Matt McEntegart’s “SS Monte Mino,” a mashup of a 1979 El Camino, a Monte Carlo SS and a Corvette, won the Hot Wheels Legends Tour. It will become a real 1:64-scale die-cast car.
A custom Chevy built in a Tampa garage is about to become a Hot Wheels car.
Matt McEntegart of Tampa, Florida, won the 2026 Hot Wheels Legends Tour on Saturday, Nov. 14, with his custom 1979 Chevrolet El Camino, RACER reports. He calls it the “SS Monte Mino.”
The win means Hot Wheels will turn his build into an official 1:64-scale die-cast car, sold around the world.
What is the SS Monte Mino?
The SS Monte Mino blends three classic Chevrolets into one car: the El Camino, the Monte Carlo SS and the sixth-generation Corvette, according to Mattel.
McEntegart built it on a modified 2008 Corvette chassis and stretched the wheelbase by 12 inches, StockTitan reports.
He designed and fabricated nearly every part of the car himself. RACER says the build took more hours than are even worth counting.
The car started its run by winning the Tampa stop of the tour back in April.
How does the Hot Wheels Legends Tour work?
The Legends Tour is a traveling car show and custom car contest. Mattel calls it the world’s largest.
This year it visited 19 countries, including 12 stops across North America, Mattel says. Thousands of custom cars took part.
At each live event, judges from the Hot Wheels design team and the car world pick one winner, RACER explains. Those winners move on to regional finals for North America, Europe and the Middle East and Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
The regional champions then face off in the Global Grand Finale. This year’s finale had 28 regional finalists.
Judges look at three things:
Authenticity: the car should look and feel like a Hot Wheels car.
Creativity: unusual designs and clever details.
Garage spirit: the “built, not bought” idea, with a focus on why the car was built.
Who were the other Hot Wheels Legends Tour finalists?
The global runners-up were:
Sandranto Hertanu of Indonesia, with a 1961 Morris Mini Van turned into a double-cab pickup.
Andrea Cionco of Italy, with a 1990 Mazda MX-5 NA rebuilt with a widebody kit after an accident.
Andres Romero Maureira of Chile, with a 1992 Chevrolet Salaya SP race car.
Other finalists showed how wild the field was. Colt Jodoin of Birmingham, Alabama, built “Vettro,” a 1952 Metro Van body on a 2021 Corvette Stingray chassis. It is a mini food truck with a working kitchen, RACER reports.
Tony Barron of Australia brought a 1976 Holden Zeus Dominator with about 3,500 hours of hand-formed aluminum bodywork.
Why is this a big win for the U.S.?
McEntegart’s win is the first time a U.S. entry has taken the global title since 2022, Mattel says.
Last year’s winner was Paul Czarnecki of Poland, who built a custom 1990 Polski FIAT 126p.
In 2024, a home-built Chilean race car nicknamed La Liebre took the top prize.
When can you buy the SS Monte Mino Hot Wheels car?
Mattel has not shared a release date yet.
The winning car will be added to the Hot Wheels Garage of Legends. The Hot Wheels design team will then turn it into a 1:64-scale die-cast that will be sold worldwide.
Past winners have taken months to reach store shelves. If you collect Legends Tour cars, keep an eye on Mattel’s Hot Wheels announcements.
How did the Hot Wheels Legends Tour start?
The tour began in 2018 as part of Hot Wheels’ 50th anniversary, Mattel says. It started as a series of local car shows at Walmart stores in the U.S.
It has since grown into a global contest with live and virtual events. Mobil 1 is the presenting sponsor.
Hot Wheels has made more than 25,000 different models over the years, RACER notes. Only a handful of them started as a real car built by a fan in a garage.
Would you buy the SS Monte Mino when it hits stores? Tell us which finalist you would have picked.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
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Hat Tips:
RACER (Nov. 13, 2026), the winner, the finale format, judging criteria and the finalists
Mattel (Nov. 14, 2026), the winning car, the 19-country tour and the first U.S. win since 2022
StockTitan (Nov. 14, 2026), the Corvette chassis and the 12-inch wheelbase stretch
Hot Wheels Wiki (2026), the Tampa stop date
Mattel Creations (2026), the 2025 winner
Business Wire (Nov. 16, 2024), the 2024 winner
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