very well happen.
- Absolutely, yeah. - Oh, gosh.
[funky music]
- Garages, we have some very special guests
here for you, Anthony Anderson and his beloved Mama Doris.
[cheers and applause] Hey, hey!
Yeah!
Thanks for being here, you two.
- Oh, well, thanks for having me.
You know, I would have gotten here a lot sooner,
but someone stole my red Mustang.
Can you believe that?
- Who would do such a thing? - Mm.
- This is what they left behind.
- Is that Rut's handwriting? - It looks like it.
- Anyway, we are so excited to have you, Anthony and Doris.
- Oh, well, you know, thanks for having us.
Lord knows we love cars and Hot Wheels.
- Any words of wisdom for our garages?
- Garages, make it big!
Make it bold!
Make it awesome!
And don't disappoint me.
But more importantly, don't disappoint my mama.
- Now get back to work!
- Oh. - [laughs]
- They just right there, Mama. They can--they can hear you.
[clock ticking]
* *
- It gives us something to work on.
Because we can then follow that weld.
- Yeah, you start building all the way up.
I'll start cutting the pieces.
- So the Blue Team has cut the roof
off of the T-Bird, and now they're trying
to strengthen it all up.
So they're gonna weld up the doors,
which will help so the car won't collapse on itself.
The Red Team is making
an entirely new chassis from scratch.
- That's a big task.
You can't just put a big V8 in something
without strengthening everything around it.
They're gonna have to build a whole new chassis,
and I really hope they're doing their measuring.
Because if they cut it wrong,
they're not gonna be able to cut again,
and they're gonna have to do more work to fix that.
- You know, I really hope they pull this off
because Hot Wheels has a long history of cars
with animal features, but we've never had
a Texas horned lizard.
So I'm really excited to see this one.
- We're just gonna lay these out, cut these out...
- Okay. - And lock the foam down.
- The cowhide material for the car
is really going to complement the Thunderbird
because it's going to represent cowboy.
It's gonna represent Texas.
- Voilà.
- There she blows.
- As a kid, I was just astounded
by what you can do with a sewing machine.
Me and my wife, we run the shop.
We have got several awards.
Once, I got a DM message from Snoop Dogg.
We ended up doing three cars for him.
- You ever done an interior this big
in this little amount of time?
- No. - No?
- No. - Mm-mm.
- Normally, this type of job takes weeks.
But I only have one week to get this stuff completed.
- Go look over there.
- That one's closer.
- This one, right? - Yeah.
- Okay.
- We'll get this chassis under the car and see how it fits.
- This is the moment of truth, isn't it?
- Yeah.
[metal creaking]
- Oh, whoa, oh. Hold on.
That is definitely metal-to-metal contact there.
- Somewhere, the math got off.
If this body does not fit on this chassis,
.
[upbeat music]
- Let's talk about the Redline.
- Hey, I love Red Vine.
Classic movie snack.
- I actually said "Redline."
- Oh, my bad.
- This is a classic Hot Wheels Redline diecast made in 1968.
See the cute little red lines on the tires?
That's the signature look
of a Redline Hot Wheels diecast.
True Redlines were made between 1968 and 1977.
- But I can turn any Hot Wheels into a Redline
with this permanent red marker.
- Huge fan, really.
- Oh? - Huge fan.
- Thank you. - But get out.
This has been the Hot Wheels Handbook.
- This is the important bit.
We're marrying the body to the chassis.
- This is literally a make-or-break moment
for the Red Garage.
[metal creaking] - Oh!
- Can you imagine doing all that work,
and then it doesn't fit?
- [mimics gunshot]
- We got to cut that out.
We're gonna chop this bit out of the way,
meaning that the body can move down onto our new chassis.
[tense music]
- Ready to cut down? - Ready?
- All right, let's do it.
* *
- Wow, just like a glove.
- Oh! Success!
- That looks good. [all cheering]
- Yeah, baby!
- What do you think about Sheilah's Monster Bug?
Changing the entire look adds a big risk.
- They've pulled the body off of it.
- A whole new chassis for it.
- Exposed the engine, insane lizard sculpture
that they want to put on the front of it.
