Deora

The Deora, designed by Harry Bradley before he joined Mattel as a staff designer, was one of the Original 16 castings in the debut 1968 Hot Wheels lineup and is modeled on the real 1964 Dodge Deora show truck built by customizers Larry and Mike Alexander, a Detroit Autorama Riddler Award winner based on a mid-engine Dodge D-100 chassis with a chopped 1960 Ford wagon tailgate. The casting is distinguished by its removable plastic surfboards and by entry through a windshield that lifts up rather than through conventional doors; it is also the only Redline-era casting to use four small Redline wheels instead of the usual larger fronts. A retooled Sky Show version followed in 1970 with a spring-loaded toy airplane launcher, and in 2000 designer Nathan Proch created a streamlined successor, the Deora II.

Bonus Cars (01/04)