Let’s Rank: best of the 2023 Super Treasure Hunts?

An annual tradition, it’s time to rank the 2023 Super Treasure Hunts from Hot Wheels. This ranking is purely my opinion, and has some criteria:

  • Casting choice
  • Color
  • Wheels
  • Intangibles like repeated castings or anything else I choose

Here are my 2022, 2021 and 2020 rankings.

There are fifteen castings that became Super Treasure Hunts for 2023, and this is my ranking, starting with 15-11:

Let me just get it cleared up – this was not a good year for Supers. I’m not going to compare them to recent years, as I’ve done in the past, because none of the 2023 Super Treasure Hunts are going to rank highly compared to recent history.

2023 Super Treasure Hunts, 15-11:

Renault Sport R.S. 01
Case: F
Rank: 15

The good: The red looks good. The rest: The casting is technically fine but the wheel choice is terrible. Something had to be #15.

1968 Mazda Cosmo Sport
Case: E
Rank: 14

Again I love this color, and the wheels look good but I don’t like this casting at all. This casting was not a worthy contender to be a Super.

Classic TV Series Batmobile
Case: A
Rank: 13

This car started the year off with a swing and a miss. I don’t feel this was super-worthy, especially since it’s not black. The red looks better in person, but this one isn’t a hit.

Porsche 935
Case: N
Rank: 12

The blue on this one pops and at least it’s not red. Technically this one is fine but not spectacular.

Volvo 240 Drift Wagon
Case: Q
Rank: 11

I’m always in favor of Green Supers, but this one is not a good example. The green color looks great as always, but this casting was another poor choice for a Super. Maybe it has it’s fans, but I don’t see it.

2023 Super Treasure Hunts 10-6:

’65 Mercury Comet Cyclone
Case: L
Rank: 10

This race car suffers from “Black Super” syndrome, where the Black Spectraflame just doesn’t look that good. It’s more of a metallic gray color. This one should have been in a premium racing line and a better color kit would have been better here.

’68 Corvette – Gas Monkey Garage
Case: G
Rank: 9

The proper GMG Corvette was done in the Entertainment series, with a bright gold and chrome rims. This one has a duller shade and a big Hot Wheels logo on the side, which takes away from the look. This one should have been better.

’68 COPO Camaro
Case: C
Rank: 8

A second Gold Super, this one was very controversial when it was introduced. Some felt it was way too busy, others felt that it was a clever Art Car design and made for a unique piece. I feel both, and that makes it a mediocre Super.

Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
Case: B
Rank: 7

Another red super, and another poor casting choice. This car does look nice in person, and the racing look is still pretty clean. This one suffers from being boring, if nothing else.

Mighty K
Case: M
Rank: 6

This one will be a sentimental favorite in the Hot Wheels community, due to the passing of Hot Wheels designer Ryu Asada. The Mighty K was the last design Ryu Asada saw through to completion before his death. It is sharp in red, and the wheels also look very good. It suffers from being one of six(!) Red supers in 2023.

The top 5:

Lotus Evija
Case: D
Rank: 5

Yet another red super, but this one is a lot cleaner than the ones before it. Nice chrome rims, and a clean look gets a good grade from me.

Glory Chaser
Case: H
Rank: 4

Our annual Gulf livery Super, the color palette will make any car look good. That includes this fantasy casting, but is still a sharp looking car. This could pass for a real production vehicle.

69 Shelby GT-500
Case: K
Rank: 3

One of the best of a poor year, the Shelby looks awesome in purple with chrome rims. It covers the usual Mustang super, and just stands out from the pack.

82 Toyota Supra
Case: J
Rank: 2

The other most popular (high-dollar) super from this year is another red car. The Supra looks clean and the design is appropriate. This is a great piece.

Datsun Bluebird Wagon
Case: P
Rank: 1

This will be the high-dollar super for 2023. The good: The pink spectraflame looks amazing, and the wheels are a nice compliment. The white designs don’t look too bad, but it makes it look very busy. The bad: It’s a repeat super, which I don’t think should be permitted whenever possible, out of all the casting choices Hot Wheels has. But this one will be very popular, and command high dollars pretty much for good.