- It could end up looking like a monster.
But if they don't execute it,
it could end up looking like a salamander
instead of a Texas horned lizard.
- Yeah.
- Oh, my God, I'm so excited right now.
- My biggest concern for the Monster Bug is,
it's either going to be really, really cool,
or it might look really silly.
So they have to find that right balance.
- The Blue Garage has done a ton of work
on their hydraulic system.
But other than cutting off the roof,
the silhouette of this car really hasn't changed.
I'm still waiting to see more development visually
for the rest of the car. - Mm.
- Instead of just having two hydraulics,
they're going with four.
They're gonna be bucking front and rear
and have the ability to jump
completely off the ground, which is very ambitious,
and it just digs into your time.
- What's the likelihood of this working?
- Right now? - Right now.
- I'm at 50/50.
So we're not even halfway there.
- Oh, man.
- All we've got is something to create the pressure.
We haven't worked out anything to make the car jump yet.
- Right. I need this to be
absolutely on point.
- Red Garage, Blue Garage,
we are halfway through the week.
You are fast running out of time.
- Come here a minute.
I have an idea.
- All right, cool.
- Let's distress the car!
[upbeat music]
* *
- I like it. - Ready?
- Sheilah comes out with an armload of hammers.
- Hit the car! - Really?
- We're gonna do what?
- The Texas horned lizard is my inspiration
for my design.
I want it to be scaly-looking and rugged.
[laughs]
They were so happy to do it.
- Yeah!
Smash the car!
- Let's help 'em out.
My turn!
- They're beating on my car!
- Okay. - My turn!
My turn!
[laughter]
[suspenseful music]
* *
- Oh, boy, you know what that is.
- What's that?
- Everybody stop what you're doing.
- What's going on?
- Oh, what's that? - Oh.
- It's the Inspirationator 5,000.
This thing is filled with over 800
of the most awesome Hot Wheels diecast cars across history.
And just when you get a little comfy,
the Inspirationator will flip your world
upside down with one of them.
Let's see what it's got today.
Hold on tight!
* *
Hey! - Whoa.
- Oh, look at that.
The Twin Mill.
Dalal, tell us all about it.
- One of my all-time favorite Hot Wheels.
It features exposed twin engines,
and it's actually one of the most famous
and sought-after Hot Wheels of all time.
It's also the very first Hot Wheels
to get turned into a life-sized car.
- Another cool thing is, the life-sized Twin Mill
has a canopy that opens up.
So here's your twist.
To win 25 grand and a key to the finale,
you'll need to modify your current car design
to incorporate a moving element
beyond something already moving in your initial design.
- Uh-oh. - Let's do it.
- Sheilah and Kevin, you each have
a Twin Mill Hot Wheels in your garages.
When the lights flash green, get back to work.
all: Go!
- Whoa, okay.
- Got it! - What do we have here?
Movement, right? We got to make something move.
- Yes.
Motion, motion...
- What about your wheels?
We can do Texas spinning wheels.
- Weight the Texas sign down
so it's static when the rims spin.
- What are we gonna do, guys? - Whoa, I don't know.
Hey, here's--here's the thing.
It's an element.
- Could we make spikes pop up?
Like, the big spike goes on like this.
These hold it in place.
Then we just run a shaft through it.
- And you'll have a lever inside the car,
and they come up, ah!
- I love your idea.
So the plan is to move these spikes
at the front of the car.
- Red Team! - Red Team!
- Hey!
- We'll literally mount the state of Texas...
- In the center of the wheel. - In the center of the wheel.
[pop music]
- Go!
Ooh.
[both roar]
- Hey, hey, hey, Blue Garage, just want to let you know
that the Red Garage is kicking your ass right about now.
- We aren't worried.
- Hey, Red Team, they're not worried.
- They should be.
- We're on fire.
- Hello, Blue Garage.
- What's happening? - How's it going?
- What have we got going on back here?
- We have six batteries set up, four pumps.
- Yeah, it looks normal. Got six, yep.
- You ever had anything with hydraulics?
- You know, I always wanted
something with hydraulics, though.
