Hot Wheels Custom Volkswagen (1968)

Mattel's first Beetle, patterned on a 1965 IMC 1:25 model kit, comes in three castings: US with a sunroof, Hong Kong with a sunroof, and Hong Kong without one. The no-sunroof cars came first, from the Hong Kong plant, and most were sold in Germany and the UK, so they are worth looking for in European sales. Most no-sunroof cars are blue, and a red one rates as super rare. Among the sunroof cars, US yellow is extremely rare and magenta and hot pink very rare. Do not confuse the early no-sunroof car with the 1974 Flying Colors Volkswagen, also Hong Kong-made without a sunroof: none of its parts interchange with the 1968 car.