After spending months touring the planet in search of the wildest custom-built vehicle, Hot Wheels has selected the winner of the 2022 Legends Tour. It chose a 1992 Autozam Scrum nicknamed Texas Toot that was transformed into a massive, one-of-a-kind monster truck.
Before it earned a spot in the Hot Wheels catalog of 1/64-scale cars, Texas Toot lived a humble life as one of the countless mini-trucks zig-zagging across Japan. It was designed to comply with the country’s strict kei regulations, so it’s seriously small: It stretches around 130 inches long and 55 inches wide in its standard configuration and is powered by a mid-mounted, 660-cubic-centimeter three-cylinder engine.
That was in 1992. Fast-forward to 2020 and this Scrum found its way to the United States and ended up in Craig Meaux’s garage in Beaumont, Texas. It gained 30-inch wheels wrapped by tractor tires, a five-foot suspension lift, a Chevrolet-sourced 454-cubic-inch V8 engine, and a 250-shot nitrous kit, among numerous other modifications. It’s hard to miss, and train horns ensure it’s heard as well as seen.
“I wasn’t expecting to win, so this is a dream come true. I wanted to create something that no one else had. I didn’t have previous experience with this sort of fabrication, so it’s awesome that it came out the way it did and to have everybody enjoy the truck,” Meaux said.
Texas Toot beat some seriously impressive cars. The list of 2022 Legends Tour finalists includes a Buick V8-powered 1956 Volkswagen Beetle, a 3,000-horsepower Porsche 928-based dragster, and a 1927 Wayne Ford school bus. Like previous winners, Texas Toot will join the Hot Wheels catalog of 1/64-scale cars in the coming months, so it will appear in toy chests and model-car collections all over the world.
“The competition was strong in 2022, but turning a Japanese mini truck into a monster truck was hard to beat,” said Ted Wu, Mattel’s global head of design for vehicles, in a statement. “As the first truck to be crowned since the inception of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour, we hope Craig’s passion project inspires builders and fans from around the world to set big goals and follow their dreams.”
Source: www.autoblog.com