- Hydraulics are something you want your friend to own
so you can ride in it, enjoy it,
but you don't have to fix it.
- I watched somebody break their whole front end.
- They always break. - They always do.
- I bet it looked great right until it didn't.
- Oh, it did.
- Is it gonna withstand the bucking?
- It's--I'm pretty sure it's plenty strong.
- Pretty sure?
- Yes, I'm half-sure.
- If this thing snaps like a toothpick, who's...
.
[dramatic music]
- It's very hard to draw my own state.
I'm doing the best I can here with what I got.
- Monster Bug-Buckaroo week is almost over.
Keep pushing. You got this.
[clock ticking]
- I'm stressing!
- Sheilah and the Red Team are building
an ambitious character car
based on the Texas horned lizard.
Sheilah's mounting lizard spikes on the car.
And then to incorporate the Twin Mill twist,
the team's making a mechanism
for giant moving horns at the front.
- But the real test is gonna be
when they actually attach the horns to it
and see if they fan out.
- In the Blue Garage, Kevin is actually building
custom floater wheels for his Buckaroo,
where the wheel centers will stay level as the wheels turn.
It's pretty cool.
- Ooh, that interior is gonna be so nice.
- Oh, yeah. - How do you suggest we get
these seats in the car with the doors welded shut?
- You should have thought about that
before you had us weld the doors shut.
[laughter]
- So Kevin's story about his Thunderbird
and how they had to sell it
before him and his dad could finish it,
man, that kind of touched me.
So I came up with this idea
of adding the finisher in the headrest.
I'ma make sure that I add
that little bit of finishing touch, you know,
that little Slick touch. - Yeah.
- I got you.
[dramatic music]
- As you probably know, when the Texas horned lizard
get intimidated, they actually squirt blood
out of their eyes. - Oh, yeah.
- So I thought, since we're gonna use the headlights
for the eyes on this car... - Uh-huh.
- I would make you some red flashing lights.
- What? [laughs]
I'm starting to see the vision of my design,
so I'm getting really excited.
- You know what? My grandad also taught me
to drive in a Volkswagen Beetle.
- What? - Exactly.
- My grandfather didn't work on cars,
but he taught me how to change a tire.
He taught me how to check the oil.
- I'm glad that we're gonna make something cool
that, you know, he would think was cool too.
- Okay, I don't want to cry. [laughs]
- All right, I understand. I understand.
* *
- All right, teams, it's the last day of the build.
This is it. Big finish.
- The horns are gonna go "Veow!" like that.
To make the horns move, we need rods, pivots, levers,
the whole works.
It's just a case of thinking it through.
- Red Garage making moves, I see.
- We are. - Uh-huh.
- The life-sized Hot Wheels Twin Mill has a moving canopy.
Can you tell me more about the moving element of this build?
- These horns will be inserted onto these rods here.
- Sheilah, you want to do the honor of moving the parts?
- I don't know if it's gonna work.
- Here we go.
[metal scraping]
- Like a dinosaur!
- It looks like you made the mechanism by hand.
- You guys think this is gonna work?
- There's a certain element of worry, I would say.
- Yeah. - Time is your biggest issue,
and it looks like you're running out of it.
So you should probably get back to work.
- Yeah, get out of here.
- Hello, Blue Garage.
- So let's just get right to it.
Are you guys worried about bucking it now?
- We still have a little bit of the concern
with the hydraulic system.
- You haven't really done too much
with the design language of the body.
I'm a little bit worried that if you don't have
the hydraulics working and it doesn't buck
that this isn't gonna be hot enough to be a Hot Wheels.
- I want this Thunderbird to be
the true definition of Hot Wheels.
And if this Buckaroo doesn't buck, I am finished.
- You're calling this thing the Buckaroo.
So it needs to buck, or else it's gonna be a fail.
- If that Buckaroo don't buck, you out of luck, baby.
- Ooh! - Oh, ooh!
* *
- So, Sheila and Kevin, my Texas Lone Star all-stars,
you have been instrumental
in getting the builds to this point.
- And now, it's time to leave it up
to your Car Pools.
- Bye, guys.
- Bye, Sheilah.
