Northland man’s custom cyberpunk car to be released as Hot … – 1News

A Northland man was left shocked after it was revealed a custom car he designed would be turned into a Hot Wheels diecast.

Chris Watson entered his 1990 Mazda Mx5 into the Hot Wheels Legends Tour a contest for passionate petrol heads to have a chance at seeing their vehicles in toy form.

Watsons roadster, nicknamed Chimera, is based on the cyberpunk genre of science fiction and drew inspiration from movies like Bladerunner, Akira and Ghost in the Shell.

Chris Watson's custom Mazda Mx5. (Source: Supplied)

That all sort of inspired me to go for something really unique with my build, Watson told 1News.

I follow a lot of designers on Instagram that make some insane computer renders of these sort of cyberpunk-styled cars, but nobody was trying to make anything like that in real life, so I sort of decided that I would give it a go.

Watson said it's a "cosmetic only build", describing it as a "full-sized model kit or something like a film prop like the DeLorean from Back to the Future".

The car features a custom carbon fibre shark fin spoiler, LED rear light bars and fender flares Watson designed.

Inside the car, you can find a mounted cyberdeck on the passenger seat.

A "cyberdeck" inside Chris Watsons custom Mx5. (Source: Supplied)

Watson said Chimera was probably the most ambitious exterior project I'd tackled.

Since starting the project, Watson hasnt slowed down constantly adding different features to the car.

I wanted this car to be a constant evolution because I never really liked the idea of building a car once and then just never touching it again, so I'm always looking at this car and thinking, what can I change?

I've actually already started on the next iteration of the car, and so I've torn off the entire rear end and started mocking up a new front end as well.

The custom fender on Chris Watsons cyberpunk Mx5 Mx5 (Source: Supplied)

He said it was unbelievable to find out his car was being turned into a toy.

I think it's so cool to have this car made as a Hot Wheels because it's got a really different style to what most cars have, and I think it's just got heaps of interesting little details on it, I always loved those sorts of things as a kid.

Watson also said a mini version of his car would help when designing new additions.

Having it made as a Hot Wheels is actually going to be so awesome because, for years, I've wished that I could have a little mini version of this so I can test out all my ideas on a small scale before trying them on the actual car.

So I'm probably going to end up buying a dozen of these things and testing new paint jobs, new spoilers, wheels, front bumpers, all that sort of stuff.

Chris Watson's custom Mazda Mx5 is set to be turned into a Hot Wheels diecast. (Source: Supplied)

He hopes his design will attract more budding designers into customisation so that maybe one day theyll have their creations turned into a Hot Wheels car.

If this was around when I was a kid and I heard there was a way for me to build something and then have it made as a Hot Wheels, I definitely think that wouldve given me more motivation to work on cars and come up with really interesting designs.

Ted Wu, vice president and global head of design for vehicles at Mattel, said Watsons car embodies what this tour is all about.

Chris journey from rural New Zealand to securing a spot in the Hot Wheels Garage of Legends is truly inspirational, he said.

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Northland man's custom cyberpunk car to be released as Hot ... - 1News