40th Anniversary Back To The Future Hot Wheels Set Features DeLorean And Doc Brown’s Step-Van

24 July 2025 may not be a red letter in the history of science (yet), but it’s one to mark down on your calendar if you’re a fan of Hot Wheels and the Back to the Future franchise, as a brand-new, 1:64-scale model of the movie’s DeLorean DMC-12 and, for the first time, Doc Brown’s GMC Step Van, goes on-sale that day. At 09:00 AM, sadly, not 10:04 PM.

Commissioned to celebrate 40 years since the release of the first BTTF movie on 3 July 1985 – has it really been that long? – the ‘Hot Wheels Back to the Future 40th Anniversary Set’ features both the legendary time machine itself, complete with rear-mounted vents and the plutonium-fueled nuclear reactor that precedes ‘Mr Fusion,’ and Doc Brown’s GMC ‘Value Van’ – essentially a rebadged Chevrolet Step-Van – that plays a pivotal role in the seminal 80s movie, yet very rarely receives its due credit via merchandising. The set will be available for purchase on 24 July for $32 USD, and is available for purchase in 20 countries across North America, Asia, and Europe.

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This Is Heavy-Duty, Doc. This Is Great!

In terms of detailing, the DMC logo, as you would expect, has also been recreated on the DeLorean’s nose, and the OUTATIME license plate appears on the rear deck alongside various cable harnesses. Look closely in the cabin, and you’ll see that Hot Wheels has even replicated the wiring looms across the dash, the time circuit board and its activation switch across the center console (sorry, no, there isn’t an out-of-context Eric Stoltz in the drivers’ seat, nor an utterly knackered Michael J. Fox moonlighting after a day of filming Family Ties). And yes, well spotted, the DeLorean is riding on Goodyear Eagles. Proof indeed that when you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.

Doc Brown’s Step-Van, meanwhile, features the ‘Dr. E. Brown Enterprises, 24 Hr. Scientific Services’ logo – a nod to the mad genius’ part-time job after investing his entire family fortune into the time-travelling venture – and the dirt-strewn windshield.

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Your Kids Are Gonna Love It

Now, let’s get the bad news out of the way: the DeLorean’s gullwing doors are non-functioning. Fortunately, Mattel did have the time to build each model to scale and to paint them, and in a particularly neat touch, the 1:64-scale DeLorean is packaged inside the Step-Van itself. Just as the time machine is revealed to Marty McFly for the first time at the parking ahead of temporal experiment number one, the DeLorean model rolls out of the step-van via a folding ramp. And if you thought that was a cool inside joke, you’d be wrong, as the “interior window packaging,” complete with Twin Pines Mall decals and franchise logo, also slides out of its protective outer box via a cardboard ramp.

Fun fact, had the producers gone with a more product placement-heavy initial version of the BTTF script (seriously, in that draft, the time machine is a Frigidaire refrigerator partially powered by Coca-Cola), then this diorama would instead feature a third-generation Mustang GT hatchback rather than the DeLorean, Ford at the time having pledged $75,000 towards the film. But, according to executive producer Bob Gale, “Doc Brown doesn’t drive a f***ing Mustang,” and movie history was made.

Source: Mattel