- The next time I see the car, it's gonna be finished.
- One, two, three. all: Yeehaw!
- The Buckaroo and Team Blue are gonna get this win.
Yeehaw!
- Step three is all about finishing touches,
adding wild colors and decorations
before the cars are reassembled.
All right, y'all, one hour left.
- Yeah, the day's almost over! Come on, Claudia!
- This has to work. There's no other way.
We're taking the spikes.
And we have to feed them where the engine is gonna go.
It's stressful.
- We need to be chopping these.
- Yes.
[saw whirring]
- 30 minutes left.
Blue Team, make it buck!
- Let's see if we can get this thing bucking.
- Let's do it.
- Right, this is not looking good.
- We're running out of time.
- The hydraulics aren't working.
If we can't get this car bucking,
it is game over.
.
[dramatic music]
- Okay, we need to straighten this out
right now, whatever this is.
If the hydraulic system doesn't work,
we're out of the competition.
- I'm stressed just watching them.
- Try the plug. It might have been something...
- That's the only thing left. - Silly like that.
Try the plug.
- Oh!
- Okay, that's what it was.
- Look at that. - I am relieved.
But my concern is the strength of the car.
Because once the car starts to buck,
the car may fold in half, and we'll lose the competition.
- 60 seconds left!
- That's one minute. - That's what it is.
- Yes, that's right. - That's one minute.
- Go, Claudia! Go on!
- Go, go, go. - Chop, chop.
- Blue Garage is shining up chrome.
- Yeah, they are. - Does that mean they're done?
- It's shining. I can see me in it.
- Here we go. all: Ten, nine, eight...
- You got it. You can do it. You can do it.
- Ah! - We're down to the wire.
all: Three, two, one, stop!
- Time! - Walk away from the vehicles.
- Yeah. - Group hug, y'all.
We did great, my friends. We did great.
- You are all amazing.
- Hopefully we got it.
- I can't wait to see who wins this on TV.
- Me and Anthony, we finna go home.
- All right, Mama, let's go.
- I love it. We're gonna miss you two.
The car transformations are complete.
Let's see some life-sized Hot Wheels.
Sheilah, come on out.
[applause] - There she is!
- Yeah, girl, great to see you. - Hi.
- Kevin, come on down.
- Yeehaw!
- There he is. - My man.
How are you feeling? - Ecstatic.
- Really? - Let's do this.
- Yeah. - Okay!
Sheilah, you're up first.
It's the Monster Bug.
[car engine revving]
- Wow!
[applause]
- What? - Look at that thing!
[hip-hop music]
- It is a monster.
- Oh, my gosh, are you kidding me?
You guys rock!
Oh, yeah.
- We did it, baby. - Oh. You're amazing.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
It was mind-blowing.
[gasps] Oh, my gosh!
[laughing tearfully]
There's so many little details that I'm noticing.
It's got my license plates on it!
My grandfather's license plates.
My grandfather is a piece of that car.
- Where did you start, and where did we end up here?
- This is a 1970 Volkswagen Bug.
And this beautiful car that we created
is the Monster Bug.
And we extended the chassis
to accommodate the monster engine.
[laughter]
- And it sounds as mean as it looks.
- It represents independence.
It represents moving forward.
The spikes the side of his head, they move.
They come forward.
- What a great way to incorporate
that twist from the Twin Mill.
- Here goes nothing. - Ready?
- [screams]
- Yes! - Look at that!
Your lizard comes to life.
- It's alive!
- Wow.
- Sheilah's so happy.
This car means so much to her.
- Hert, why don't you start?
- I feel like you guys did a fantastic job
making the Monster Bug a monster.
The way Claudia built this head,
adding spikes all over the top of this thing, that was wild.
But when you look at this thing from the front,
I feel like there's no shape.
So I kind of wish you guys added
bigger spikes in the back to give the rear some shape.
But all in all, you guys did a wonderful job.
- Dalal, what do you think of the Monster Bug?
- There's a lot to love about this build,
from the anthropomorphic head of the lizard itself.
I mean, look at those eyes.
It's such an iconic Hot Wheels feature.
It's hypnotized me.
