Hot Wheels Don Prudhomme Funny Car

Description

The Snake was issued in the 1970 Hot Wheels line-up. Race car driver Don "Snake" Prudhomme's car was a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda Funny Car. He is most famous for racing Tom McEwen in his red 1970 Plymouth Duster, named Mongoose.

The Snake had its own style of blister for this release. The Blister has a picture of both "Mongoose & Snake" cars. "Mongoose vs Snake" written just above the car on the cardboard. It included a metal button and was released both as a Hong Kong version and an USA version. It had standard capped Redlines on the front and the back. 1970 was the only year of release for this casting with this name.

This car is playable in Hot Wheels: Turbo Racing.

Snake II

The Snake II is a Hot Wheels casting from the 1971 Hot Wheels range of vehicles. It uses the same casting as the Snake from 1970 except this time it has Enamel White paint and 'Snake II' stickers.

It is based on the Plymouth Barracuda Funny Car driven by Don 'The Snake' Prudhomme in 1970, a car sponsored by Hot Wheels in conjunction with his rival Tom 'The Mongoose' McEwen.

The Hot Wheels Snake II was produced at both the USA and Hong Kong factories and was only made in Enamel White. USA built cars had clear windows while Hong Kong produced cars have blue tinted windows. It came with a black roll-cage and body prop underneath its opening body. The base came in two pieces, with the engine being riveted to the bottom part.

It came on a special 'Mongoose vs Snake' card which had artwork of each car. It had its side stickers applied from the factory and a sticker sheet with flames was included in the package. It was also packaged with a plastic 'Collectors Button'.

The Plymouth Barracuda Funny Car casting would go on to be used in 1973 as both the Snake and Mongoose, and in 1974 under the name Top Eliminator. It was re-tooled in 1994 as part of the Vintage Series and has been released several times since.

'73 Snake II

In 1973 Mattel were hit with some hard times, and as a result, they decided to use one casting for both the Snake and Mongoo$e models. The casting they chose to represent both the Snake and Mongoo$e was the 'Cuda.

The Snake was released in both enamel white and yellow, with pre applied blue 'Snake II' stickers (even on the yellow release which should have had white 'Snake' stickers). Due to cost cutting, the 1973 Snake II did not come with windows or a body prop and also did not come on a unique 'Snake and Mongoo$e' card, but instead came on the ordinary 1973 card. The 1973 Snake II came with capped wheels on the rear and a straight axle on the front. It also came with '6969' cast on the underside of the roof. The 1973 castings of the Snake and Mongoo$e are hard to find and highly sought-after, personal judgement should be taken when purchasing one to determine its legitimacy.

Top Eliminator

Top Eliminator was released in 1974. It debuted the new Flying Colors theme tampo on its side. This casting is a reissue of the Snake casting, based on a Plymouth Barracuda Funny Car. Early versions have capped redline wheels, along with a base that has less detail and is unreinforced. The base was later retooled with more reinforcement and more details. The black plastic roll cage and the body prop are still gone.

The blister pack for 1974 was changed to a white background with cars (Baja Breaker, Heavy Chevy & P-917) flying off the card. The Card itself was 7" x 4.5" and featured the Red Flying Colors Logo.

Versions

The Snake has come out in the following 1/64 scale versions:

Year	Series	Color	Sticker	Base Color / Types	Interior Color	Wheel Type	Toy #	Country	Notes / Variations
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Yellow	White sticker w/ 'Snake' on sides	Unpainted / Metal	Black	RL	6409	Hong Kong
1970	1970 Hot Wheels	Yellow	White sticker w/ 'Snake' on sides	Unpainted / Metal	Black	RL	6409	USA
1971	Mongoose vs Snake	Enamel White	Hot Wheels Logo and 'Snake II' on side, Red Flames on top	Unpainted / Metal	Black	RL	5953	Hong Kong
1971	Mongoose vs Snake	Enamel White	Hot Wheels Logo and 'Snake II' on side, Red Flames on top	Unpainted / Metal	Black	RL	5953	USA
1973	1973 Hot Wheels	Enamel Yellow		Metal	Black	RL	6969	HK
1973	1973 Hot Wheels	Enamel White		Metal	Black	RL	6969	HK
1974	Flying Colors	Dk. Enamel Blue	Light Green, Orange, Yellow "FLYING COLORS"	Unpainted / Metal	Black	RL	7630	Hong Kong	Named Top Eliminator Capped Rear wheels
1974	Flying Colors	Dk. Enamel Blue	Light Green, Orange, Yellow "FLYING COLORS"	Unpainted / Metal	Black	RL	7630	Hong Kong	Named Top Eliminator
1977	Hot Wheels	Gold Chrome	Red, Purple, Blue "HEMI HAULER"	Unpainted / Metal	Black	RL		Hong Kong	Named Top Eliminator
1977	Hot Wheels	Gold Chrome	Red, Purple, Blue "HEMI HAULER"	Unpainted / Metal	Black	BW		Hong Kong	Named Top Eliminator
1978	Hot Wheels	Gold Chrome	Red, Purple, Blue "HEMI HAULER" "AC" Logo rear fender	Unpainted / Metal	Black	BW		Hong Kong	Named Top Eliminator
1982	Hot Wheels	Enamel Red	Yellow, Black, White "Radical Racer& 301"	Unpainted / Metal	Tan	BW		Malaysia	Named Top Eliminator
1983	International	Enamel Green		Unpainted / Metal	Black	BW		France	Named Top Eliminator
1983	International	Enamel Yellow		Unpainted / Metal	Black	BW		France	Named Top Eliminator
1983	International	Enamel White		Unpainted / Metal	Black	BW		France	Named Top Eliminator
1983	Speed Machines	Enamel Plum		Unpainted / Metal	Black	BW			Named Top Eliminator