- My favorite thing about the car,
to put a water-cooled monster V8 on a custom chassis
that you knocked out in a few days,
that's ridiculous and so original.
But this Bug is not perfect.
Hert made the point about the shape.
I do know that it's a lizard.
But there is a lot of landscape on the side of that car
where I think I might have maybe make some bigger spikes,
something to give it a little more shape.
And to be honest, I feel like we're missing a monster tail.
- I'm a bundle of nerves right now.
I'm hoping that it's gonna be enough.
- Okay, we've seen Sheilah's ultimate Hot Wheels,
but now it is Kevin's turn.
- My stomach is in complete knots right now.
- Let's see the Buckaroo.
[engine revs]
.
- We've seen Sheilah's ultimate Hot Wheels,
but now, it is Kevin's turn.
Let's see the Buckaroo.
[car engine revving]
- Whoa!
- Whoo-hoo-hoo!
[applause] - Hey!
- Yeah! Now that's the Buckaroo, baby!
[hip-hop music]
- Ooh, look at that thing.
- This car is absolutely insane.
This is the ultimate Hot Wheels to me.
- Tell us where you started and where this thing ended up.
- We started with a 1977 Thunderbird.
And a crazy idea came across my mind
to actually cut the top.
This whole build was about unfinished business,
being able to finish what my dad and I started
over 20 years ago.
"The Finisher," it says it all.
[exhales]
[sniffles]
- You finished it.
- Thank you, God.
[crying]
[soft music]
Thanks, boys.
- Was it everything you thought it was gonna be?
- This is the one.
This is the one.
I got super emotional because I literally tapped
back into my 14-year-old self.
And I said, "Hey, you did it.
Congratulations, and let's go get this win."
- The real question here, does it buck,
and is it gonna stay together?
Or is it gonna just buck in half?
I say we push it in the garage.
Let's see if this bad boy is gonna hop.
- Let's go. Let's do it.
If I can't get this car to buck,
I am going to literally lose my mind
and lose this competition.
Three, two, one, let's buck, baby.
[car engine revving] [laughter]
- Whoo! - Yeah!
- Oh!
[laughter] - Yes, sir.
- Oh, my goodness.
- Yeah! [all cheering]
- Let's go!
- We pulled it off.
Don't ask me how.
But we pulled it off.
And it's doing what it's supposed to do.
- Yo!
[laughter]
- It worked. Congratulations.
- My car has bucked us right into the win, baby.
We are going home with this win today.
- Well, this build is definitely slammed,
loud, and bangin'.
I mean, look at it.
I love seeing the equestrian design elements
all the way across.
I wish that we had done a little bit more
to the silhouette.
I wish more exaggerated
Hot Wheels design elements were incorporated.
- The downside of starting with something so big
is that it really left a lot to be desired on the outside,
especially when you're competing with something
that looks like a literal monster.
But it does exactly what you set out to do,
which is to scream, "Texas."
Now, it looks like y'all have made
custom Texas-shaped floaters.
- Absolutely. So that was my idea.
- I feel like you guys could give
a little more of the Twin Mill element.
- Okay. - Brought some exhaust out.
Because I love the movement, but visually,
on the exterior of the body,
you got to work with something.
But by cutting the roof off and exposing the inside,
you really had to step up and make that interior bang.
And you did just that.
- Absolutely.
- All right, Hert, Dalal, it's time.
The superfan who inspired
our favorite build this week is...
- To win would be an absolute dream come true.
- It would fill a void that has been there for 20-plus years.
- Sheilah!
[all cheering]
- Oh!
- Congratulations! You did it!
[uplifting music]
- Sheilah!
[all cheering] Sheilah!
- My body went into shock.
[gasps] I can't believe it.
- The reason that Sheilah's Monster Bug won
was because it just had so much personality.
I mean, this thing really put a smile on all of our faces.
- Congratulations, Sheilah.
$25,000--oh, and you're gonna need this.
It's a key to the finale. - Yes!
[applause]
- That's right, where you will 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 car that you can buy.
For Dalal and Hert, I'm Rutledge Wood.
See you on the next lap.
[cheers and applause] - You messed with me!